Manchester Airport's Bronze Age Past

Recent archaeological findings have revealed an important Bronze Age settlement at Manchester Airport.

Manchester Airport first opened to airline traffic in June 1938 though it's now been discovered that there was activity on the site a lot further back than that. The dig, which was part of the development of Runway 2, uncovered Early Bronze Age artifacts and evidence of a settlement at Oversley Farm.

Considered by experts to be "significant," the site is the first excavated example of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age occupation in Cheshire. The findings have been published in an academic report "Oversley Farm, Styal: Excavations in advance of Manchester Airport's Runway 2" written by leading archaeologist Dan Garner. Mr Garner states that among the findings were "Bronze Age pottery, a tanged flint arrowhead and other tools and, of course, the footprint of the farmstead." The findings will be stored at Chester Museum.

Manchester Airport is the largest airport outside of London and the 4th busiest in the UK. In 2006 the airport handled 22.12 million passengers which was exceeded only by BAA's Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports in London.

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