Post Track

{{Distinguish|PostTrak}}

{{Short description|Ancient causeway in Somerset, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}

{{Use British English|date=November 2017}}

The Post Track is an ancient causeway in the valley of the River Brue on the Somerset Levels, England. It dates from around 3838 BCE,{{cite web|title=Sweet Track|url=http://www.selrc.org.uk/maplocation.php?location_id=47|publisher=Severn Estuary Levels Research Committee|access-date=30 September 2016}} making it some 30 years older than the Sweet Track in the same area.{{cite book |last1=Brunning |first1=Richard |editor1-first=Pat |editor1-last=Hill-Cottingham |editor2-first=Derek|editor2-last=Briggs|editor3-first=Richard|editor3-last=Brunning|editor4-first=Andy|editor4-last=King|editor5-first=Graham|editor5-last=Rix|title=The Somerset Wetlands: An ever changing environment |year=2006 |publisher=Somerset Books |location=Wellington, Somerset |isbn= 978-0-86183-432-7 |pages=40–41 |chapter=A window on the past – The prehistoric archaeology of the Somerset Moors }} Various sections have been scheduled as ancient monuments.{{NHLE|desc=Sections of the Sweet Track, the Post Track and associated remains 500m north east of Moorgate Farm|num=1014438|accessdate=30 September 2016}}{{NHLE|desc=Sections of the Sweet Track and Post Track, 240m south west of Sunnyside Farm|num=1014440|accessdate=30 September 2016}}{{NHLE|desc=Sections of the Sweet Track and Post Track, 250m ESE of Station House|num=1014831|accessdate=30 September 2016}}{{NHLE|desc=Sections of the Sweet Track and Post Track, 650m east of Canada Farm |num=1014439|accessdate=30 September 2016}}

The timber trackway was constructed of long ash planks, with lime and hazel posts spaced along three-metre intervals. According to Coles, the heavy planks of the Post Track were rarely pegged.{{cite book |last1=Coles |first1=Bryony and John |title=Sweet Track to Glastonbury: The Somerset Levels in Prehistory |date=1986 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |location=New York |lccn=85-51949 |pages=46–47}}Novel Guide – [http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/aneu_01/aneu_01_00093.html Trackways and Boats] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422215929/http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/aneu_01/aneu_01_00093.html |date=22 April 2009 }} The track follows closely in line with the Sweet Track and, before the planks were dated, it was posited that it served as a construction platform for the Sweet Track.Brunning, Richard – [http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/HES_150_Years_Chapter_11.pdf Neolithic and bronze-age Somerset: a wetland perspective] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324051317/http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/HES_150_Years_Chapter_11.pdf |date=24 March 2012 }}{{cite web|title=10740: Post Track, Shapwick Heath|url=http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/10740|publisher=South West Heritage Trust|access-date=30 September 2016}} It is speculated that it led to places of spiritual significance. It is likely that the route was intended to be a permanent fixture, with the track being updated, maintained, and eventually replaced as it succumbed to the elements.A. W. R. Whittle Europe in the Neolithic: the creation of new worlds; [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ythgf4cycZQC&pg=PA236 pg. 236] Some of the wood planks were also reused in the Sweet Track when it was built, making the specific dating more complex.{{cite journal |last1=Coles |first1=J.M. |last2=Coles |first2=B.J. |date=1990 |title=Dendrochronology of the English Neolithic : Part 11: the Sweet Track date |url=http://bosci.net/papers/sweettrackdate.pdf |journal=Antiquity |volume=64 |issue=243 |pages=216– |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308034055/http://bosci.net/papers/sweettrackdate.pdf |archive-date=8 March 2023}}