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341:. As this building showed minimal evidence for internal posts it has been constructed so that the roof rafters are ground fast, in order to provide additional strength to the large structure. Scots Pine, widely available in the Neolithic landscape, has been utilized in the main framework. Ash and Hazel make up the mainstay of the roof timbers over which reed thatch has been laid. Noticeable features of the building are the gable ends, with one representing a typical wattle and daub feature, and the other being made with split oak planks.
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353:, an initiative to assist the recovery of wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans by getting them involved in archaeological investigations. The Operation Nightingale team excavated the structure in 2020 and were then involved in its experimental reconstruction at Butser. The house was completed in October 2021.
500:
While the first buildings to be experimentally constructed at the farm were based on evidence from the Late Iron Age, the research remit of the farm has expanded to include structures from the
Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age (currently under construction), the Iron Age, the Roman and early medieval
456:
Saxon
Village. Chalton A2 was constructed in 2017 and the house is primarily made of English oak, sweet chestnut and hazel, all sourced from local coppiced woodlands. The roof is panelled wattle hurdles into which the wheat straw thatch was laid using hazel spars to hold it in place. The timber beams
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The largest of these is the Little
Woodbury roundhouse with a diameter of 14.5 m (48 ft) and a 2 ring posthole construction. Estimated material quantities to build this house include 12 t (12 long tons; 13 short tons) of oak for the frame and posts, 4 t (3.9 long tons; 4.4 short
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on the southern slopes of Butser Hill, about a kilometre away from the main Farm. This was primarily designed to be a public site which could act as an educational resource for schoolchildren, and it was intended that this would take away the visitor pressure from the original site, where the large
280:
After Peter's death in 2001, the site was run by his partner, Christine Shaw, for a number of years. Under her guidance, one of Peter's projects, a Roman building, was completed, resulting in the first full scale construction simulation of the wing of a Romano-British villa from
Sparsholt, near
380:
near
Andover. These include CS14, a stake built construction with willow woven between the hazel wall stakes. The second Danebury house is CS1, constructed with oak plank walls in line with the evidence of a slot trench discovered in the excavations. This house is furnished with Iron Age style
396:
The Moel Y Gerddi
Roundhouse is based on excavations from Harlech in North Wales and is constructed in a two ring style similar to the Little Woodbury Roundhouse. Unusually this house also features a back door. In 2009 the internal posts were shown to be rotten and a successful experiment was
435:
In 2017-18 the Villa was renovated including re-painting the walls based on excavated plaster remains showing original colours and patterns, and installing a replica mosaic floor in the central room. This took over 120,000 tesserae and 1000 hours. The villa has also been furnished with items
292:
It was also in 2006 that the 'Longbridge
Deverell House' started to collapse, and prompted a programme of redevelopment of the constructions across the farm. A major re-assessment of the techniques of building was undertaken. It was decided to use the opportunity to examine the accumulated
492:
In more recent years, the study of buildings has become a key component of the farm’s research. Each building on display to the public today represents the conclusion of an experiment, conducted in response to theoretical hypotheses about archaeological features found in excavation, about
322:; Durrington 851 and its ancillary building. These are both wattle and daub constructions thatched with wheat straw. Durrington 851 features simple Neolithic furnishings matching the impressions of furniture found during the archaeological excavations at Durrington.
464:
Chalton A1 is being constructed with alternate walls featuring hit-and-miss boarding and a gable end roof. There is also a small Saxon tree-wrights’ workshop built using Saxon timber jointing techniques which demonstrates a shingle roofing technique.
404:
and constructed to be as lightweight as possible reflecting the building constraints imposed by the marshy ground conditions of the landscape around
Glastonbury. House M59 and M74 both feature very thin willow woven walls and reed thatch roofs.
496:
Other considerations in experimental work on buildings can include variables such as the shape and pitch of roofing, thatching materials and techniques and the use of construction materials including wattle and daub, planking, turf and clunch.
288:
In 2006/7, a management team was assembled, and with
Christine's guidance, took over the running of the Butser Project. The management team consists of Simon Jay and Maureen Page, running the farm under the business "Butser Education CIC".
488:
as a discipline, and experimental work has been carried out at Butser
Ancient Farm since the site’s inception in 1972. Until his death in 2001, the research work of the farm focused specifically on agriculture, domestic and agrarian life.
218:
commented that "Virtually all the reconstruction drawings of Iron Age settlements now to be seen in books are based" on the work at Butser Farm, and that it "revolutionised the way in which the pre-Roman Iron Age economy was perceived".
