In addition to the buildings, there are also gardens containing plants that would have been in use at a particular time – known from faunal analysis during excavations. Our understanding of how archaeological sites are formed depend very much on understanding how a place degrades, becoming the humps and bumps we see in the landscape. However, it is much more than that, it is a place where those who study the past can test theories in, not only ancient technologies and construction techniques but also in how sites degrade. In this case Butser provides a physical and tangible connection to the past for the visitor. Understanding all the fragmentary pieces of evidence can often take a leap of faith particularly for the general public. The artefacts found and their position in the structure can also provide clues as to the use of the space inside and outside. These excavations often only reveal the faintest of remains, the postholes and their layout is usually all archaeologists have to go on as to the type of building.

All of the buildings which have been reconstructed are based on actual archaeological sites that have been discovered through excavation. In 1991 the farm moved to its present location (near Chalton, Hampshire – just off the A3).Īt Butser it is possible to see ten thousand years of history come to life to see plans of archaeological sites rise up from the ground to feel, touch, smell and absorb some of what it may have been like in the past is an experience that should not be missed. However, it did not open to the public until 1974 and because of its popularity moved to a more accessible site at the bottom of Butser Hill. The original farm was situated on Butser Hill, in what is now the Queen Elizabeth Country Park, in part because of the evidence for extensive Iron Age field systems on Butser Hill, still visible in the prehistoric field boundaries and earthworks that cover the landscape. One such place which encapsulates this philosophy is Butser Ancient Farm, a place I had the chance to visit recently.īutser began life in 1972, in a different location by the late Peter Reynolds, whose passion for experimental archaeology was contagious. A view from the Roman villa back into the Iron Age.Įxperimental archaeology is the one path that virtually anyone can take to travel back in time to get an idea of what life may have been like in the distant past.

Prehistoric Cornwall by John Barnatt