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...
Why is Araisi settlement called a lake fortress (LV)?
It was established in the course of archaeological excavation (1965–1969; 1975–1979) that Āraiši lake fortress had been built on an island in the lake for defensive purposes and had been fortified in a similar manner to...
How many children did people get in prehistory (NL)?
We do not know exactly how large prehistoric families were because archaeological finds cannot tell us much about this. Research to present today hunters / gatherers reveal, the generally speaking, have small families...
How would you know, where to find old objects (CH)?
When there are no ruins above the ground surface, it is not immanently clear if there is something to be found or not. If the place is built over in modern times, prehistoric finds or traces of settlements appear by accident during construction works...
What crops did prehistoric people grow and what herbs did they collect (CZ)?
The composition of grown plants differs both regionally and temporarily and is dependent on the climate, local conditions, fertility of soil and so on...
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)...
What kind of clothing did people wear in prehistory (NL)?
There has been only a limited number of finds of clothing in the Netherlands. Therefore, the reconstructions we show at Archeon are based on many assumptions and foreign finds, mainly from Germany and Denmark...
People back then were not that stupid after all … (CH)
No, why should they! The modern human (Homo sapiens sapiens) is around for about 37,000 years. Ever since, people have the same appearance and the same development of the brain as we do...
What kind of clothes did people wear in the 14th century (NL)?
Men and women wore linen shirts or "camises" as undergarments. We are not sure about the women, but men wore linen underpants. These were wide, quite baggy things just above or just over the knee...
How much time did it take in the early Middle Ages to build a house (NL)?
Nowadays, time is money. The longer it takes before it is ready, the more expensive the house is. Back then, building a new house meant you couldn't spend the same time on something else. Most medieval people were self-sufficient:...