373:
tons) of Ash and Elder for the rafters, 7 t (6.9 long tons; 7.7 short tons) of thatch, 1.5 t (1.5 long tons; 1.7 short tons) of hazel for the wattle walls and 20 t (20 long tons; 22 short tons) of daub.
251:
numbers of visitors (at times over a thousand people turned up to open days) were getting in the way of the experimental archaeology. The first Butser Farm site at Little Butser was subsequently closed down in 1989.
300:
in Wiltshire. Under the leadership of David Freeman, construction started in February 2007 and finished in December, having gone through one of the wettest summers on record. A visitor centre was added in 2013.
545:
Butser has also been featured in many other archaeological and historical documentaries including Mystic Britain, Digging for Britain and Britain’s Pompeii - A Village Lost in Time with Alice Roberts.
350:
180:. In this latter capacity, it was designed so that archaeologists could learn more about the agricultural and domestic economy in Britain during the millennium that lasted from circa 400
457:
were hand hewn and the posts earth fastened into the ground. No nails or screws were used apart from in the Har-hung doors, and the beams are fixed using dovetail joints secured with
349:
In 2021 the construction of Butser Ancient Farm's first Bronze Age house began, based on excavations from Dunch Hill on Salisbury Plain. This project is working in collaboration with
235:. In 1972, they recruited experimental archaeologist Peter J. Reynolds (1939–2001) as director. The farm was named after its original site at Little Butser, a northerly spur of
333:
In 2019 the construction of the early Neolithic Horton House began, as a replacement to the previous Llandygai house. This house is based on excavations from Kingsmead Quarry,
228:
1099:
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in Hampshire. In the original Bronze and Iron Ages, a farmstead had been found on Little Butser, whose occupants had farmed the valley to the north and east.
549:
277:. The 'Longbridge Deverell House' was the first full-sized roundhouse to be built at the latest site, and at the time one of the largest in Europe.
247:
176:, a Romano-British villa and an early Saxon house are on display. The site is used as both a tourist attraction and a site for the undertaking of
408:
The Iron Age enclosure also features grain pits dug into the chalk earth, an Iron Age toilet construction, a 9 post structure and bread ovens.
93:
169:. Butser features experimental reconstructions of prehistoric, Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon buildings. Examples of Neolithic dwellings,
361:
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In 2021 Butser Ancient Farm launched a platform of documentaries about their experimental archaeology projects called Butser Plus.
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Butser Ancient Farm was founded in 1970 by the Council for British Archaeology: the driving force behind its foundation was the
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Following the dismantling of the 'Longbridge Deverell House', the replacement is based on the excavations of the roundhouse at
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The Constructed Past: Experimental Archaeology, Education and the Public (Eds: Peter J. Stone and Phillipe G. Platel)
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to run the site as project director. It was initially located on the site of a Bronze and Iron Age farmstead on
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There is also a reconstructed Roman villa at the site. The construction is based on the western wing of
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The Farm has also been used as a location in several feature films and television series including
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207:, but in 1989 relocated to Hillscombe Down, and in 1991 to Bascombe Copse on the slopes of
1035:"Peter Reynolds: Archaeologist who showed us what the Iron Age was really like (obituary)"
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In 1976 a second site, known as the Ancient Farm Demonstration Area (AFDA), was opened at
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The farm is open to the public and runs various events throughout the year. Archaeologist
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A site showing period food preparation, with several examples from Butser Ancient Farm
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Situated within the Iron Age enclosure are six Iron Age roundhouse constructions.
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768:"The Butser Project: Building a Neolithic House | Our Work | Wessex Archaeology"
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A re-enactor stands at the entrance to the Chalton A2 Saxon House reconstruction
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which was excavated between 1965 and 1972. The building includes a functioning
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O’Brien, Charles; Bailey, Bruce; Pevsner, Nikolaus; Lloyd, David W. (2018).
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of Butser Ancient Farm was instrumental in the creation and development of
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The Stone Age area features two structures based on excavations from
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818:"Butser Ancient Farm Bronze Age house built by military veterans"
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construction methods and techniques, or a combination of these.
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In 1991 the project moved to Bascomb Copse on the slopes of
968:. Petersfield, Hampshire, England: Archaeological Research.
293:
information of a further 20 years of excavation evidence.
18:
Archaeological open-air museum in Windmill Hill, Hampshire
705:
181:
1003:(1999). "Butser Ancient Farm: History and Development".
946:. British Museum Publications Limited. pp. 19–20.
