Building an Anglo-Saxon Pit House with Hand Tools - Part III | Medieval Primitive Bushcraft Shelter
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- Опубліковано 17 вер 2023
- Anglo-Saxon settlers built Early Medieval pit houses with primitive tools, digging foundations, raising earth and wattle walls and thatched or shingle roofs.
After gaining victory over the Britons at the Battle of Peonnum in 658 A.D. the Gewissæ pushed south west towards the River Parrett.
While the tribal elites fought for power and territorial control Anglo-Saxon freemen settled unclaimed land amongst their Romano-British cousins.
The first structures built were pit houses, used first as military outposts and dwellings and then as workshops and storehouses once settlements grew and timber longhouses were erected.
Anglo-Saxon pit houses are often found with the remains of loom weights, pottery or metal-working crafts, and are therefore interpreted as craft-related buildings or store houses subsidiary to larger post-built dwellings.
Pit houses or sunken featured buildings are the most common structures found in Anglo-Saxon and Early Medieval archaeological remains.
Today, all that remains archaeologically of these structures is the pit itself and the accompanying post-holes. There is usually little evidence for floors, walls or roof structures.
Reconstructions of Anglo-Saxon pit-houses must therefore incorporate building techniques that are "archaeologically invisible" in order to be accurate or at least plausible.
"Archaeological invisible" building technologies often proposed for Anglo-Saxon pit houses include A-frame rafters resting on the ground, wattle walls staked into the upcast earth but not below ground level, or walls resting on sill beams.
The orientation, pit and post-hole features of this pit house are an accurate reconstruction of Sunken Featured Building 8 excavated at the West Saxon settlement near Lechlade-on-Thames, dated to the 7th century. The archaeological report can be found here: Prehistoric and Anglo-Saxon Settlements to the rear of Sherborne House, Lechlade: excavations in 1997. 2003. C Bateman, D Enright, N Oakey.
www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk...
Despite constant warfare between tribal elites, the Anglo-Saxons often peacefully settled land left unoccupied after the Roman withdrawal from Britain, amongst neighbouring Romano-British communities.
This led to considerable cultural exchange between the Anglo-Saxons and Romano-British, resulting in what is now known as Insular culture during the late 7th and 8th centuries.
The rafters were interwoven with hazel rods, in the same way as the wattle walls. These interwoven rods give stability to the rafters as well as acting as purlins for the thatching.
No cordage is required with these woven "purlins", which are held in place by friction. Cordage is time consuming to twist by hand, and a great length is needed for the thatching itself, so it was only used where absolutely necessary.
Wild grass was cut with a scythe, gathered into directional bundles, and laid to dry on the meadow, ready to thatch the base coat.
Meanwhile, tie beams were lashed between the rafters with withies, and the porch roof was woven.
While the Saxons would have used more durable thatching materials wherever possible, grass may have been used where the other materials were not readily available.
The practice of using whatever was available for thatching continued for centuries. Modern thatchers have found ancient layers of thatch ranging from heather to marsh grasses and dried potato stems!
About a quarter of an acre of grass was used to cover the roof, although this first layer of grass thatching is not completely waterproof in heavy rain, so I will be using this as a base coat of thatch into which to secure a layer of more durable thatch material, either longstraw or bracken.
The thatch was secured with hazel rods, tied tightly to the woven roof below at intervals of around a forearm's length with tarred flax cordage. The securing rods were fastened at the ends with cordage, or by folding them and weaving them back into the roof.
Tying the hazel rods meant pushing an arm through the thatch, feeling for the corresponding hazel "purlin" below, pulling the cord round it and back out before tying off. This wasn't always easy, the wild grass thatch being full of bramble, thistle, nettle and red ants!
Each row of thatch was secured with two rows of hazel rods, and overlapped the previous row by roughly half. This is known as directional thatching and is a fast, but less durable form of thatching, often used in previous centuries for thatching barns and hay ricks.
With thanks to:
Hector Cole, Blacksmith, for forging the Saxon T-shaped Axe.
Grzegorz Kulig, Silversmith, for making the pattern-welded knife.
