Refuting Creationism - How Bronze Age Brittons Refute the Bible Flood Tale

East Chisenbury midden under excavation.

Credit: Cardiff University

Landscape location of All Cannings Cross midden.

Credit: Cardiff University.

The Age of Feasting: Late Bronze Age networks developed through massive food festivals, with animals brought from far and wide | EurekAlert!

Archaeologists from Cardiff University have published the largest study of its kind into animal remains from Late Bronze Age Britain, and their findings reveal a surprisingly complex picture of feasting, farming, and far-reaching social networks. The research, published in iScience, reports on multi-isotope analysis of more than 3,500 bones from six prehistoric middens in Wiltshire and the Thames Valley. These vast heaps of discarded remains are the archaeological traces of large communal feasts held some 3,000 years ago.

The team found that the animals consumed—cattle, pigs, and sheep—were not all raised locally. Some were brought from considerable distances, suggesting both a sophisticated agricultural economy and a culture in which travel and exchange linked communities across southern Britain. Such large-scale gatherings, the researchers conclude, were central to forging alliances, maintaining social bonds, and reinforcing ritual practices in the closing centuries of the Bronze Age.

In other words, these middens are the material testimony of thriving societies in Britain whose development ran seamlessly from the Neolithic into the Bronze Age, without any trace of a catastrophic global flood. If Genesis were literal history, such sites could not exist. But they do. The Cardiff findings are therefore another piece of hard archaeological evidence that exposes the biblical flood as a myth, not a record of real events.

Far from being isolated farming villages, Late Bronze Age communities in Britain were enmeshed in a dynamic cultural landscape with trade and ritual at its heart. I have previously written about the political control and economic development in Britain being sufficient to command and supply the manpower needed to undertake massive civil engineering projects such as building Stonehenge and Silbury Hill. Silbury Hill alone took an estimates 18 million man-hours to build (i.e. 500 men working for 15 years) - a level of political and economic development which would have been impossible within the Bible's framework.

And here lies the striking problem for biblical literalism. If we take the chronology given in Genesis at face value, Noah’s Flood is supposed to have occurred around 2348 BCE. By that reckoning, all humans and animals on earth, save those aboard the Ark, were annihilated. The Late Bronze Age middens, however, date to between 1200 and 800 BCE—well after the supposed global deluge. The isotope evidence shows continuity of local herds, supplemented by long-distance transport of animals, not a sudden repopulation from a single Middle Eastern source.

Timeline: Bible vs Archaeology. Biblical Chronology (Ussher)

• 4004 BCE — Creation of the world
• 2348 BCE — Global Flood (Noah)

Archaeological Chronology (Britain)

• c. 4000 BCE — Farming established (Neolithic)
• c. 2500 BCE — Bronze Age begins
• c. 1200–800 BCE — Late Bronze Age feasting middens
  

The Clash

• By biblical dating, a global Flood precedes these middens by ~1,000 years.
• Archaeology shows uninterrupted settlement and no flood horizon in Britain.

Cardiff University’s press release, The Age of Feasting: Late Bronze Age networks developed through massive food festivals, with animals brought from far and wide (EurekAlert!, 9 September 2025), highlights how these middens demonstrate the pivotal role of shared feasts in sustaining social cohesion.

The Age of Feasting: Late Bronze Age networks developed through massive food festivals, with animals brought from far and wide

---

Cutting-edge analysis of animal bones found in ancient rubbish heaps shows the distances people travelled with their animals

---

Middens, massive prehistoric rubbish heaps which became part of the British landscape, are revealing the distances people travelled to feast together at the end of the Bronze Age.

How Multi-Isotope Analysis Works.

Figure 4 Random forest ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isoscape and spatial uncertainty maps based on FEASTNET plant data and BGS bioavailable data
Maps were produced following the protocol of Bataille et al.⁵⁹ (see STAR Methods) and data from.⁴⁸ Contains OS data © Crown Copyright and database right 2020 © and British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2023.

