Iron Age Hillforts in
Northumberland National Park
Activity Booklet
Handling artifact box sponsored by
Altogether Archaeology
1
CONTENTS
ARCHAEOLOGY DETECTIVE ACTIVITY ...................................................................................................................... 3
ARTEFACT INVESTIGATION ..................................................................................................................................... 7
EXPLORING, PART 1: MAPS ................................................................................................................................... 11
EXPLORING, PART 2: AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS ....................................................................................................... 14
EXPLORING, PART 3: MAKE YOUR OWN MAPS .................................................................................................... 24
MAKE AN IRON AGE CROP MARK ACTIVITY .......................................................................................................... 28
OUT-OF-ORDER STORY ACTIVITY .......................................................................................................................... 30
PREHISTORIC POTTERY DESIGN ............................................................................................................................ 34
IRON AGE SALT EXTRACTION ACTIVITY ................................................................................................................ 37
THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS – MAKE COMPOUND TOOLS ...................................................................................... 39
WHO’S WHO IN PREHISTORY? .............................................................................................................................. 42
THEN AND NOW ................................................................................................................................................... 45
EXCAVATING AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE ............................................................................................................. 47
PHOTOGRAPHING ARCHAEOLOGICAL OBJECTS ................................................................................................... 49
UNDERSTANDING WHEN AND HOW ARTEFACTS WERE USED - TYPOLOGIES ...................................................... 51
“THE STRING REVOLUTION” – TWINED STRING ................................................................................................... 54
THE NEXT STRING REVOLUTION – SPINNING YARN ............................................................................................. 57
TELLING STORIES ABOUT THE PAST: REPORTS AND NARRATIVES ........................................................................ 59
THINKING SKILLS ................................................................................................................................................... 62
2
ARCHAEOLOGY DETECTIVE ACTIVITY
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand how archaeologists Replica artefacts or Clue Cards
study identity in the past through discussion
and role play using replica artefacts
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Neolithic, Bronze Age
and Iron Age (Northumberland examples);

KS2 Science: Working scientifically. Parts of plants; Animals including humans
(skeletons, diet); Rocks (types of stone used for different tools);

KS2 Design and Technology: Evaluate artefact design to determine function,
develop technical knowledge; stone tools;

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and
describing objects.
Learning Questions:

What was life like in a hillfort?

How do archaeologists learn about hillforts?
Activity Details
Archaeologists investigate what happened in the past by establishing three facts: When
Did It Happen?, What Happened? and Where Did It Happen?. Once these facts have
been established (as much as they can be!), archaeologists can start trying to figure out
Who Did It?, and, even more importantly, Why Did They Do It? We may never be able
to answer all of these questions but it is very rewarding and interesting to try. Trying to
understand more about the past helps us to understand the present.
The activity uses different types of archaeological evidence to determine When Did It
Happen?, What Happened?, Where Did It Happen? Once the students have interpreted
their clues and answered these questions they can begin to try and identify who might
have left these archaeological traces behind, and then to talk about why it might have
happened.
3
The point is not for students to get the “correct” answer but to evaluate the evidence
and then try to make a conclusion based on the evidence, and explain that to their
classmates. Add more clues based on your students’ level: it will help them practice
analysis, deduction, reasoning and presenting their findings.