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It’s amazing how fundamental basketry was to civilisation.
Very true indeed!
I was watching the UA-camr Primitive Technology recently and he noted that the smoke from the firepit inside his structure served to cure and preserve the thatching as well as somewhat waterproofing it. Of course you have to be careful not to burn the structure down (which he's accidentally done before lol). You could try building small cook-fires in there or a rudimentary clay brick oven.
You're exactly right! Here in Britain modern day thatchers sometimes find medieval smoke blackened thatch still preserved under generations of thatch layers! The smoke gathering at the rafters will also help to extinguish any stray sparks. I'm looking forward to experimenting with small hearth fires and maybe a clay oven. Thanks for sharing!
Im guessing that with Englands climate being very rainy that the thatch would be quenched thoroughly most of the year protecting from stray embers. Idk just assuming.
@@andrews6323 Very true Andrew!
You know primitive technology is fake right.
Уф, сподіваюся, що вбудований перекладач з Ютубу спрацює правильно, бо своїй англійській я не дуже довіряю. В Японії існував такий вид будинків як (gasshō-zukuri), і їхня конструкція, для захисту від паразитів, передбачала, що дим з першого поверху проходив через усі верхні, і вже потім виходив на вулицю. Це, звісно, трошки інакший приклад застосування цієї технології, але просто як цікавий факт. Також, дахи цих будинків досить специфічні, сходяться під гострим кутом, та дуже високі. Тому, проблеми шкідливого задимлення не виникало 👌
Absolutely fascinating to see how our ancestors lived and worked, thank you for your time and effort
Glad you find it fascinating, as do I! Thanks for watching
@jimwalker5412 They didn't do it exactly like this man. You would find it much more "horrific" in reality. This man is clean, has time to do it. In reality they had to do everything as fast as possible from first light till last. Everything in hurry, just to survive.
@@vladabocanek3703Anglo-Saxon people were clean too, they washed every day, just like us. Also, the workmanship and decoration of most Anglo-Saxon objects suggests they had the time to develop a rich culture of art and tradition. But I am lucky in the fact that my survival doesn't depend on getting this house built and the harvest in!
@@gesithasgewissa True, we know a lot of carvings and beauty from that time. Question is who made it for whom... Did it made pesant for his girl or some craftman for money? Ofcourse, they washed every day. But not until work was done - better - until dusk, after that they ate a lot and fell to bed exhausted. Building new house in competition with food (in time of daylight) is the most exhausting era of life.
@@vladabocanek3703you say that but we can’t know.
The German UA-camrs „Naturensöhne“ are big fans of this content and channel. They love to watch all parts.
I've seen their videos, they're great! Thanks for watching
Man is peasant-maxing and I'm here for it.
that's me, revolting peasant! 😄
It's so neat to think that each dwelling would have been so personal to the builder, even though the technique would have been similar, because they would have been using such human measurements as the length of their forearm or the span of a pace to measure.
That's a lovely way to look at it! Thanks for sharing ☺
Hi all! You can check the subtitles and description for much more detail. Thanks for watching! If you like what I do and want to support me further, consider becoming a patron: www.patreon.com/gesithasgewissa/
This first layer of grass thatching is not completely waterproof in heavy rain, so I will be using this as a base coat of thatch into which to secure a layer of more durable thatch material, either longstraw or bracken, depending on which is easiest to source.
I have been getting a few questions on the choice of grass as a thatching material, so I will try and answer that fully here:
Wheat straw or water reed are the most common thatching materials in Britain today, and have been for the last century. However, in the past people used whatever was locally available to thatch houses. Even in the 19th century this ranged from straw and reed to heather, marsh grass, bracken and even dried potato stems! It is true that some, like straw and reed, are more durable than others and better at shedding water, but in theory anything should work as long as it is laid directionally and laid thick enough.