Archaeologists can trace the life history of ancient animals by analysing different isotopes preserved in their bones and teeth. In this study, the Cardiff team used several isotope systems together to build a detailed picture:

• Strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)
  • Reflects the underlying geology of where an animal grazed.
  • Different rock types leave distinct signatures in plants and, in turn, in the animals that eat them.
• Oxygen (δ¹⁸O)
  • Reflects local water sources and climate.
  • Seasonal and regional differences help narrow down an animal’s origin.
• Carbon (δ¹³C)
  • Records diet type (e.g., plants using C₃ vs. C₄ photosynthesis).
  • Shows whether animals ate local pasture, woodland plants, or imported fodder.
• Nitrogen (δ¹⁵N)
  • Indicates trophic level and manuring practices.
  • Can reveal whether animals were raised in intensively farmed or more natural conditions.

By combining these isotopes, researchers could determine not only whether animals were local or imported, but also aspects of how they were raised. The results revealed a mix of local and long-distance origins, proving that Late Bronze Age communities were connected by extensive networks of trade and feasting.

In the largest study of its kind, archaeologists from Cardiff University used cutting-edge isotope analysis on material found within six middens in Wiltshire and the Thames Valley.

The results, which reveal where the animals that were feasted on were raised, shed light on the catchment of these vast feasts, arguably the largest to take place in Britain until the medieval period.

Middens are enormous mounds of debris left from these gatherings, some of which became hillocks in the landscape over time. The largest, Potterne in Wiltshire, covers an area of approximately five football pitches and is packed with feasting remains, including as many as 15 million bone fragments.

At Potterne, pork was the meat of choice, with pigs coming from a wide catchment, even as far as northern England. The breadth of results from this location indicates animals came from multiple regions – suggesting it was a meeting place for producers from locally and beyond. Similarly, Runnymede in Surrey was a major regional hub, but here it was cattle that were drawn from a distance.

In contrast, East Chisenbury, a monumental mound 10 miles from Stonehenge, estimated to contain the remains of hundreds of thousands of animals, was overwhelmingly dominated by sheep. Unlike the other middens studied, the new research shows that the majority of these animals came from the surrounding landscape.

Lead author Dr Carmen Esposito, who was based at Cardiff University’s School of History, Archaeology and Religion when the research was carried out and is now at the University of Bologna, said:

Our findings show each midden had a distinct make up of animal remains, with some full of locally raised sheep and others with pigs or cattle from far and wide. We believe this demonstrates that each midden was a lynchpin in the landscape, key to sustaining specific regional economies, expressing identities and sustaining relations between communities during this turbulent period, when the value of bronze dropped and people turned to farming instead.

Dr Carmen Espisito, first author.
Then: School of History, Archaeology and Religion
Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.

Now: Department of Cultural Heritage,
University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.

Multi-isotope analysis is a rapidly developing scientific method in archaeology. Each geographical area has a different chemical make-up, distinct to its environment and this permeates into the water and food grown there. As animals eat and drink, these regional markers remain locked in their bones, allowing researchers to trace where they were reared centuries later.

Co-author of the study, Professor Richard Madgwick, also based at the University’s School of History, Archaeology and Religion, said:

At a time of climatic and economic instability, people in southern Britain turned to feasting – there was perhaps a feasting age between the Bronze and Iron Age. These events are powerful for building and consolidating relationships both within and between communities, today and in the past. The scale of these accumulations of debris and their wide catchment is astonishing and points to communal consumption and social mobilisation on a scale that is arguably unparalleled in British prehistory. Overall, the research points to the dynamic networks that were anchored on feasting events during this period and the different, perhaps complementary, roles that each midden had at the Bronze Age-Iron Age transition.

Professor Richard Madgwick, senior author
School of History, Archaeology and Religion
Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.

Publication:

Esposito, Carmen; Lamb, Angela L.; Andersen, Morten B.; Millet, Marc-Alban; Inglis, Edward; Lugli, Federico; Nederbragt, Alexandra J.; Madgwick, Richard
Diverse feasting networks at the end of the Bronze Age in Britain (c. 900-500 BCE) evidenced by multi-isotope analysis
iScience (2025) DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113271.

