Education Pack Drawing a Bronze Age House The

Education Pack Drawing a Bronze Age House The Outside

What is a reconstruction drawing? Imagination Blue sky Roundhouse made of wood Straight smoke Turf roof Evidence Fence (Palisade) Built over water

Evidence Houses in the Bronze Age were round

Evidence The walls were made from willow woven around ash Bendy willow sticks Long, straight ash rods

Evidence The houses were held up by rings of big posts like the one in the middle Posts

Evidence The roof was held up by rafters. Can you see where they fell down in this picture? Rafters in yellow

Evidence The parts of the house ‘colour-coded’ Fence (palisade) Inner post ring Outer post ring Roof rafters Wall panels

Evidence Grass and clay were found where the roof fell in turf Burnt clump of turf-like material on top of clay

Evidence Sheep poo was found inside the houses

Evidence Some of the animal bones had been gnawed by dogs

Evidence What were the surroundings like? Archaeologists take samples of the soil that they dig up. They examine the soil using microscopes. By looking at the tiny remains of plants and animals they can tell what the landscape would have looked like.

• We know that the village was built over water. Archaeologists discovered lots of snails and insects that would have lived in or near water and plants that would have grown in very slow moving water. So it seems that the water would have been more like lake than a fast moving river. • We know that there would have been trees growing not far away. Archaeologists discovered pollen from trees and plants growing nearby. There was pollen from hazel, oak, lime, and elm trees.

Have a go at drawing the outside of a Bronze Age house. Remember: • That the houses were round. • The walls were made of woven wood and were held up by big posts. • The roofs had grass on them. • There might have been sheep eating the grass on the roof! • There were dogs living in the village.