This was a day of surprises for the fifty year 7s and the staff that accompanied them to Butser Ancient Farm, an open air experimental archaeological museum and active research centre in Hampshire. History and technology from the past were brought to real life!

Historians have structured traditional buildings on discovered foundations, often through trial and error, deducting the roof shapes from the layout of the walls. We explored the different technologies used to build the Roman and Saxon replica houses.

The clay we used to make pots was surprisingly stodgy, weaving was surprisingly tricky and surprisingly smelly as the wool came straight from the sheep on the farm! When we sat in the Iron Age house, it was surprisingly smokey and dark!

It really was a fascinating day.