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Anglo Saxon House: A Reconstruction

Woodlands.co.uk, a British website that provides information on the conservation, management and use of woodlands, has created several videos about how trees were used in the Middle Ages.

In the following video, they report on the reconstruction of an Anglo-Saxon home built over a pit by the East Sussex Archaeology and Museums Partnership.

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The next video explores the uses of early medieval timber, as the team from the East Sussex Archaeology and Museums Partnership demonstrate their skills in turning round logs into square timber.

Woodlands archery, powerful bows and arrows. Long bows made from yew were used during the Hundred Years War. Neil Eddiford from Wolfshead Bowmen describes the properties that made yew suitable for the long bow, and how often English yew wasn’t used at all. Other woods used for bows were ash and wych elm. He also looks at the arrows with fletchlings of goose feather, a bodkin point or a needle bodkin. These are serious weapons for medieval warfare, and Neil describes the range and penetration power these arrows could have.

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Kim Williams is using an adze. She is dubbing or adzing some timber planks using an adze, for a reconstruction Anglo Saxon building. Kim is part of the East Sussex Archaeology and Museums Partnership ESAMP . Using the adze Kim shaves slivers of wood from the planks. This ensures there are no traces of 21st century tools on what will eventually be part of a recreated Anglo Saxon building.

Please visit the Woodlands.co.uk to learn about the use of wood in the Middle Ages, and their Youtube page for more videos

anglo saxon house reconstruction

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