Recreating the Past
Collection: Butser Ancient Farm Project Archive 1972-2007
Archaeology is not always about excavating the past. The ADS archive also contains data from experimental archaeology: in this case, an ancient farm has been recreated, following the ways our ancestors used to build houses. The pictures show steps of the building process, as well as the finished round house.
This collection contains data from Butser Ancient Farm, a project born in 1970, instigated by the Council for British Archaeology, to build an ancient farm where archaeologists could test their theories on how people lived in the past. The first site was established in 1972 on Little Butser Hill, Hampshire, and open to the public in 1974. A second site was open in 1976 in Hillampton Down, with better accessibility and space to build more buildings. Butser Ancient Farm is an important site where archaeologists can test theories. The site is also very popular with school children, who get the chance to learn about how people lived thousands of years ago.
The Butser Ancient Farm Project Archive 1972-2007 contains over 6,300 images which can be searched and viewed via the Query page. The image archive comprises images from the various Butser Ancient Farm sites as well as other sites and archive images used for research and reconstruction purposes. The images date from 1965-2003. The collection also contains a copy of the database containing the image catalogue, along with additional archive material including three video files and the descriptive records from the experimental earthworks at Bascomb, Fishbourne and Wroughton.
"This was a really nice archive to work on and a great contrast to the many excavation-based archives we hold. Over 6000 images show years of work and study and demonstrate the value of reconstruction as a means of providing a more tangible perspective on what archaeologists see in the ground." Jenny O'Brien, ADS Digital Archivist.
