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.
How was Araisi lake fortress built (LV)?
Āraiši lake fortress was built on a low, frequently inundated islet in the lake, connected to the shore by means of an 80-metre-long natural bank of glacial till. In the 9th century, when the lake fortress was built, the water level in Lake Āraiši was...
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...
Did you have find treasures in the megalithic tombs in Northwest Schleswig (DE)?
It is a question of what you understand as a „treasure“: There were no gold finds or something like this, but there were finds of stone and ceramics which are very important from a cultural historic perspective! They are treasures for archaeologists!
What was the most used weapon in the Middle Ages (DK)?
The sword. But else there were trebuchets, bombarders and weapons with gunpowder, by the end of the Middle Ages...
What kinds of wood did people use in Prehistory for tree canoes (NL)?
Kinds of wood used in Dutch prehistory were for sure oak (Quercus), lime (Tilia) and needle wood. The fact that more different kinds of wood were used could refer to that...
How did people build megalithic tombs (NL)?
First, enough large stones needed to be collected. Presumably this happened in the neighbourhood where the megalithic tomb was planned. Researchers presume the stones were not moved...
What did they eat at the Crannogs in Scotland (UK)?
We have found traces of spelt and emmer wheat on site and barley. Also, a wide range of nuts and berries, including cloud-berry, raspberry, strawberry, brambles, sloes and wild cherries. Hazelnuts are in great abundance. Wild carrots, wild cabbages, wild garlic and thyme, and meat from domestic animals such as sheep and cow. Butter and cheese were found, but So far no fish bones have been found, but we have net weights.
In the Iron Age, who was exactly the boss (NL)?
That depended on where exactly: at home, in the village.. Life was probably very much structured because the security of existence of every individual and the group as a whole depended on it...
Did they have chimneys in prehistory (CZ)?
They did not have chimneys in our sense of the word, but from at least the Bronze Age we presume that makeshift chimneys, for example made from wicker and daubed with clay would take smoke from hearths through ceilings...
Was there a division of roles in the early Middle Ages (NL)?
There was a traditional division of roles. Women in general took care of the children. They herded and milked the cattle and sheep and fed the chickens. Shaving sheep, plucking wool,...