House of Questions
Delphi House of Questions was an EU Culture 2000 project by three EXARC members. Under this umbrella, other EXARC members as well collected and answered the most frequently asked questions by visitors to archaeological open-air museums. The largest part of this collection of questions you can find here – as many of them still carry importance. In most cases we offer the questions both in the original language and in English. With several questions you will find illustrations by Savannah Parent.
Did all people in the Neolithic houses in Northwest Schleswig sleep in one bed/place (DE)?
There were „big“ bed-constructions existing and we can estimate that they gave room for a few people, maybe belonging to one family? Anyway it is nearly clear that all people slept in a single room – the room with the fire-place!
What was the occupation of the people living in the lake fortress (LV)?
They were mainly engaged in agriculture, stock-keeping, forest bee keeping, crafts and trade. Also important was the utilisation of wild resources: fishing and hunting, especially the...
You are cheating – they didn’t have iron axes in prehistory, did they (DK)?
No, not in the Stone Age. But here we are in the Iron Age. Do you remember the names of the periods: Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age? You do not need to be embarrassed, but the names tell us when the different materials were introduced...
How did people hunt before bow and arrow were invented (NL)?
Bow and arrow were invented about 15,000 years ago, when the last ice age was ending. Before that, people used a stick to make their arm longer, thus enhancing the power with which the spear was thrown...
Who was King Arthur and when did he live and rule (NL)?
King Arthur is a myth. See for an extensive explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_arthur
What weapons were used in battle by the people inhabiting the lake fortress (LV)?
The people living in the lake fortress used the characteristic close combat and missile weapons of the Viking Age. Missile weapons included the bow, with iron-tipped arrows, as well as the javelin and probably also the sling...
In the Middle Ages, people probably had all the time of the world - no stress (NL)?
Whether the Middle Ages were an easy time with lots of holidays? People were attached a lot to religious habits and there were numerous holidays when a certain saint was worshipped. Sunday was a day of rest as well and a day of veneration since Constantine the Great set up the 7 days system in the year 321...
Did the people of the Old Stone Age use fishing nets (CH)?
Did prehistoric people use something like our buttons (CZ)?
The finds which we describe in the Czech Republic as buttons date to the Neolithic; they were made, for example, from bone or amber...
Women in prehistory surely wore jewellery. What about men (CZ)?
This differed through times and regions but also within different social groups. We often find in male graves, especially rich ones, ornaments, for example torques and necklaces...