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 did they warm the houses in the early Middle Ages (NL)?
With wood and turf. A hearth can be found in virtually all excavated houses. Often this is a round spot with a lot of charcoal and orange burned clay. The hearths sometimes were constructed on small platforms...
Was the longhouse at Borg really 83 metres long (NO)?
Yes, the house was this long during its last phase of existence, but it had been rebuilt several times, so the length has varied.
Did toys exist in prehistory? And if they did, from what materials (CZ)?
They surely existed but we are not able to recognize them as such in archaeological material. Miniature vessels, figures of people or animals, rattles and similar artefacts were often made but may have been used for religious and magical activities...
How many people lived in the neolithic longhouse in Asparn (AT)?
One averagely has to count with a large family of up to 20 persons.
What is a megalithic tomb (hunebed)(NL)?
A megalithic tomb (in the Netherlands called 'hunebed') is a 'room' made of large boulders in which the dead were buried. The Dutch megalithic tombs were built between 3.400 - 3.200 BC by the people of the funnel beaker (TRB) culture.
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 people have contraception (NL)?
Contraception aids are hardly known from Prehistory. The Greek and Romans used different ways of not getting pregnant: medicines, special positions, periodical abstinence, as well as amulets. If this failed, even then they already used abortion...
What kind of punishments did they know in the Middle Ages when you had done something wrong (NL)?
Medieval punishments were often quite gruesome and painful. One could simply be put in a block of shame, or much worse than that. Much needed to happen before they would for example cut off your hand, because that would mean...
How do you make linen out of flax (NL)?
Flax is an annual plant which grows to 60 - 100 cms. The length of the plant is important because it equals the length of the fibres. The plant blossoms with white or light blue flowers. After the blossoming, small seed boxes remain...
Did Denmark take part in the Crusades (DK)?
No, not in the major crusades to the Holy Land; Danes may have been there, but only in very limited numbers. Local crusades against infidels along the coasts of the Baltic Sea were organised by Danish kings, however...