Building an Anglo-Saxon Pit House with Hand Tools - Part I | Medieval Primitive Bushcraft Shelter

Pit houses were the first structures built by Saxon settlers In newly settled lands these served as outposts and dwellings Later becoming workshops and storehouses A simple wooden shovel is carved from a fallen oak limb Much land was left unoccupied since the Roman withdrawal Fields and hedgerows grew wild with blackthorn and bramble Many Saxons settled alongside Romano-British communities Despite the battles fought amongst the tribal warrior elite Built as a military outpost for border patrols This pit house may develop into a farm as peace grows The ground is broken with mattock and shovel The pit is 14 by 10 feet, 2 feet deep with a shelf on one side The upcast dirt is banked up to form low earth walls A post-hole is dug at each gable end, to a forearm's depth A forked post in each post-hole will support the roof Hazel stakes are driven into the upcast earth walls Hazel rods woven between the stakes form wattle walls

Channel: Gesiþas Gewissa | Anglo-Saxon Heritage

Views: 924,282

Keywords: Archaeology, Anglo-Saxon, Experimental Archaeology, History, Nature, Outdoors, Heritage, Living History, Ancestors, Viking, Vendel, Merovingian

Id: 3OjSGJ-LLLE

Length: 12min 4sec (724 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 01 2023