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.
Which types of animals did people keep in the Iron Age (SE)?
The Iron Age agricultural structure was more based on animal husbandry than the growing of crops. The Iron Age farmers of what was to become Sweden kept several types of animals. The two most important ones were cows and sheep...
Does a narrow water ditch and a wattle fence have any defensive value anyway (DE)?
Yes. One should realise, the potential enemy was under fire of arrows and stones when trying to conquer the ditch and tall fence.
Did Denmark take part in the Crusades (DK)?
No, not in the major crusades to the Holy Land; Danes may have been there, but only in very limited numbers. Local crusades against infidels along the coasts of the Baltic Sea were organised by Danish kings, however...
How many people lived in a lake fortress (LV)?
Every dwelling house with its auxiliary structures was an independent economic unit. Each house would have been the home of one nuclear family, consisting of parents, children and grandparents...
What kind of religion did people practice in prehistory (NL)?
On base of archaeological finds only, it is hard to reconstruct the religious beliefs of the past. Many aspects of it, like stories, songs and most rituals do not leave any traces in the soil that we can recover today...
Did all people in the Neolithic houses in Northwest Schleswig sleep in one bed/place (DE)?
There were „big“ bed-constructions existing and we can estimate that they gave room for a few people, maybe belonging to one family? Anyway it is nearly clear that all people slept in a single room – the room with the fire-place!
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.
Since when do people wear shoes (NL)?
The oldest preserved shoe is 9,000 years old. But research makes clear, the modern shoe can be between 26,000 and 40,000 years old, i.e. already in the Neanderthal Age. This is based upon research - not into shoes, but into feet. The shoes themselves have not been preserved that long...
Did people already have wine bottles in the Celtic area in Austria (AT)?
No, the wine was served in large bronze buckets (Situlae). The Celts did however use bottle shaped vessels from clay, the so called lentil bottles.
How tall did people get in the early Middle Ages (NL)?
A graveyard from the Merovingian era (470-750) gave an average height for men of 174 cm. Skeletons from a graveyard in Susteren from the Carolingian age (750-900) resulted in an average height of 172.5 cm. According to Statistics Netherlands, Dutch men...