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 people bathe in the early Middle Ages (NL)?
Roman baths were still used and maintained in some places at the beginning of the early Middle ages. In monasteries there were sometimes baths too...
Wooden castles, did they at all exist (DE)?
Apart from the prehistoric and early medieval large castles, all the way into the High and Late Middle Ages, there were wooden castles. Partly these were, like...
Which Gods were worshipped by the Romans (NL)?
Romans were very open minded about their religion. They worshipped a wide variety of divine entities. A household could give praise to an ancestor for protection and prosperity, whilst...
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.
What did prehistoric women do when they had their period (NL)?
Perhaps prehistoric women did not have their period as often as nowadays. In times of lack of food, during pregnancy and the lengthy period of breast feeding, they didn't get bleeding...
What did Romans wear (NL)?
In Rome and in the Mediterranean parts of the Roman empire, the sun’s warmth enabled Romans to wear next to nothing. The tunic, a long t-shirt like garment, was the most common piece of clothing. Women could add a kind of long cape, the palla...
How important was the individual in the Middle Ages (NL)?
A possible answer is to be found at Nisbet:"as one of the points of calibration of Nisbet's vision on history, the transition between the Middle Ages and the Modern Era stands, in which both should be less seen as easy discernible...
How did medieval people burry their dead (NL)?
Medieval people wanted to be buried as close as possible near the relics of a saint or a church altar. Rich people were buried inside the church, in a monastery church or monastery hallway...
How did Biskupin settlement seize to exist (PL)?
Because of the rising water table of Lake Biskupin the inhabitants abandoned the settlement.
When did human settlement begin in the Cesis area, and who were the earliest settlers (LV)?
It is not known exactly when human habitation began in the Cēsis area. The process of settlement began in the Mesolithic (7600–4500 BC) and continued in the Neolithic (4500–1500 BC). These people were still hunter-fishers...