Highlights

• Multi-isotope analysis of fauna from middens reveals varied catchments for feasts
• Sites had diverse roles, some as regional hubs, others as specialist producer sites
• Species-specific networks: pigs and cattle having wide catchments at different sites
• New random forest ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isoscape of Britain used for exploring animal origins
  

Summary
During the Bronze Age-Iron Age transition, climatic change and economic upheaval signaled societal shifts across Europe. Longstanding trade networks broke down and in southern Britain new sites, termed middens, emerged. These vast mounds of cultural debris represent the coming together of vast numbers of people and animals for feasts on a scale unparalleled in British prehistory. Faunal remains are key for assessing the catchments of these feasting events and the scale and nature of community connectivity. This study examines networks and scales of mobility that centered on these enigmatic sites through analysis of the largest multi-isotope dataset on faunal remains (n = 254) yet generated in archaeology, aided by a random forest ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isoscape of Britain. The data evidence diverse site roles, with some middens anchoring wide-ranging networks and others being local centers for specialist economies, providing nuanced resolution into the social and economic dynamics of this transitional phase.

Graphical abstract

Introduction
Understanding the dynamics of the Bronze Age-Iron Age transition has been a longstanding challenge in European archaeology.¹ The archaeological record shows striking changes in settlement patterns, territorial occupation, and marked regional variation in the character of change.1 These shifts are accompanied by rapid climate change,^2,3,4 identifiable around 1550–550 BCE, with 1250–1150 BCE, being a critical transition.^5,6 In Britain, multiple datasets show, as a general pattern, a wet period (1500–1200 BCE) followed by a drier one (1200–800 BCE).⁵ In the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age transition (LBA-EIA; 900–500 BCE), a significant rapid climate deterioration is evidenced, characterized by a shift to wetter conditions,^4,7,8 which would have had implications for agricultural practices and productivity.⁹ During this period, the Bronze Age regional, island-wide, and continental networks¹⁰ focused on metalwork decreased, changing in character, while a new site type appeared in southern Britain commonly known as a midden. Middens are vast mounds of structurally deposited material^11,12,13,14 dominated by significant quantities of animal bone and large quantities of bronze artifacts and ceramics,¹⁵ hinting at the increasing importance of settlements’ monumentality.⁹ These accumulations of debris point to communal consumption and social mobilization on a very large scale that is arguably unparalleled in British prehistory. Numerous middens have been found in the Vale of Pewsey, in Wiltshire near the landscapes of Stonehenge and Avebury that were the site of vast ritual feasting some 2000 years earlier. The Thames Valley is recognized as another major center of activity (Figure 1). Excavations in these areas have unearthed a great corpus of artifacts and animal bones with several sites producing hundreds of thousands of finds (see¹⁶ and related bibliography). All these sites represent a comparable phenomenon that highlights the social arena of feasting and symbolic conspicuous consumption,¹⁷ though there is certainly variation in their character and depositional histories.^12,16

Figure 1 Geological map with analysed midden sites
In Wiltshire: All Cannings Cross, East Chisenbury, Potterne, and Stanton St Bernard. In the Thames Valley: Runnymede and Whitecross Farm, Wallingford (British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2023, inset map contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right [2009], produced by Kirsty Harding).

Midden sites are representative of a societal shift toward agricultural production, pointing to intensification and a desire to maximize productivity to support ostentatious feasts.¹⁷ Middens represent the social arena of feasting through significant deposition of animal bones, objects, and artifacts representative of conspicuous consumption.¹⁷ Zooarchaeological research has provided some information on husbandry regimes (e.g.,^18,19,20,21), and taphonomic work on faunal remains has helped elucidate the scale, rhythm, and frequency of feasting events.^12,14,22 The continuity of practices and the presence of dark anthropogenic soils are typical traits of middens, as is the close association to rivers; however, the makeup, characteristics, and methods of deposition vary widely both across and within different regions. These sites are often dominated by dark earth and frequently lack clear stratigraphy. Much of the faunal remains derive from relatively homogenous deposits. Taphonomic research suggests large deposits punctuated by hiatuses are characteristic of middens.^12,14 This is very much consistent with feasting being the main reason for the accumulations, though it is not possible to confidently assign all faunal remains as feasting debris.