Grass is not very durable, but I wanted to harvest some of the thatch myself, by hand and on foot, and grass was what I had locally available. Since I will be using this grass layer as a base coat, its durability should not be an issue. Bracken thatch at a similar thickness has lasted me a whole year, albeit on a much smaller shelter. I would have preferred to use bracken but it meant travelling farther on foot which would have doubled the time spent on the project. Remember, this is experimental archaeology - everyone knows straw and reed work as thatch materials, but ancient people may have used other materials and this is the way to test them!
I say we all move a remote area and start calling ourselves Anglo-Saxons again
You're welcome to come join me 😆
My wife and I have been eagerly awaiting the next part of this project and it did not disappoint! The craft you show off in these videos is incredible and I'm very pleased we get to witness your progress.
I'm also a huge fan of the style of presentation with no talking and just the nice sounds nature and your work. Thanks for another great video!
I'm really happy you are so interested in the project, and glad I can share it with you! It's great to work with traditional tools in harmony with nature, I feel very lucky. Thanks for sharing!
When I'm in a flammable house competition and my opponent is this guy
Knocked it out the park 😄😄
Thank you for this series! This is enlightening; seeing what our distant ancestors built in Northern Europe. This is Post-Roman Europe and has been a fascination of mine, though recently acquired.
Sometimes, we in the modern world, forget that these houses meant life or death; protect ourselves in a chaotic world.
Thanks again for doing this!
Instant subscriber since part 1! 😁
Welcome! Thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate them! Late Roman Antiquity and the Early Medieval Period are my favourite historical periods to learn about too.
It’s neat to see skills that were once common (and if history repeats itself like it has before) may become common again. How our ancestors found ways to solve common problems according to their own environments is fascinating. We could take a cue and build according to our environments.
A very good point, I agree!
While interesting, I would be more inclined to watch these if there were narration or captions.
@@MrRalphsmom There are captions, you can turn on the subtitles in the settings menu ☺
@@gesithasgewissa thank you. I will look for that on my Roku.
Gonna be the envy of the whole fyrd with that hall
😄 will have to defend it fiercely!
There were still people living in pit houses in the Netherlands in the first half of the 20th century. I suspect some of my ancestors did as well, based on some stories and locations where they lived. I have been in replicas and the overall structure was strikingly similar to this one. There was a law, that a house built overnight and completed by daybreak ("smoke in the chimney") could remain where it was built. I wonder whether it was a young invention, or a persistent building tradition. The region where my family is from is at the overlap of Frisian and Saxon heritage.
Yes, during the first half of the 20th century in the Scottish Highlands people were still living in blackhouses, which are not far removed from a Medieval longhouse, with an open fire pit! In the Early Saxon period, there was still land available for a freeman to settle unopposed, but I'm sure the law has Medieval roots. Thanks for sharing!
It was a persistent building tradition. Cousins of the angles juts and Saxons that combined to be known to history as anglo Saxons were building them all over the continent at the same time their island borne cousins were.
This was the same law where i live in the Shropshire hill country England, if you could get smoke coming out of the chimney in 24 hours you could claim the land the house was built on, what people did was build a large fireplace and chimney then lean some branches and thatch against it this gave them time to build it properly, the result today is small cottages with huge fireplaces and chimneys, most have had extensions built on but there are still a few small ones with huge what are called inglenook fireplaces.
@@hetrodoxlysonov-wh9oo Interesting! Thanks for sharing
This is amazing. Great work! Sometimes I think we were duped into these 30 year mortgages lol
Thank you! I'd take a Saxon hut any day 😆
Imagine going through all that work just for a raider toss a torch on it 💀
That's why you appoint theigns and earls and kings and warriors to guard you
I always say this about American houses. Imagine going through all that work just for some wind to blow it down.
@@asef698yeah i wish we used more brick ngl a average house cost 400k and somehow its all mostly made of wood
Fantastic video as always! I've been eagerly awaiting this. Thank you for sharing with us.
Thank you! The thatching was a great challenge but I really enjoyed it, and I'm very happy to share it with you all.
Absolutely engrossing to see the craftsmanship and ingenuity involved in building an Anglo-Saxon house. Your project serves as a vivid time capsule, offering a tactile link to our ancestors who balanced the fine line between survival and ingenuity. Can't wait to see how this structure fares over time. Keep up the excellent work!
