Archaeologists discover ‘first beer ever brewed in the UK’

She said: “I knew when I looked at these tiny fragments under the microscope that I had something special.”The microstructure of these remains had clearly changed through the fermentation process and air bubbles typical of those formed in the boiling and mashing process of brewing.

“It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack but, as an archaeobotanist, it’s incredibly exciting to identify remains of this significance and to play a part in uncovering the fascinating history of the Cambridgeshire landscape.”

She said the porous structures of the fragments were similar to bread but said evidence seen under the microscope of fermentation and larger pieces of cracked grains and bran and no fine flour meant the residue was from the beer-making process.

The former editor of the Campaign for Real Ale’s Good Beer Guide, Roger Protz, said East Anglia had always been of great importance to brewing because of the barley grown in the region.

“It’s known as maritime barley and is prized throughout the world,” the beer expert said. “When the Romans invaded Britain they found the local tribes brewing a type of beer called curmi.”

He said the beverage was probably made from grain, adding that hops were not used in the UK until the 15th century.

The archaeologists have already discovered that locals liked to eat porridge and bread while working on the road upgrade project.

They have also discovered a woolly mammoth tusk, several prehistoric burial grounds and an abandoned medieval village.