A round house + hillfort + Iron sword + sheep, cattle and pig bones + poor quality
pottery = An Iron Age house. People lived here and cooked meat and maybe
made cheese with milk.
You can make the exercise more complicated by, for example, by adding more artefacts
or “clues” and asking students to explain the activities that led to all of these artefacts
being found together.
SITE TYPE:
Round house (round foundation ditch, postholes); Hillfort (large banks and ditches on
hilltop)
ARTEFACTS
Iron sword, Scabbard, Saddle quern, Beehive quern, Miniature Socketed Axe, Harness
Fittings, Poor-quality pottery, Spindle whorls
ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE:
Most: Emmer, barley and oat grains
Very little: Wild plant remains: hazelnut shells, crabapple seeds, berry pips
ANIMAL REMAINS:
Most: Sheep, cattle and pig bones
Hardly any: Wild animal bones: hare, boar, aurochs, red deer, Wild bird bones: red
grouse, grey partridge
4
Spindle Whorl in Great North
Museum© NNP
Beehive quern © Portable Antiquities
Scheme
Miniature socketed axe © Portable
Antiquities Scheme
Poor quality pottery in GNM © NNP
Iron Sword © NNP
Saddle quern (grinding stone) in Great
North Museum© NNP
Scabbard in Great North Museum©
NNP
La Tene style mirror © FuzzyPeg
Creative Commons License
Emmer wheat grains. Public Domain
image via Wikimedia Commons
Domestic sheep bones © Tomek
Augustyn Creative Commons License
Wild berry seeds or pollen © Steve
Daniels Creative Commons License
5
Barley
grains.
Public
Domain
image via
Wikimedia
Commons.
Hazelnuts, hazelnut shells, pollen.
Creative Commons license via
Wikimedia Commons.
Domestic cattle bones © Cgoodwin
Creative Commons License
Pig bones. Creative Commons license
via Wkimedia Commons
Round house © English Heritage
Crabapple seeds © Wehha Creative
Commons License
Iron-working slag. Creative Commons
license via Wikimedia Commons
Harness fittings © Portable Antiquities
Scheme
Bronze bowls and strainer © Portable
Antiquities Scheme
Mountain
hare
bones ©
Andrew,
via Flickr
Creative
Commons
License
Wild bird bones (e.g. Red Grouse) ©
Neil Theasby Creative Commons
License
6
ARTEFACT INVESTIGATION
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand how archaeologists
Replica artefacts
study identity in the past through examining
replica artefacts
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Neolithic, Bronze Age and
Iron Age (Northumberland examples);

KS2 Science: Working scientifically. Parts of plants; Animals including humans
(skeletons, diet); Rocks (stone tool types);

KS2 Design and Technology: Evaluate artefact design to determine function,
develop technical knowledge;

KS2 Art and Design: practice draftsmanship, scale drawing, sketching, creating
sketchbooks.

KS2 Maths: Measurement, geometry.

KS2 English: Spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and describing
objects.
Learning Questions:

What was life like in a hillfort?

How do we think like an archaeologist? How do we draw artefacts?
Activity Details:
An “artefact” is an object made or used by a person in the past. To a future archaeologist,
all of your possessions will be “artefacts” one day. Archaeologists can learn many different
things from an artefact. If we try to understand what an artefact is and how it was used, we
can start to think about who used it, and why.
What is it? Handle the artefacts. Look at their shape, the material they are made of. Do
they have any signs of being scratched, worn or damaged? Is one side more worn than the
other? Do they look like objects that you have seen before? What do you think the artefact
is? Use the reference photographs to help you decide what the artefact is. Discuss your
interpretations with your classmates and the teacher. (A labeled sheet identifying all the
7
artefacts is included with the collection, so you can check this at the end).
How was it used? Once you have identified what your artefact is, consider how it would
have been used. Do you think the artefact you hold today would have looked the same in
the past, or would it have had a handle? For example, an arrowhead needs to be attached
to a shaft, with feather fletching, and fired from a bow – otherwise it’s not very useful at
all!
Has this type of artefact changed over time? There may be examples of the same type of
artefact from different times in the past. Has it stayed the same over the whole time? Has
it changed? How have the artefacts changed, and why do you think that happened?
Who used it? Who made it? Now that you have identified the artefact, think: who would
have made it? Who would have used it? Why do you think that?
Record your discoveries:
A 1:1 scale drawing of an artefact can be made by putting the artefact on graph paper, and
tracing its outline. Then you can add detail freehand. If your artefact is very small, you can
trace it onto graph paper (1cm x 1cm) and then copy that drawing onto larger graph paper
(2cm x 2cm, to make a 2:1 scale drawing).
If your artefact is very large, you can measure it using a ruler, and then draw it onto graph
paper at a reduced scale (1:2 – every 1cm on the paper is 2cm on the real artefact).
Remember to label the length, width and thickness of the artefact. If it is different on the
front and back, draw both sides, and the side view. Always include a scale in cm on your
illustration.
Artefact recording conventions:

Always include a scale (a scale bar and a number scale, e.g. 1:1)

Always draw in black and white

Always label the drawing: length, breadth, thickness
8
When drawing flint and stone:

Show all surfaces: Ventral (front), dorsal (back) and profile (side) views

Try to show the ripples and scars on the flint pieces, and identify knapping features
When drawing pottery:

The right hand side of the drawing shows the surface detail of the pot

The left hand side of the drawing shows the inside and thickness of the pot – use
calipers to measure the thickness of the pot

Show the surface decoration with lines, broken lines and stippling (tiny little dots to
show texture)

Use a rim recording chart to estimate the circumference of the pottery vessel. The
rim recording chart from Potsherd.net is included as a .pdf with this education pack
and can also be downloaded from
http://potsherd.net/atlas/gallery/topics/rimchart-90-rev.pdf . Please print at 100%
and use a ruler to check that the chart is printed at the correct scale, otherwise the
calculations won’t work!
Features of flint artefacts. Image modified from original © English Heritage 2004.
9
Features of pottery artefacts: thickness on the left, surface decoration and texture on the
right.
10
EXPLORING, PART 1: MAPS
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand how to use maps
OS Explorer Map Outdoor Leisure 16 The
when searching for archaeological sites
Cheviot Hills 1:25 000 scale (not
included)
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Neolithic, Bronze Age and
Iron Age (Northumberland examples);

KS2 Science: Working scientifically. Parts of plants; Animals including humans
(skeletons, diet); Rocks (stone tool types);

KS2 Geography: Map reading; Human geography; Natural geography

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and describing
objects.
Learning Questions:

What was life like in a hillfort?

How do archaeologists learn about hillforts?
Activity Details
North is always at the top of the map. Natural features (like mountains, rivers and different
types of landscapes) and human-made features (like buildings, roads and property
boundaries) are shown on the map. There are specific symbols for different types of earth,
vegetation, transport links (roads, train tracks and footpaths) and archaeological sites.
Image: Ordnance Survey 2012
11
Image: Ordnance Survey 2012
Visible archaeological earthworks are marked with rows of small black triangles called
“hachures”. They show the slope of banks and ditches. The point of the triangle points
downslope and the base of the triangle is the top of the slope. You can see how they outline
the Roman Camps and Fortlet in the picture below.
Image: Photograph of Ordnance Survey map © Ordnance Survey 2009
Heights are shown b y contour lines, shown in red on the map. Each contour line joins up all
of the points at a given height, e.g. all the points at 280m above sea level (ASL). The height
in meters is also written in red numerals on the line. On the 1:25 000 maps, all contour lines
are at 10m intervals. The next photo shows the contour lines around Yeavering Bell hillfort
near Kirknewton (it’s just to the east of West Hill and St Gregory’s Hill). You can see that the
12
north-facing slope is very steep, because the contour lines are very close together. The
south-facing slope is not as steep. The highest point on Yeavering Bell is 361 m above sea
level. The map shows several streams (as blue lines) around Yeavering. Streams always run
downhill, so the head of a stream will be at the steepest point shown by the contour lines.
Image: Photograph of Ordnance Survey map © Ordnance Survey 2009
Points for discussion: Go through these examples with students and then challenge them
to identify these different landscape features (and any others you can think of):

A flat area and a steep area

A wet area and a dry area

A forest and a marsh

A historic battle site, a Roman site and an earthwork
Look at the hillforts discussed in this education pack on the OS Map. Do these hillforts have
any landscape features in common? E.g. are they all near streams? Are they all on the tallest
hill? Do you use maps in your everyday life? Can you navigate with a map and compass? Or
do you rely on a GPS and smart phone?
References:
 Ordnance Survey 2012. OS KEY to 25K MAP symbols [.pdf] URL:
<https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/docs/legends/25k-raster-legend.pdf >
Accessed 10th July 2014
13
EXPLORING, PART 2: AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand how archaeologists use
Aerial photographs and site maps
aerial photographs to identify buried prehistoric
(attached)
sites
OS Explorer Map Outdoor Leisure 16
The Cheviot Hills 1:25 000 scale (not
included)
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Neolithic, Bronze Age and
Iron Age (Northumberland examples);

KS2 Science: Working scientifically. Making comparisons. The study of plants. The
properties of light (and shadow).

