An Open Weekend for the public has been announced at the Ancient Technology Centre (ATC) in Cranborne, Dorset, 19 & 20 July.

The two-day event will give members of the public the opportunity to see the progress made on the Viking Longhouse reconstruction, along with the chance to witness Viking re-enactors in battle and take a look at other developments around the site.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

Luke Winter, ATC Centre Manager, explained: “It’s going to be a Viking weekend so we’re going to have re-enactors in a Viking market and fair, the odd battle and skirmish, and we’re going to be in the buildings as well telling people all about what we do and how we do it. It should be great fun and really exciting.”

To date, around 25 square metres of wooden shingles have been made for the longhouse roof and a number of the curling purlins have been put into place.

“The coming months will hopefully see the purlins finished and then we put in the ridge beams to finish the curve along the top of the king posts, which are the tall upright posts. There are also 64 rafters to be put on the pitch of the roof and then hopefully we’ll start putting the shingles on at the end of the summer,” added Luke.

In addition to the Open Weekend, people wishing to volunteer at the Centre can also visit the site on the first three Saturdays of every month, when they can help with site developments and learn new skills.

The Viking Open Weekend event will be open 10am – 4pm, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 July. Tickets will be available on the door and prices are as follows: £5 for adults, £2.50 for children, and free to Young Archaeologists’ Club (YAC) members.

For further information about the Viking Longhouse and all site developments, visit www.dorsetforyou.com/outdoored, call 01725 517618 or email p.d.barnes@dorsetcc.gov.uk.

By Susanna Woods