A truly ancient experience

ICM is the main sponsor of an exciting Viking Longhouse project at the Ancient Technology Centre in Cranborne Chase, Dorset. Involvement in this project demonstrates the Institute’s commitment to the promotion of social, economic and community development. The Institute is pleased to support the Centre which is dedicated to inspiring and stimulating an interest in history and which, through its projects and activities, helps to develop new knowledge and skills amongst young people in the county.

Perhaps one of Dorset’s, if not the UK’s, best kept secrets is The Ancient Technology Centre. Hidden between the undulating hills and woods of Cranborne Chase, the ATC can be found up a narrow country lane behind Cranborne Middle School.

Visitors to the Centre will find a range of reconstructed Neolithic, Iron Age (Celtic), Roman and Anglo Saxon buildings, each one of which has been built using materials sourced from within a three mile radius of the Centre. Each building has been constructed using the appropriate traditional materials, methods and tools.

I wanted to create a resource area where children could take part in history, geography, science and more

Jake Keen, Site Founder

The site was founded over 20 years ago by Jake Keen, who was working as an Arts and Crafts teacher at Cranborne Middle School. It started out as a craft project and consisted of one building in the school playing field. From this small beginning, the Centre developed into the ethereal village that we see today. Jake was originally inspired by his students who appeared to thrive on a practical approach to learning. He says: “I noticed how children didn’t want to stop when the bell went at the end of the day so I thought about making practical work apply to all parts of the Curriculum. I wanted to create a resource area where children could take part in history, geography, science and more, and so I applied for a grant from the School Curriculum Development Fund.”

Jake went on to manage the Centre for 15 years. It is now managed Luke Winter, an archaeologist by training, who is ably supported by dedicated tutors Anthony Brown, Reg Miles, Cara Jenkins, Pascale Barnes and two volunteers, Clive Perrin and Euan Gilchrist.

Teamwork and skill development

Children work together to plough soil by hand and prepare it for sowing seeds and planting.

Since the founding of the Centre, more than 80,000 volunteers have been involved in its development. These volunteers include children from neighbouring school, pupils from other visiting schools, as well as adult volunteers. What’s more, children from three of Dorset’s four Learning Centres regularly help out at the Centre as part of their learning experiences. Luke says: “We provide a focused experience for children from the Learning Centres. It can be so difficult for them to be inspired. By giving them the opportunity to contribute to our projects we’ve seen them go through what can be described as life changing experiences, with some going on to study related subjects at college.”

Activities on offer vary immensely and are in line with the seasons. This enables visiting groups to experience a unique day of living in the past based on the practical tasks required to provide materials, buildings, tools and food for that time of the year. A wide range of ancient skills and crafts are available – the most popular include fire making, blacksmithing in a Roman forge and the gathering and preparation of wild and natural food during the summer. In winter, hedge-laying, fencing, coppicing and ancient woodland management make up the main activities, all of which contribute to the maintenance of the existing buildings and the site in general. And as tutor Anthony rightly points out, the Centre offers children experiences they may never have again. He says: “Nowhere else in the world does what we do, we are truly unique. We’re currently building a Roman road using chalk excavated on-site and the children are really enjoying the experience. It’s so worthwhile seeing them get so much from these activities. Where else can they do something like that?”

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A new residential facility

Huge timbers prepared by hand will form the foundations of the new Viking Longhouse facility.

Anyone meeting the Centre’s management team can’t help but notice their dedication and pride in the project. It’s evident in everything they say and do. And this was particularly the case when our conversation came round to the topic of what is looking to be the Centre’s most ambitious construction project to-date – a Viking Longhouse – a building which will act as a residential facility enabling volunteers, visitors and young people to stay overnight and for weekends.

The facility is the brainchild of Manager Luke. He says: “We wanted a building to accommodate pupils and our starting point is always archaeology. We were thinking about Vikings and so we took a research trip to Denmark to look at reconstructions there. Off the back of that trip, we came up with an artist’s impression of the building. The finished result is a combination of our need for a facility of a particular size and our constant aim of finding archaeological evidence so that we can reproduce an authentic replica.”

Once completed, the Longhouse will measure 24 metres in length and seven metres in width, tapering to five metres at each end where it will house two porches. The building will provide accommodation for up to 30 pupils in the open-plan sleeping quarters and ten adults in a separate teachers’ area. It is designed to be as authentic to Viking times as possible whilst combining modern facilities. Luke adds: “Visitors will sleep on sheepskin mattresses placed on top of wooden planks and the main hall will feature a raised platform housing an open fire. There will however also be flushing toilets and a modern galley style kitchen so that food can be prepared to hygiene standards.”

Children can derive far greater benefit from the hands-on learning approach provided by the Centre

Dr Alistair Somverville Ford, ICM Chief Executive

ICM is delighted to be the main sponsor of the new facility, which is planned for completion in September 2008. The project was officially launched on Saturday July 28 2007 at an event hosted by ICM’s Chief Executive, Dr Alistair Somerville Ford. Over 150 adults and children from all over Dorset and Wiltshire gathered together to celebrate the start of the project, including the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, Mrs Jean Pitt-Rivers. To mark the official launch, the Lord Lieutenant tried both an adze and axe to chip away at one of the first timbers. Guests were treated to a variety of entertainment, including children’s storytelling in the Earthouse and a re-enactment of a fight between Saxons and Vikings. Staff and volunteers were on hand to take visitors on tours of the site before they were treated to a delicious hog roast and buffet.

