Archaeologists carrying out exploratory work ahead of the construction of a new water supply network in the east of England have uncovered what appears to be a pair of ritually buried Red Deer at Navenby in Lincolnshire, according to a press release issued by Anglian Water on 9 August 2023. The Deer, which are thought to have been buried about 4000 years ago, were accompanied by pottery associated with the Bell Beaker Culture, a Bronze Age European Culture with appeared about 4800 years ago in Iberia, and spread across Europe and parts of North Africa, reaching Britain about 4450 years ago. The Deer show no signs of butchery (the removal of meat for consumption, which leaves cut marks upon the bones), and were therefore presumably intact when buried, although it is possible that they were ritually sacrificed for some purpose.
Other than the burred Deer, no further traces of Bronze Age activity were found at Navenby, although the archaeologists did uncover a small Iron Age settlement, comprising two roundhouses and five smaller structures, which may have been grain stores, as well as the burial of three cremated and one uncremated individuals, which may date from the Roman period.
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