285:, and was filmed for a ten-part series for television.
452:
There are two houses based on excavations from nearby
33:
Butser Ancient Farm's reconstructed Iron Age village.
647:. Society of Antiquaries of London. 14 February 2020
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Winchester. It was financed with the support of the
199:, in 1972 they recruited experimental archaeologist
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269:Buildings at the farm include simulated pre-Roman
743:"Ancient Buildings and Archeological Experiments"
397:conducted in order to replace the posts in situ.
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793:"The Bronze Age begins at Butser Ancient Farm"
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662:
607:
605:
603:
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1100:Museums of ancient Rome in the United Kingdom
550:Horrible Histories: The Movie - Rotten Romans
477:A statue based upon British Iron Age examples
522:" was filmed at the farm. An episode of the
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659:
598:
468:
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538:examining the ideas and inventions of the
266:, about 5 km from the original site.
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708:The Buildings of England Hampshire: South
400:Two houses are based on excavations from
376:Two houses are based on excavations from
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856:"BUTSER ANCIENT FARM ARCHIVE 1973-2007"
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710:. Yale University Press. p. 200.
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944:Iron-Age Farm: The Butser Experiment
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977:. West Sussex: Butser Ancient Farm.
436:representative of Roman furniture.
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1085:Tourist attractions in Hampshire
966:Butser Ancient Farm: Impressions
637:"Lives Remembered: Collin Bowen"
577:Weald and Downland Living Museum
184:to 400 CE, in what was the Late
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1095:Agricultural museums in England
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197:Council for British Archaeology
975:Butser Ancient Farm Guide Book
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365:The Little Woodbury roundhouse
151:archaeological open-air museum
129:Archaeological open-air museum
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881:"Butser Ancient Farm on Film"
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420:The reconstructed Roman villa
973:Butser Ancient Farm (2009).
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535:What the Ancients Did for Us
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1115:Open-air museums in England
982:Johnston, David E. (2002).
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378:Danebury Iron Age Hillfort
329:The Stone Age Horton House
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59:Location within Hampshire
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1075:Experimental archaeology
986:. Osprey. pp. 61–2.
560:, The Four Warriors and
486:experimental archaeology
469:Experimental archaeology
402:Glastonbury Lake Village
256:Windmill Hill, Hampshire
239:, a few kilometres from
178:experimental archaeology
155:experimental archaeology
80:Windmill Hill, Hampshire
1090:Farm museums in England
195:Founded in 1970 by the
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1007:. London: Routledge.
682:"Rebuilding the Past"
520:The Mysterious Planet
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426:Sparsholt Roman Villa
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351:Operation Nightingale
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1080:Museums in Hampshire
772:www.wessexarch.co.uk
357:Iron Age roundhouses
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885:Butser Ancient Farm
797:Butser Ancient Farm
747:Butser Ancient Farm
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1033:(5 October 2001).
1001:Reynolds, Peter J.
962:Reynolds, Peter J.
940:Reynolds, Peter J.
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339:Wessex Archaeology
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157:site located near
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1110:Replica buildings
1014:978-0-415-11768-5
993:Academic articles
860:www.butser.org.uk
824:. 10 October 2021
558:Arthur and Merlin
542:was filmed here.
283:Discovery Channel
201:Peter J. Reynolds
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530:documentary
412:Roman Villa
275:Roman villa
271:roundhouses
241:Petersfield
237:Butser Hill
205:Butser Hill
174:roundhouses
165:, southern
159:Petersfield
112: /
87:Coordinates
68:Established
1069:Categories
828:18 October
691:18 October
624:Aston 2001
588:References
515:Doctor Who
392:roundhouse
320:Stonehenge
216:Mick Aston
97:50°56′35″N
686:Discovery
593:Footnotes
554:Britannia
501:periods.
430:hypocaust
305:Buildings
264:Clanfield
192:periods.
163:Hampshire
100:0°58′37″W
964:(1980).
942:(1979).
822:BBC News
651:17 March
571:See also
518:serial "
459:trunnels
432:system.
258:between
171:Iron Age
76:Location
532:series
454:Chalton
260:Chalton
223:History
167:England
135:Website
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915:8 July
890:3 June
865:3 June
802:3 June
777:3 June
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335:Horton
149:is an
932:Books
641:Salon
318:near
229:RCHME
1009:ISBN
948:ISBN
917:2021
892:2021
867:2021
830:2021
804:2021
779:2021
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712:ISBN
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524:2005
511:1986
509:The
388:The
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182:BCE
161:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
