Bronze Age is brought back to life with new roundhouse

Bronze Age is brought back to life with new roundhouse

October 12, 2021

A unique reconstruction of a traditional Bronze Age Roundhouse has been unveiled in the National Park by acclaimed archaeologist Professor Alice Roberts.

The new addition at Butser Ancient Farm, in Hampshire, is the result of a collaboration between archeaologists working with wounded, injured and sick military veterans, serving personnel and volunteers from Operation Nightingale.

The scheme helps the recovery of veterans by getting them hands-on in archaeology.

Twenty five military veterans, together with archaeologists from Butser, spent over 1,000 hours working on the build.

The reconstructed roundhouse is based on a Bronze Age building from around 1200 BC that was uncovered at Dunch Hill on Salisbury Plain.

The project has allowed archaeologists to gain new insights into the way earth-walled roundhouses might have been built and it also allowed the military veterans to learn construction skills including thatching, woodworking and daubing, as well as other essential ancient skills, including pottery, spinning and cookery.

The cost of the materials was funded by a grant of £10,000 from the South Downs National Park Authority’s Covid-19 Recovery Fund, together with £35,000 from the Step Together charity.

Military veteran John William Bennett said: “Working through each stage of the project has been brilliant and I still find it hard to believe how much my life has turned around because of it. Not just feeling myself again, gaining more independence and confidence, but what else the project has led on to.”

Anooshka Rawden, Cultural Heritage Lead for the National Park, said: “The South Downs National Park Authority is extremely proud to have been able to contribute towards this project, and the new partnerships it has brought for Butser Ancient Farm, which is a site like no other in the National Park.”