KS2 Geography: Human geography and place geography, locational knowledge, place
knowledge

KS2 Maths: geometry (coordinates) and measurement

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and describing
objects.
Learning Questions:

Did hillforts change over time?

What are hillforts like today?

How do archaeologists learn about hillforts?
Activity Details:
Aerial photographs are very useful for archaeologists. They provide a bird’s eye view of a
site, show how different features are related to each other, and can reveal sites which
cannot be seen by people from ground-level.
Crop marks appear when features beneath the ground makes the crops grow better or
worse above the features. Crops grow better over buried ditches, because ditches can be
filled with organic material and also contain more moisture. Crops grow worse over buried
walls, because the soil is shallower and the plants’ roots cannot get as much nourishment or
moisture.
14
Other marks visible on aerial photographs include: Soil marks, which occur in ploughed
fields, where ploughing has disturbed features; Parch marks, which appear when crops dry
out more quickly because the soil is shallow above buried features; Melting marks, where
snow and frost also melt differently above buried features.
Shadows cast by low sunlight emphasise earthworks which may otherwise be obscured by
soil, vegetation or snow.

Distribute copies of the aerial photographs to students (or look at them onscreen).Look at the pictures and point out the archaeological features – the hillforts
are visible as concentric rings of circles. What other features can you see?

Locate archaeological features and other landscape features on the maps by reading
the labels and using the key. Start with the map the right way up and rotate the
aerial photographs so that the features in the photo match those which are on the
map. Then locate them on the corresponding aerial photographs. Measure
archaeological features on the maps/photos and estimate their size using the map
scale.

Consider how different types of landscape look on the map and in the photographs,
e.g.: marshy land and dry land, cultivated land and uncultivated land, forested land
and cleared land.
15
Brough Law Hillfort, Northumberland National Park
Aerial Photograph
Image: Airfotos
16
17
Ingram Hill Hillfort, Northumberland National Park
Aerial Photograph
Image: Airfotos
18
19
Middle Dean Hillfort, Northumberland National Park
Aerial Photograph
Image: Airfotos
20
21
Wether Hill Hillfort, Northumberland National Park
Aerial Photograph
Image: Airfotos
22
23
EXPLORING, PART 3: MAKE YOUR OWN
MAPS
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils apply their new knowledge
OS Explorer Map Outdoor Leisure 16
about using maps in archaeology, to teach
The Cheviot Hills 1:25 000 scale (not
them the basics of making an archaeology
included)
sketch plan and the principles in measured
OR
survey
A map of an area of your school
Drawing materials and clipboards
Hand-held tape measures
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Iron Age
(Northumberland examples);

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and
describing objects.

KS2 Maths: measurement, scale, diameter, circumference.

KS2 Art: Drawing, different methods and materials
Learning Questions:

How do archaeologists learn about hillforts?
Activity details
When an archaeologist visits a site they often make a quick map showing what they
find. This is sometimes called a “mud map” or a sketch map. It doesn’t have to be
perfect, it just has to include all of the basic information that the OS map has: a scale, a
north arrow, the detail the archaeologist wants to record (so, interesting archaeological
features, natural landmarks, manmade features) and labels so the archaeologist will
understand what it all means later.
To make a mud map:

Choose an interesting area in your school grounds. It should contain some
landmarks like benches, trees and paths, rather than being a plain playing field.
Pupils walk over the area identifying the important features they want to put on
a map. Then they stand at a good vantage point and quickly draw a bird’s-eye
24
view of the area. They don’t have to measure things as a mud-map doesn’t need
to be to scale. Measurement information can be added after the drawing is
complete. They can use a measuring tape, or more simply, they can pace out the
length of features and write that on the map. E.g. the picnic table is 5 paces long
and 3 paces wide.