Beautifully worded, you described the aim of this project exactly! Thank you Jack. The beauty is in the challenge, here's to the next one...a bit more thatching I think 😉
Been waiting on this episode!
It's finally here! Drying the thatch was a real challenge this last month!
Well worth the wait. Can’t wait to see more
Thank God the Romans came to show you true architecture. 😂 But amazing build for this man in the vid, thank you.
And then everyone reverted back to timber huts for another five to six hundred years! Crazy huh? Thanks for watching!
What a beautiful thing to watch. Thank you.
Thank you for watching!
I really appreciate the passion for exploring any method of doing things that has been mostly forgotten! Thanks for keeping skills alive!
Thank you for the kind words! I am happy that so many people are still interested in the old skills and in preserving them!
Come on, you can't leave us hanging, we need a rain test ;)
I will be sure to get some good autumn rain footage in the next video! For now, you'll have to take my word for it 😉
Just an update to this in the spirit of experimental archaeology: This first layer of grass thatching is not completely waterproof in all day heavy rain, so I will be using this as a base coat of thatch into which to secure a layer of more durable thatch material, either longstraw or bracken, which I will film as Part IV or V of this series!
@@gesithasgewissa Thanks for the update. Water can be a little tricky, It always finds a way to penetrate.
Looking forward to the next update.
ça doit sentir bon la garigue et le romarin ( ambiance "Le château de ma mère" avec le bruit des cigales , les fameuses cigalous..kss kss kss.)
Beautiful!
Stunningly beautiful, your videos are almost magical to me. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
Thank you so much! I can't wait to show you all!
This is like primitive technology but for history nerds
That's exactly what I was going for haha! Thanks for watching!
These videos are by far the most interesting I have come across on UA-cam. You have obviously done a great deal of research into this and it shows how possible it is to make a structure like this from scratch using purely natural materials. I’m impressed that you also seem unscathed and unharmed by handling raw and often dangerous materials. This is also backbreaking work and you are handling nettles and brambles routinely and it doesn’t seem to bother you. Thanks for sharing this with us, your skills are amazing.
Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you appreciate the research behind the project. It's hard work but well worth the effort ☺
Check out Primitive Technology. It's similar but he uses all hand made stone tools and he makes some incredible things. I think he was the inspiration for this channel.
@@alexandermendez4653 He was indeed!
I'd always imagined the roof structure starting out more rigid--you've given me a lot to think about. Thanks.
Not absolutely necessary, but maybe more long-lived!
It's interesting to think how much of our ancestors' lives were "woven" rather than constructed.
It's true, it was such an integral part of historical culture and craft!
I imagine that it would've been an extraordinary exception for such construction to be the work of one man; pretty sure there are complications faced by a solo builder which wouldn't trouble a team of builders. It'll be interesting to see how this roof holds up to the weather. =^[.]^=
Yes, where are those Saxon serfs when you need them? 😉I will be sure to get some good autumn rain footage in the next video!
Just an update to this in the spirit of experimental archaeology: This first layer of grass thatching is not completely waterproof in all day heavy rain, so I will be using this as a base coat of thatch into which to secure a layer of more durable thatch material, either longstraw or bracken, which I will film as Part IV or V of this series!
As l recall the masi mara use cow dung on the food of their huts , over the roof and walls . Bakes like clay in the heat of the day . Easy to repair
Killer house brother!
You’ve really outdone yourself and your old school technology is absolutely fantastic so keep up the great work!
Thank you! It's important to try and keep traditional technologies alive, and it's fun!
Was hoping there was a #3 and now hoping for more! This is not only great to watch but very informative! With the world as it is today, many of us might need this build info for ourselves in the near future! a big thank you for sharing!!!🌎🌏🌍✌️
Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad you are enjoying the series! Part IV coming soon!
Absolutely fascinating
Thank you.
My favorite part is where the dry grass pile gets bigger every time you pull from it!
Haha! Magic grass pile!!
