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.
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...
Didn't medieval shoes have soles and didn't they wear out very soon (NL)?
Medieval shoes had merely a thin sole. To prevent this from wearing out too fast, but also in order to prevent the feet from getting wet, people wore wooden shoes called "trip". These are a kind of wooden slippers which could be worn over the shoe. Experiments show that such shoes are worn out after a couple of months. Probably the medieval people then bought a new pair or had the old ones fixed.
Why was Araisi built on an island in the lake (LV)?
Āraiši lake fortress was built and inhabited in the Viking Age (9th–10th cent. AD) by the Latgallians, one of the ancient Baltic groups. In the middle and second half of the...
Did people use the calendar as we know of already in the Middle Ages (NL)?
The Romans had a calendar which consisted of 10 months, starting on March 1st and ending with December. In between was an unnamed winter period. The priests’ task was to determine the start of every new year...
Did people tidy their houses in prehistory (CZ)?
Certainly, the earliest Neolithic houses had smooth floors from fine clay stamped down (it was not simply the stamped down surface of the ground but a layer of...
I saw visitors throw coins into a few of the wooden canoes in the museum. Why (DE)?
This question rather requires answering by ethnologists. From archaeological view, this phenomenon can easiest be explained as the popular adaptation of earlier ‘”water cults”. From prehistory, we know numerous sacrifices...
Did people make everything by themselves in prehistory (NL)?
Most settlements were probably mostly autarctic, taking care of their own food, clothing, pottery, tools et cetera. There are however clues for the exchange of goods and resources which were not present in the local environment...
What did the Roman men wear under their tunic (NL)?
Originally, Romans wore not a thing under their tunic. It is however assumed, soldiers in the colder areas of Europe (like the Netherlands) wore the trousers we know of these places.
Are there finds from furniture dating back to the Lake Dwelling Times and how did they look like (DE)?
Yes. We know rests from chairs, beds as well as racks, both from the Stone Age as the following Bronze Age. They were not at all worked as artistically as the furniture from the Mediterranean we know from the same era or from the Near East. They are more the results of sound craftsmanship...