viernes, 27 de diciembre de 2013

Neolithic houses to be built at Stonehenge Visitor Centre

ARCHAEOLOGISTS are set to build five authentic Neolithic houses at the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre to help people discover how our ancestors may have lived in the late Stone Age.

A group of archaeologists from Dorset’s Ancient Technology Centre (ATC) in Cranborne have been commissioned by English Heritage to build the houses, starting on January 27.

ATC staff designed and built three prototype houses at Old Sarum earlier this year to explore which materials and methods would work best.

The work was carried out by more than 60 English Heritage volunteers using a range of Neolithic tools, materials and construction methods to produce buildings, based on 4,600-year-old evidence from the excavated site of Durrington Walls.

They will have 12 weeks to construct the houses at the visitor centre and fit them out with furniture built from planks, including beds, doors and storage shelves.

The houses will form part of the visitor centre’s outdoor gallery, which is due to open in April.

ATC manager Luke Winter, who is leading the project, said: “It’s great to be working on this unique project and exciting to think that we’re creating these Neolithic buildings that will be seen by more than one million visitors to Stonehenge every year.

“Each house will be different and will bring history to life, helping visitors understand how Neolithic farmers lived 4,600 years ago while they built a landscape and monuments dedicated to their dead.” salisburyjournal.co.uk/


Related post (06-07-13): Archaeologists demolish Neolithic houses built at Old Sarum


Three Neolithic houses built at Old Sarum to test out prehistoric building techniques have been demolished.

The prototype huts, made of chalk and straw daub and wheat-thatched roofing, were based on a settlement found at Durrington Walls near Stonehenge.

Project leader Luke Winter said: "It took nine weeks to put them up and about three days to take them down - so it's been quite quick."

The huts are due to be re-built at Stonehenge visitor centre next January.

The temporary Neolithic huts were completed and open to the public during the two May bank holidays.
But last week the volunteers who built them began to dismantle the reconstructed buildings.

Despite the dwellings being "experimental and temporary", Mr Winter said he had not expected the demolition to be emotional. [...] bbc.co.uk/

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