@@gesithasgewissa haha, nice!
you absolutely deserve more attention. great contend.
Thank you for the kind words!
It’s utilitarian, yet the artistry is beautiful
I do love functional beauty!
Awsome work! Will work great? Very cool to see the process
Thank you!
This is pure Saxon bushcraft
Haha, thanks!
Нереально круті відео. Завжди чекаю з нетерпінням нових та дивлюся з таким захватом. Це краще, ніж будь-які голлівудські екранізації, будь-які саги. Атмосфера захоплює. Хочеться жити у твоїх відео:)
I am honoured by such kind praise, thank you so much!
Can’t wait to see the daubed walls!!
Daubing should be good fun!
Great job , looking real nice , urvery skiled.
Thank you!
The thought of having a fire going anywhere near that dry thatch roof unnerves me a bit. But I figure it just necessitates keeping your ember production under control...
The indoor hearth fire creates a smoke ceiling which suppresses sparks before they reach the thatch. But I'm of course always very careful.
That is a lot of damn work. People had 2b tough as hell! 2day they r mush! Nicely done friend
Indeed, people were lean and tough! Thank you for watching!
Due to poor circulation the toes on my right foot are one step removed from gangrene, exceedingly painful. Haven't managed to force myself to build the recumbent pedal-chair which Should heal them, so your video provided a very needed distraction from the hideous pain i was experiencing changing the bandages.
A very traditional build. If i'm going to live in it all winter, i prefer something bigger, and since i know how to build a 'rocket mass heater' i can heat the larger space efficiently and safely. Not historically accurate, like the layer of plastic sheeting i would imbed in the thatching, but i like being warm and dry while still Pretending it's the middle ages. Hail Odin!
I'm glad to hear my video brought you some relief, thank you for sharing! The Saxons had no rocket mass heaters but they did have clay ovens which might have provided a bit of thermal mass and warmth over the winter, not to mention a cosy open hearth!
Yes, staying completely historically accurate with this build allows me to experience the historical challenges first hand, it's not quite warm and dry yet 😆 This first layer of grass thatching is not completely waterproof in heavy rain, so I will be using this as a base coat of thatch into which to secure a layer of more durable thatch material, either longstraw or bracken, depending on which is easiest to source.
Super impressive man. Keep up the good work
Thank you so much!
Still one of my favorites.
Thank you brother.❤
Thank you! Glad you're enjoying the project
This is so relaxing and easy to see. Thank you for throwing us back to British Medieval days
I'm glad you enjoyed, thanks for watching!
Awesome watching looks like it would keep you warm and dry in winter but for rainy weather I think you would be soaked
Thank you! This first grass thatch layer is just a base coat. I have since put a weathering coat of thatch straw on which is waterproof even after many days of heavy rain. You'll be able to see that in Part IV of this series
This series is such a blast. Could you share more details?
Somewhere in the comment, you said that it took you a month of work to build, and half of it was procuring materials. I love this kind of data, and it would be a shame to have it lost. That said, I have a bunch of questions. I'm afraid I might repeat it after you finish the whole project.
All the questions assume to exclude recording.
How long were your work days?
How many work days it took you?
How long did it take to build every part of the house individually:
pruning
digging
building wattle walls
building supports
the first layer of thatch
the second layer of thatch
daubing (if any)
How long did it take to procure materials for the above individually?
I know it is a lot to ask, but it would be amazing to have this data.
Hi! I generally don't tend to keep exact track of work hours on projects like this, just because time spent on things can be so variable between different projects, even if attempting to replicate the same thing, due to weather, skill level, number of people working, distance to resources (this is a big one for thatch!) and so on.
Even so, I can give you my best estimate from memory so far:
removing blackthorn: 1 day
digging the pit: 3 days
building wattle walls: 1 day harvesting, 2 days building
building the roof frame: 3 days harvesting (took some time to find the right timber and good withy material), 4 days building
first layer of grass thatch: 20 days total, 7 days on the thatching, 13 days on harvesting, and transporting the thatch!
second layer of straw thatch: this video isn't out yet, but I recently finished thatching the roof with straw. I didn't harvest any of this and had it brought right next to the house, but it was a similar volume to the grass thatch. I thatched this layer in just 3 days! Granted, I was working dawn till dusk to get the roof on before some bad weather, so about 30 hours total. But this goes to show the difference it makes to, firstly, have the thatch material very close to the building, and secondly, have a bit of skill in the craft (my second time thatching, I already knew what to do).
