Timber building reconstruction

What is it?

This project is a part of the experimental farm at Bede's World in which aspects of the architecture and crop and animal husbandry of the Anglo-Saxon era are being explored and demonstrated to visitors. By the summer of 1999, three buildings had been completed and were in use as part of the visitor attractions and educational resources of Bede's World. Each is a full-scale realisation of a building whose remains have been excavated and published in authoritative archaeological journals. This section of the web site documents the three buildings.

How does it work?

In each of the three cases, the archaeological evidence which survived was limited to the foundation levels of the building after all the structural timbers had been removed or had decomposed. This enabled the excavators to determine the ground plan to greater or lesser degrees of confidence, depending on how much detail was recovered. From this record the question arises as to what extent the full three-dimensional structure of the building can be deduced. The experimental buildings test at life size and with appropriate materials interpretations which have been proposed in words and drawings.

The experiments proceed from:

1. a critical analysis of the original archaeological evidence
2. an architectural design developed from that analysis and from the previous experience of experimental buildings aleady gained here at Bede's World or elsewhere, and using archaeologically appropriate materials

The terms of reference of the experiments are:

• to test the architectural and structural integrity of the design and materials used

Who did the work?

The work has been done by an in-house team aided by external advisors and consultants.

The in-house team: Michael Hayes and Mark Stewart constructed the buildings, working under the direction of Susan Mills, formerly Curator at Bede's World.

Consultant: Richard Darrah was engaged as a consultant at the outset of the project. He prepared the design specifications and drawings for the first building (Thirlings A), drew up the material specifications and sourced the timber, and worked with Michael Hayes and Mark Stewart on construction technique.

Advisors: Robin Daniels and Colm O'Brien, who had directed excavations on the sites used for the reconstructions, gave advice on aspects of the archaeological evidence and design.

The project was initiated with a seminar which a number of archaeologists engaged in the study of Anglo-Saxon timber buildings attended. They are:

Heather Clements, Professor Rosemary Cramp, Richard Darrah, Professor Peter Fowler, Peter Hill, Professor Martin Millett, Susan Mills, Colm O'Brien, Dominic Powlesland.

Which are the buildings and what are the primary publication references?

1. Thirlings Building A: excavation directed by Roger Miket
   Primary publication: O'Brien C. and Miket M. "The Early Medieval Settlement of Thirlings, Northumberland." Durham Archaeolgical Journal Vol 7, 1991, 57-91
2. New Bewick Grubenhaus: excavation directed by Colm O'Brien
   Primary publication: Gates T. and O'Brien C. "Cropmarks at Milfield and New Bewick and the Recognition of Grubenhaüser in Northumberland." Archaeologia Aeliana 5th Series Vol XVI, 1988, 1-9
3. Hartlepool Building VIII: Excavation directed by Robin Daniels
   Primary publication: Daniels R. "The Anglo-Saxon Monastery at Church Close, Hartlepool, Cleveland." Archaeological Journal Vol 145, 1988, 158 - 210

Other information on the Project

The project has been reviewed in a paper by Susan Mills:

• "(Re)constructing Northumbrian Timber Buildings: The Bede's World experience." pp. 66-72 in J. Hawkes and S. Mills (ed) Northumbria's Golden Age. Sutton Publishing, 1999

This Web Site

Where this web site quotes passages from the three primary archaeological publications, the source is identified. Users who wish to cite any of this material elsewhere should reference the original source.

Apart from the material quoted from the primary sources, the text of the review of the experimental building programme is written by Colm O'Brien. Photographs of buildings are by Susan Mills and Colm O'Brien.