'Star Carr - After the Ice' exhibition opens today at Yorkshire Museum

The settlement, at the eastern end of what is now the Vale of Pickering, is today known as Starr Carr.

But 11,000 years ago – just after the last Ice Age, at a time when Britain was still connected to continental Europe by a land bridge – it was a thriving Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age, settlement.

Hunter-gathers settled and lived here along the shores of a lake that extended along the Vale of Pickering towards the sea.

Back in 2010, archaeologists announced that they had found evidence here for what they described  as the ‘oldest house in Britain’.

A digital reconstruction of Star Carr houses (Image: Marcus Abbott)

But they found much more than that. It was clear that there had been more than one house – making this a proper settlement.

Archaeologists also found an extraordinary wooden platform, a bit like Stone Age decking, stretching along part of the lake shore.

It was made of split wood, and had been worked by stone axes – the earliest evidence of carpentry in Britain. Experts are not entirely sure what it would have been used for - possibly it helped stabilise the muddy lake shore; or it could have been used for hauling in boats.

University of York archaeologist Dr Nicky Milner working on the remains of the 11,000-year-old wooden platform at Star Carr back in 2010 (Image: Supplied)

The site, which is buried in mud and peat, was first  discovered in the 1940s, and excavated between 1949 and 1951 and then again in the early 2000s.

Other finds have included stone axes and arrowheads, tools for working bone and antler - and 195 barbed spear- or arrow-heads actually carved from antler.

There were also beads made of shell and amber - evidence that these Stone age people were into personal adornment. And, perhaps most extraordinary of all, archaeologists found more than 30 red deer ‘headdresses’ - red deer skulls with the antlers still attached.

The skulls had been pierced with holes at the back so the wearers could tie the headdresses to their heads – and archaeologists believe they may have been used for ritual dances.

Curator Dr Andy Woods with a Star Carr headdress at the Yorkshire Museum (Image: Anthony Chappel-Ross)

So important was the site that today it is often referred to as the ‘Stonehenge of the Mesolithic’.

Now a new exhibition opening today at the Yorkshire Museum - ‘Star Carr: Life after the Ice’ - showcases some of the artefacts, some for the first time, to explore how prehistoric communities settled, created, cooked and worshipped.

READ MORE:

- Exploring the site of the prehistoric settlement at Star Carr

- York archaeologists discover Britain’s oldest house at Star Carr

Among the objects on display, many of which are held in the Yorkshire Museum’s own collection, are some of those amazing antler headdresses, a decorated stone pendant, the world’s oldest complete hunting bow, and bits of that lakeside platform.

Curator Emily North with a section of the 11,000-year-old Star Carr lakeside platform at the Yorkshire Museum (Image: Anthony Chappel-Ross)

The artefacts are presented alongside digital recreations of what Star Carr may have looked like 11,000 years ago and – using what the museum calls ‘creative design and sensory space-making’ – an interactive mural and soundscape that immerses visitors in the Mesolithic world of Star Carr.

Children can follow the story of Star Carr through the eyes of a friendly dog who lived with the people by the lake.

Trying on replica headdresses at the Yorkshire Museum's Star Carr exhibition (Image: Anthony Chappel-Ross)

And a wider programme of family-friendly events - including weaving workshops, headdress-making and pendant-making scheduled for the Easter and summer school holidays - runs alongside the exhibition.

Adam Parker, The Yorkshire Museum’s curator of archaeology, said: “We are excited to be displaying many of the artefacts for the very first time and hope the exhibition will challenge our thinking about how the people of the Mesolithic era lived.

Curator Adam Parker with Star Carr pendants at the Yorkshire Museum (Image: ANTHONY CHAPPEL-ROSS)

"They were sophisticated with complex sets of beliefs and living in an area which was very different to North Yorkshire’s landscape of today.”

Archaeologist Prof Nicky Milner from the University of York, one of the leaders of the archaeological excavation in 2010, said: “It is very exciting to have these internationally important artefacts go on display.

"They are incredibly rare and I’m sure people will be fascinated to see such old objects which give us a glimpse into what life was like 11,000 years ago.”

'Star Carr: Life after the Ice’ opens today (Friday March 22) in the central gallery at the Yorkshire Museum. Entry is included in general admission.

To book tickets in advance visit www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/