Another point with the thatching: I used about 200 metres of tarred hemp cordage for the thatching, which I didn't make myself! I can make similar nettle or bast cordage at a rate of about 3 metres per hour. So if I had made all of the cordage myself, you could add another 8 days!!
Thatching the ridgelines: 2 days, including gathering timber material.
Wattle infill of the gable ends: 1 day, including gathering hazel material.
Daubing: I haven't started yet, but ask me again on the next video and I will let you know. I'm very happy to help with questions like this and pleased that people are taking such an interest!
Total days so far: 39 (+ 8 theoretical days cordage making)
Caveat: the number of hours I spend in a day can range from 6 to 10.
Thank you for watching and the great question! ☺
Always wanted to build one of these. Great to watch someone else doing it! Well done!
Thank you! It is great fun, and can always be done on a smaller scale!
Stumbled upon this video. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.
gonna have to watch all of them😊
Thank you! I hope you enjoy the rest of the series ☺
No machinery, no plastic. Good job noting that these things take time. In a village, some of the tasks might have been specialized, and materials stockpiled for when needed. Will there be a part 4?
Thank you! House building would have almost certainly been a communal effort yes. There will be a part IV, focus on the second layer of thatch and daubing. I'm currently filming it now! Thanks for watching
Just realised number 3 was out!
Thanks for providing another quality viewing experience.
Outstanding use of materials and a bloody good looking shelter.
Thank you so much!
I think it is very importaant how you assemble the bundlesxo f thatch. Making them more streamlined would help to divert water away and not trap itvin the thatch. Keep up the good work!
Thanks! This purpose of this layer is to provide a base to secure the weathering straw thatch into, you'll notice in Part IV all the straw is combed and aligned in the top coat of thatch ☺
Great stuff!
Thank you!
I've watched enough thatching videos to be a little bit concerned about the long-term sustainability of that roof. At least you did rake it over with your hands a bit there at the end, but I'm not sure that's going to be enough to effectively shed rain without getting damp in a way, which, you know... mold. Still, I acknowledge I don't actually know all that much about thatching, so maybe I'm overanalyzing here. Either way, I very much admire your dedication to your craft, and all the hard work you've clearly put into these videos!
This is just the first layer, I am using dried grass as a base coat mainly because I wanted to harvest some of the thatch myself. I am going to put a second weathering coat of longstraw or bracken over the grass base coat, so the durability of the grass shouldn't be an issue.
So far the thatch can weather light to medium rain but not all day heavy rain. Hopefully with the next coat of thatch on it will be fully waterproof!
As I'm trying to be as historically accurate as possible, I am not using tarps or anything to keep the layers dry while thatching it. I'm not sure the Saxons would have had any way to do that. Once finished, the small hearth fire may help to dry the thatch out, but then again perhaps thatch just didn't last so long back then if it got wet during thatching.
I'm open to any suggestions though if you can think of a way they may have solved the issue in the 7th century. More people helping is one way I guess. Thank you for watching and the kind words!
@gesithasgewissa 2 months later (because youtube didn't notify me of your response at the time for some reason) - yeah, I think the real answer is, thatching a roof is one of those group activities where it really helps to have a whole tribe, to get it done fast before the rains come. Humans are a social species who specialize in community/cooperation as a survival strategy. Being self-sufficient is great, but what's even greater is *not needing* to be self-sufficient all the time. To take turns guarding each other while we sleep. To help someone else build a house, knowing that they'll return the favour when you need a new roof for your house, etc.
But anyway, for the future - some degree of protection might also have been possible for someone working on their own like you are, stretched skins or waxed cloth, perhaps? Did the Gewissae ever use tents? If so, that's probably the kind of material they'd use for a project like this.
