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.
Were the Neolithic house posts in Northwest Schleswig really this thick (DE)?
Yes, they were. We found the structures inside of the postholes; and it was clear enough to separate the rest of the post itself from the surrounding soil filling...
Where do the archaeological finds come from (CH)?
Archaeologists found the items below the present ground level during archaeological excavations. Some of the exhibits are so called 'stray finds', meaning loose finds, found by chance. Often these are objects which were found during construction works or moved to the surface by the plough of a farmer.
How can you tell how old an object is (CH)?
Every period has its very typical range of objects like ceramics, tools, jewellery et cetera. Grouped by way of making or decoration an object can be assigned very precisely to a period of time (typology)...
Did they use animals in the Middle Ages (NL)?
Domestic animals (dog and horse in Stone Age, the sheep with the first farmers, the pig, chicken with the Romans - roughly said) are wild animals which were domesticated by humans for own use...
Did they already have fire extinguishers in the Middle Ages (NL)?
Nowadays, strict fire safety rules are set at parks like Archeon. Therefore, in all houses, we have fire extinguishers present. The city council in medieval times, however, already applied rules.
When did people start to cook in prehistory (I mean more complicated meals, not just roasting or drying) (CZ)?
We cannot say for sure. We presume cooking from the Neolithic on when they started to use ceramic vessels – they prepared various gruels or soups, but it was possible...
Are the things in the living quarters of the chieftain’s longhouse at Borg authentic (NO)?
About 90% of the things in the living quarters are copies of things found from the Viking era. The rest have been made as we think they must have looked, based on old texts and our own practical experiences...
Which types of weapons did people have in the Iron Age (SE)?
There were several types of weapons during this period. There are archaeological finds of bows and arrows from f.ex. Danish sacrificial bogs. The arrowheads were made of iron or bone. Bow and arrow could also be used for hunting...
What did Romans use for toilet paper (NL)?
Papyrus was probably the only type of paper the Romans used, but for cleaning their behinds the Romans had a softer option. A sponge on a stick was the easy solution to this pressing problem...
How did they put the wooden piles into the loch (UK)?
They sharpened the bottom end of the pile to a point using axes. They tied a cross piece of timber and attached it near the top. A person on either side of this cross piece could then twist back and forth to drive the pile into the bed of the loch.