Left to right: ICM Chief Executive, Dr Alistair Somerville-Ford; the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, Mrs Valerie Lane-Fox Pitt Rivers; and Centre Manager, Luke Winter.

During his opening speech, Dr Alistair Somerville Ford spoke passionately about the Centre’s work. He said: “The Ancient Technology Centre provides a unique opportunity for young people to find out how people lived millennia ago and also to learn about and practise some of the skills which were needed by our ancestors to provide food and shelter for themselves. Children can derive far greater benefit from the hands-on learning approach provided by the Centre than they can from simply reading textbooks about the nature of society thousands of years ago. I hope that by holding this event it will promote greater awareness of the Ancient Technology Centre and highlight the tremendous work carried out here.”

The Centre is so popular amongst visitors that there is already substantial interest in the new facility, before the building work has even begun. Pascale explains: “As soon as we revealed plans for the building we had interest from groups wanting to place advanced bookings, which we’ve already started to take.”

Understandably, the team is hopeful that the creation of their new landmark project will also raise some much-needed revenue for the Centre. As Luke adds: “We’ve got so many more ideas, but at the moment we just don’t have the funds and space to accommodate them. We hope that the new building will address this, as well as giving us the opportunity to employ more staff. We’d eventually like to be able to subsidise schools that currently can’t afford to pay for our activity days… and it would be nice if we could hold more public events.”

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An ethereal charm

A 300-year-old grain store houses all of the tools used by staff, students and volunteers whilst on site.

When you visit the Ancient Technology Centre for yourself, it’s easy to see why it’s so popular amongst children and adult visitors alike, with many coming back time and time again to take in its charms and participate in the range of activities on offer. We were lucky to be taken on a tour of the ‘village’ by Anthony and were fascinated and amazed by the sheer scale of the building work achieved.

Venturing into the Centre can best be described as stepping into a period film set. A pathway overgrown with wild and diverse plants and bushes leads you to a hand-woven gateway behind which sits the impressive buildings and gardens that make up this ancient village reconstruction. Each building varies in size and age, the first of which is described by Anthony as a: “‘Bender’… believed to have been a type of shelter in which people would have lived in our distant past. We recreated this using sticks woven together and tied with hazel and covered in foliage,” he explains.

Tutor Anthony Brown points to the large plot that will house the Viking Longhouse.

The oldest structure on site is a 300-year-old grain store rescued from Sixpenny Handley and re-built by Centre staff and volunteers. Most impressive, however, is the Earthouse, created combining Iron Age roundhouse evidence with a Neolithic wood henge style. On its outward appearance, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Earthouse is a modest structure, consisting of an innocuous wooden door which appears to have been built into the side of a hill. Step inside, however, and you are greeted by a hugely impressive space. A total of 21 oak pillars of immense proportions hold the roof up whilst wooden cladding covers the walls. Wooden benches circle the room in layers, looking into the Centre where a fire can be lit. At the top of the roof is a huge skylight, which Anthony tells us can be pulled back to let visitors view the stars at night. It is here that the Centre holds its popular musical and storytelling events throughout the year and as we stand in the room we can almost feel the atmosphere that must radiate during these events. “We hang oil lanterns and light the fire which creates a ‘moody’ ambience, perfect for the storytelling. Performances can last up to two hours so we have an interval during which we serve mulled apple juice,” says Anthony.

The site houses a variety of reconstructed Neolithic, Iron Age (Celtic), Roman and Anglo Saxon buildings.

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The Earthouse skylight allows light to flood in and provides ventilation when fires are lit.

Music and storytelling

We hang oil lanterns and light the fire which creates a 'moody' ambience, perfect for the storytelling

Anthony Brown, Tutor

The final building Anthony leads us to see – the Celtic Roundhouse – is based upon archaeology in Wales. It has a surprisingly homely feel and it becomes clear why when Anthony explains that 14 people actually lived in the structure for eight days as part of a ‘Re-living the Past’ project. “Everyone involved in the re-enactment tried to live as closely to how we believe the Iron Age people dwelled as possible. They rose at dawn and prepared their own food, milked the goats, chopped wood with axes and worked whilst it was light which was until around 10.00pm. Then they sat around the fire telling stories. They even had a dog as this is how Iron Age people would have lived.” A further re-enactment is planned in the future; however this is expected to take place once the Longhouse has been built.

Regular storytelling events are extremely popular with visitors.

On leaving the site, I’m feeling a mixture of nostalgia for the history I’ve just experienced and excitement at the fantastic facilities offered by the Centre and the tremendous work of the team behind it. It truly is an awe-inspiring and unique place, which I’m sure will be enjoyed by many generations of children and adults to come. Once thing is for certain, I’m already looking forward to going back.

You can show your support

More sponsors are still required to help ensure the Viking Longhouse project becomes a reality. Anyone interested in the sponsorship scheme should contact Marnie Shaw on 01305 224517.

Further information on the Ancient Technology Centre can be found online at www.dorsetforyou.com or by calling Pascale Barnes on: 01725 517618 or emailing: atc@dorsetcc.gov.uk.

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