Anyway, I know you've already thatched the roof, so this is a bit of a moot point by now. Hope you're having a good day!
@@gayahithwen Yes, very rarely in history have humans been individually self-sufficient. Even amongst subsistence communities there would have been a high degree of cooperation. It is indeed human nature.
Certainly there were water-resistant coverings available. Woollen sails or tents could be water-proofed with pitch or fat, and the Romans used goat-hide tents which would have been waterproof. The difficulty is, that all these fabrics would have been hugely expensive during the period. For reference, the wool sail of a small Viking-style clinker ship may have been as expensive or even more so than the ship itself. And so the average Anglo-Saxon freeman would have been unlikely to afford these. Funnily enough, thatching was the main cheap, temporary and expendable weather-proof covering during the Medieval times. Incomplete Norman stone castles were often temporarily thatched over during the winter to keep half-finished timber and stone-work dry until the summer building season. But it doesn't make so much sense to build a thatched roof to keep a thatched roof dry! 😆
@@gesithasgewissa I know, it'd have been super expensive, but if you ever do need something like a tarp, maybe you can pretend that your tribe has one treasure that gets passed around very carefully for situations just like these. I know it'd be stretching historical credibility a little bit, but then again, so is doing a whole house's worth of thatching by yourself, so I figure that seems fair enough. But obviously you get to decide how you want to do your project, and if you think a big piece of tar-covered cloth is just too unbelievable, don't do it. Just trying to think of a narrative that makes your project easier, you know? 🙂
As always, I remain hugely impressed by your dedication to your work.
Love this content brother, keep it up! Seeing how our ancestors would have built their homes and collected resources is calming in a way.
Thank you, it's good to stay connected to our ancestors!
Rather than twisting wooden cordage directly by hand a simple hand twister made from a 2 foot stout stick with a hole in one end and a short twine loop through the hole. Put the loop through itself (a hawksbill) making another loop to put around the wood. Twist the stick to tighten the loop and voila, a lever to make large cordage. Untwist to move up the wood as needed, retighten, and repeat.
That's a cool idea, definitely useful if you're doing a large quantity, to save tired hands. Although a lot of the time it is very helpful to have the tactility of using just the hands, feeling which areas are stiff or fragile and so on.
Can't wait to see you daub the walls and furnish the interior and do an overnight in it.
Thank you! I can't wait to show you all!
It's coming along very well
Thank you Eric!
Great progress on the build so far. Its amazing how our ancestors could build a house without a mortgage
Thanks Peter!
Incredible work ethic and super build. However, its one spark away from a giant bonfire.
Thank you! Actually, many Early Medieval thatched houses had open hearth fires inside. Rather than using a chimney, the smoke fills the roof space and slowly permeates through the thatch, creating a 'smoke ceiling'. This 'smoke ceiling' helps to extinguish any sparks before they reach the thatch, making the inside more fire proof. You can see examples of this at archaeological open air museums such as Butser Ancient Farm.
Great work
Thanks!
I wonder how quickly one of these could go up historically with many skilled hands contributing? I know across many cultures and peroids of time construction often was (and still is) a group effort.
Yes, building houses would definitely have been a communal activity, as it is across cultures and history all over the word. I think, with three or four people, this could easily have been built within a month!
Not only is the idea and execution of the video good, you also leave links to your sources in the description. thanks.
Glad you appreciate the references!
The good old days
Yes indeed!
I love that you base your informative videos on archaeological research and cite that research in your description. This channel is both entertaining and academic - a challenging and rewarding achievement!
Thank you, I'm glad you appreciate the academic side of it as well, staying true to the historical period and accurately reflecting the archaeology is really important to me!
@@gesithasgewissa I love experimental archaeology. I wish I could do more of it myself, so I really appreciate the time and effort you’re putting in to do it for all of us to enjoy and learn from. You do such a great job of creating a feeling of immersion in the time period, which is really important and far from easy!
@@ek-nz Reading messages like this makes it all worth it, thanks for the inspiration!
