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 there any cult houses and if so, where were the clay breasts found? Is there proof for male or female priests or shamans (DE)?
Probably there were cult houses in the Late Young Stone Age, from 4,300 BC. We for example know such buildings from Ludwigshafen and Sipplingen at the Lake Constance and from Marin / Les Piècettes at the Neuenburger Lake in Switzerland.
Why are the objects found below the earth surface (CH)?
When in the past a settlement was abandoned by the inhabitants, the left much garbage behind like pottery, bones or tools and the remains of their wooden houses...
In the Iron Age, how many people lived in one house (NL)?
About 10 people, a family group with not just mom and dad and the kids, but as well aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces et cetera. People did not get old in those days; averagely maximum 35 years. The child death rate was high as well - that is why the families were not that large.
Did they have chimneys in prehistory (CZ)?
They did not have chimneys in our sense of the word, but from at least the Bronze Age we presume that makeshift chimneys, for example made from wicker and daubed with clay would take smoke from hearths through ceilings...
Where did the first corn come from (CH)?
The first kinds of corn cultivated in Switzerland in the Young Stone Age (about 7,500 years ago) were wheat and barley. These kinds of corn were not indigenous in Europe before they were first grown here, meaning they...
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.
Could the ornaments in megalithic graves be a rudimentary kind of writing (DE)?
The ornaments which in seldom cases are found in megalithic graves (especially in the Anglo-Irish and the Iberian regions) cannot be seen as an early form of writing. In general we find geometrical elements...
How much does a medieval armour weigh (NL)?
A medieval suit of armour weighs between 25 and 40 kilograms.
How heavy are the stones of a megalithic tomb (NL)?
There are both large and small megalithic tombs in Drenthe (NL). The largest is near Borger. The most heavy stones used for this one weigh about 23,000 kilos!
What weapons were used in battle by the people inhabiting the lake fortress (LV)?
The people living in the lake fortress used the characteristic close combat and missile weapons of the Viking Age. Missile weapons included the bow, with iron-tipped arrows, as well as the javelin and probably also the sling...