In Wiltshire, East Chisenbury^11,23,24 and Potterne²⁵ are two of the largest and most artefact-rich middens in England, whereas All Cannings Cross^26,27 and Stanton St Bernard^27,28 have more modest assemblages. East Chisenbury is a monumental mound with a diameter of >150 m11 and a depth up to 3 m.24 Caprines represent the most prevalent taxon, with an unusually large proportion of fetal/neonatal specimens,^11,23 suggesting an important sheep dairying element in the economy.^18,19 Potterne, located approximately 15 km from East Chisenbury, is another mound of monumental proportions. Numerous animal bones were recovered at the site (c.134,000) dominated by caprines, pigs and cattle.²⁰ Pigs are better represented than at most later prehistoric sites in Britain and some were not locally raised.^29,30 Unlike East Chisenbury, older sheep/goat, and pigs are common,²⁰ suggesting the importance of wool in the economy.²⁸ Stanton St. Bernard shows a more substantial ceramic assemblage than the neighboring site of All Cannings Cross. Both ceramics and bones were less abraded than at All Cannings Cross, suggesting a more rapid burial.³¹ The faunal assemblage is dominated by caprines (many of which were juvenile), cattle, and pig.

In the Thames Valley, Runnymede15 in the county of Surrey has a wealth of artifacts, while Wallingford³² in Oxfordshire is more modest (see16 for more detailed information). The site of Runnymede is characterized by a dark earth deposit containing a substantial number of artifacts and animal bones, indicating episodic deposition, as well as structural evidence.^15,33,34 Pigs are found in a higher proportion compared to other late prehistoric Britain sites, but still in smaller numbers compared to caprines and similar numbers to cattle.³⁵ Whitecross Farm, Wallingford, is an island settlement with rich ceramic and bone deposits and some metalwork. The LBA faunal assemblage is dominated by caprines and cattle with a notably high proportion of pig remains.³⁶ Caprines and pigs younger than two years of age are particularly common.^35,36

Scholars have interpreted middens as representing a change in economic focus from previous Bronze Age networks,^7,37,38 pointing to a shift toward agricultural intensification and communal feasting. The nature of midden deposits signals the coming together of vast numbers of people and animals for feasts on a scale unparalleled in British prehistory, arguably even larger than those evidenced in Late Neolithic Britain.³⁹ Middens are regarded as focal meeting places to forge relationships and alliances, share and perpetuate knowledge, make artifacts and feast.⁹ An important sense of place was created by seasonal occupation and a long history of accumulation. Middens became landmarks where people met and engaged in acts of conspicuous consumption and display.⁹ Nonetheless, the catchments of these events and the nature of networks underpinning feasting remain poorly understood, since only limited isotope studies have been undertaken and the vast majority of studies focus on carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotopes to explore animal husbandry. As part of the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-funded FEASTNET (Feasting Networks and Resilience at the end of the British Bronze Age) project, this paper explores animal mobility (n = 254) at six midden sites from Wiltshire and the Thames Valley regions through radiogenic strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) isotope analyses, integrated with sulfur (δ³⁴S), carbon and nitrogen (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) isotope analyses of the same animals.16 The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and δ¹⁸O analyses provide geological and climatic signals for origins,^40,41,42 while δ³⁴S shows whether individuals were raised in coastal, wetland or inland areas.^43,44 The δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N also reconstruct the husbandry and foddering regimes for animals at middens and provide an important baseline from which to interpret ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and δ¹⁸O data.^16,45