@@ek-nz Just an update to this in the spirit of experimental archaeology: This first layer of grass thatching is not completely waterproof in all day heavy rain, so I will be using this as a base coat of thatch into which to secure a layer of more durable thatch material, either longstraw or bracken, which I will film as Part IV or V of this series!
@@gesithasgewissa I really look forward to seeing how it goes! I always find it amazing how thick thatch needs to be in order to keep out rain. I wish you all the best with collecting the next layers - I know you’ll be working hard for it.
Looked like a lovely branch of hemlock at 5:50.
It's hogweed, not poisonous but it can burn you if you get the sap on your skin. I was just careful not to touch the freshly cut ends and everything was fine! Thanks for watching!
- So, what was you science project for the summer?
- A house.
Did it win? 😄
Perfect video, subscribed!
Thank you and Welcome!
Incredible work, fascinating. You’ve inspired me to try a little something.
Thank you so much, I'm glad it inspired you!
So dope!!!
Thank you!
cool entrance
Thanks!
In the first episode he had to carve a wood shovel, now he magically has a nice knife.
There was such a thing as buying things in the Anglo-Saxon period 😆 people would have made what they could and bought what they couldn't.
Woooow! Great work... Love this channel! Looking forward to all your new videos!
Thank you! I can't wait to share them with you!
When skill matches ingenuity,, Bravo
Thank you so much!
A great deal of information is delivered here. And it is pleasing to watch too!
Thank you for your work!
Thanks for watching Hrafnir! I try to include as much information as possible in case anyone wants to have a go as well.
Thank you, brother, thank you - interesting and enlightening series.
You're very welcome, I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Very beautiful to see the built, and to imagine how people lived in those times. Thank you for sharing this amazing project.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!
Basically, it's basketweaving a house. This is totally feasible almost anywhere where there's a forest and medium-tall grass.
Exactly!!
Always a pleasure to see your videos. This was great. Thanks for making!
Thank you Wolfe!
That is so *Cough*ing cool!
Haha! Thanks Sean, I got there in the end 😆
Very cool
Thanks!
You need a mass of grass to complete the house, admire you. Living with the wild nature is the happiest, I'm also aiming for that. Happy lovely house
Thank you so much! It is a joy to live and work amongst nature.
Without much you build fabulously!!!❤
Thank you so much!
I think covering it with thick mud might be good. Very cool
I will be daubing the walls with a mixture of earth and straw, and giving the roof another layer of straw thatch! Thanks for watching!
Looking good, but flammable as hell.
I have a hearth fire inside with no problems ☺
Such a labour, beautiful video, man!
A labour of love! Thanks for watching!
Great video! I can't wait to see what you will do next
Thank you so much!
BRAVO , I LIKE IT , THANK YOU VERY MUCH !!!
I appreciate the enthusiasm! And thank you for watching!
Bit late to watching the video but It's here!!!
Better late than never! Thanks for watching!!
Awesome build mate, I can see you put a lot of time and effort into it. Massive respect!
Thank you so much!
Who else is here because of naturensöhne live channel? :)
Welcome! Thanks for watching!
Medieval Dynasty is a fantastic game on Steam
I'll take your word for it! 😆
looking forward to seeing become more cozy!
Me too Tija, me too! 😆
Wonderfull video! I just wondered how the have build these houses in the british rain. :)
I did...build it in the British rain 😄 I live in Somerset!
Great work!
Thank you!
Hey mate greetings from Australia. You did a really good job on your house
Thank you very much! ☺
This build is awesome. I subscribed to see whats coming next. 😊 I rate this as high as primitive technology. 👏
Thank you Isak, that is high praise indeed! Welcome to the project!
That is so neatly done, and it looks just beautiful. I imagine that a thick layer would act as insulation. I really like the detail of cutting your own grass and testing a new material rather than what you know for sure is going to work best.
Thank you for the kind words! Thatched roofs are very insulated. Yes, I wanted to show the process of gathering and processing a thatch material. I have since finished the roof with a straw weathering coat which you will see in Part IV!