Cambridgeshire is noted as the site of
Flag Fen in
Fengate, one of the earliest-known
Neolithic permanent settlements in the
United Kingdom, compared in importance to
Balbridie in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Must Farm quarry, at
Whittlesey, has been described as "Britain's
Pompeii due to its relatively good condition, including the 'best-preserved
Bronze Age dwellings ever found in the UK'". A great quantity of
archaeological finds from the
Stone Age, the
Bronze Age, and the
Iron Age were made in
East Cambridgeshire. Most items were found in
Isleham. The area was settled by the
Anglo-Saxons starting in the fifth century.
Genetic testing on seven skeletons found in Anglo-Saxon era graves in
Hinxton and
Oakington found that five were either migrants or descended from migrants from the continent, one was a native Briton, and one had both continental and native ancestry, suggesting intermarriage. Cambridgeshire was recorded in the
Domesday Book as "Grantbridgeshire" (or rather ) (related to the
river Granta). Covering a large part of
East Anglia, Cambridgeshire today is the result of several local government unifications. In 1888 when
county councils were introduced, separate councils were set up, following the traditional division of Cambridgeshire, for • the area in the south around Cambridge, and • the liberty of the
Isle of Ely. In 1965, these two administrative counties were merged to form
Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely. Under the
Local Government Act 1972 this merged with the county to the west,
Huntingdon and Peterborough, which had been formed in 1965, by the merger of Huntingdonshire with the Soke of Peterborough (the latter previously a part of
Northamptonshire with its own county council). The resulting county was called simply Cambridgeshire. Since 1998, the
City of Peterborough has been separately administered as a
unitary authority area. It is associated with Cambridgeshire for ceremonial purposes such as
Lieutenancy and joint functions such as policing and the fire service. In 2002, the conservation charity
Plantlife unofficially designated Cambridgeshire's
county flower as the
Pasqueflower. The
Cambridgeshire Regiment (nicknamed the Fen Tigers), the county-based army unit, fought in the
Boer War in South Africa, the First World War and Second World War. Due to the county's flat terrain and proximity to the continent, during the Second World War the military built many airfields here for
RAF Bomber Command,
RAF Fighter Command, and the
USAAF. In recognition of this collaboration, the
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial is located in
Madingley. Most English counties have nicknames for their people, such as a "
Tyke" from
Yorkshire and a "
Yellowbelly" from
Lincolnshire. The historical
nicknames for people from Cambridgeshire are "Cambridgeshire Camel" or "Cambridgeshire Crane", the latter referring to the wildfowl that were once abundant in the Fens. The term "Fen Tigers" is sometimes used to describe the people who live and work in the Fens. ==Flag==