This research examines the new networks, anchored on these feasting sites that emerged during the LBA-EIA transition in response to climatic and economic change and the catchments from which animals were drawn to be feasted on. The study presents the largest faunal multi-isotope dataset yet generated in archaeology to explore the nature of connectivity at both an intra- and inter-site scale. Species-specific practices of supply are also investigated, as are structured practices relating to management consumption, processing, and deposition of certain taxa that have been established at some middens.^13,16,46 The combination of various proxies, each providing a distinct source of evidence, gives a more nuanced resolution to explore the volume and scale of movement and the type of networks that are anchored on feasting events.^39,47 The principal aim of the study is to reconstruct patterns of animal mobility and management across middens during the LBA-EIA transition. This will, in turn, be used to examine the complementary role of different sites, the degree of inter-regional connectivity and what this means for society and economy at this transitional phase. From a methodological perspective, the objective of the study is to assess the potential of a multi-isotope approach combined with biosphere sampling to provide greater resolution on patterns of mobility and move beyond the dichotomy of local versus non-local.

Esposito, Carmen; Lamb, Angela L.; Andersen, Morten B.; Millet, Marc-Alban; Inglis, Edward; Lugli, Federico; Nederbragt, Alexandra J.; Madgwick, Richard
Diverse feasting networks at the end of the Bronze Age in Britain (c. 900-500 BCE) evidenced by multi-isotope analysis
iScience (2025) DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113271.

Copyright: © 2025The authors.
Published by Elsevier. Open access.
Reprinted under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0)

The Late Bronze Age middens studied by the Cardiff team offer another clear example of how archaeology contradicts the biblical narrative. According to Genesis, a global flood wiped out all but a single family and their livestock just a few centuries before these feasts took place. Yet the isotope data tell a completely different story: animals were raised both locally and at a distance, exchanged through complex networks, and consumed at vast communal gatherings. Far from a sudden repopulation after catastrophe, the evidence shows deep continuity in farming and social practice.

This fits seamlessly with what we know of human history in Britain. Modern humans first arrived here tens of thousands of years ago, with farming introduced during the Neolithic around 4000 BCE. From then on, there is an unbroken record of settlement, innovation, and cultural change leading into the Bronze Age. By the time the Cardiff study’s feasts were held, communities in Britain had been raising livestock, cultivating crops, and developing intricate social ties for millennia.

The Bible’s creation and flood stories belong to a mythological tradition from the ancient Near East. Archaeology in Britain, by contrast, provides a material record that can be tested and dated. Where Genesis imagines sudden divine interventions, the evidence reveals gradual change, adaptation, and continuity. The Bronze Age middens are consistent with the long, well-documented history of modern humans in Europe—but wholly inconsistent with the notion that the world and its peoples began only a few thousand years ago.

These Bronze Age feasts remind us that history is written in bones and soil, not in myths—and the evidence shows an unbroken human story that the Bible’s tale of creation and flood simply cannot explain.

---

Advertisement

What Makes You So Special? From The Big Bang To You

How did you come to be here, now? This books takes you from the Big Bang to the evolution of modern humans and the history of human cultures, showing that science is an adventure of discovery and a source of limitless wonder, giving us richer and more rewarding appreciation of the phenomenal privilege of merely being alive and able to begin to understand it all.

---

Ten Reasons To Lose Faith: And Why You Are Better Off Without It

This book explains why faith is a fallacy and serves no useful purpose other than providing an excuse for pretending to know things that are unknown. It also explains how losing faith liberates former sufferers from fear, delusion and the control of others, freeing them to see the world in a different light, to recognise the injustices that religions cause and to accept people for who they are, not which group they happened to be born in. A society based on atheist, Humanist principles would be a less divided, more inclusive, more peaceful society and one more appreciative of the one opportunity that life gives us to enjoy and wonder at the world we live in.

---

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

Amazon

All titles available in paperback, hardcover, ebook for Kindle and audio format.

Prices correct at time of publication. for current prices.

Advertisement

Thank you for sharing!

Tweet Link