You can practice exactly the same skills when visiting a hillfort or other
archaeological site. It might be more difficult for students to identify the features
of a hillfort, and the features will be bigger, so it will be harder for the students to
see the whole site at once.
To do a tape and offset survey:

To draw your map to scale, you can do a tape and offset survey. In the same area
in your school grounds, set up a “baseline” by stretching a long measuring tape
for at least 20 metres. Make sure it passes through the middle of all the
interesting features you want to include on the map. Anchor it to the ground at
both ends. This is the “tape” in the Tape and Offset (show in red in the diagram).

STEP 1: Use a hand tape to measure the distance from a point on the Tape to a
point (like the corner of a picnic table) that you want to draw on your map. This is
the “offset” in tape and offset (shown as green dotted lines in the diagram). To
draw a picnic table you will need four measurements, one for each corner (A, B, C
and D in the diagram). Your Offset must be at a right-angle to your Tape.
25

STEP 2: In order to turn your measurements into a drawing, you must draw a scaled
version of your baseline on a piece of graph paper. If your baseline is 20 m long, you
could draw a 20cm long line on ruled graph paper. Every 1cm on the graph paper
represents 1m in the real world. It helps to draw the baseline flat across the middle
of the page because you can fit more things into the drawing that way.

STEP 3: Transfer every measurement you take to your graph paper. For example, if
Point A is at 10 meters on the baseline and 10 meters down on the offset, measure
10cm across on your drawing’s baseline and then measure 10cm down. Put a small X
on the paper. Do this for every measurement you take.
26

STEP 4: Once you’ve drawn all the points you want to measure, start joining the dots!
For more detail on how to do tape and offset drawings, “A Practical Guide to Recording
Archaeological Sites” by RCAHMS (2011) is a very useful resource.
References:

RCAHMS (2011) A Practical Guide to Recording Archaeological Sites [.pdf] URL:
<http://www.swaag.org/pdf/SRP%20Site%20Recording.pdf > Accessed 20th
September 2014
27
MAKE AN IRON AGE CROP MARK
ACTIVITY
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help students understand how crop marks
Seed tray, cress seeds, Lego bricks,
let archaeologists identify buried prehistoric
potting mix. Lamp or flashlight, digital
sites, and understand the process by which
camera.
crop marks are formed.
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Neolithic, Bronze Age
and Iron Age (Northumberland examples);

KS2 Science: Working scientifically. Making comparisons. Setting up experiments,
drawing conclusions. The study of plants. The properties of light (and shadow).

KS2 Geology: Soil conditions

KS2 English: Spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and
describing objects.
Learning Questions:

What was Iron Age life like in our area?

What was Iron Age technology like?
Activity Details:
Aerial photographs are very useful for archaeologists. They provide a bird’s eye view of
a site, show how different features are related to each other, and can reveal sites which
cannot be seen by people from ground-level. Crop marks appear when features beneath
the ground makes the crops grow better or worse above the features. Crops grow better
over buried ditches, because ditches can be filled with organic material and also contain
more moisture. Crops grow worse over buried walls, because the soil is shallower and
the plants’ roots cannot get as much nourishment or moisture.
Other marks visible on aerial photographs include: Soil marks, which occur in ploughed
fields, where ploughing has disturbed features; Parch marks, which appear when crops
dry out more quickly because the soil is shallow above buried features; Melting marks,
where snow and frost also melt differently above buried features. Shadows cast by low
28
sunlight emphasise earthworks which may otherwise be obscured by soil, vegetation or
snow.

To make your own crop mark, build two intersecting walls of Lego inside the seed
tray. The walls should be 2 – 3 bricks wide and come nearly to the top of the seed
tray. Fill the seed tray with potting compost, just covering the tops of the Lego
Walls. Sprinkle the grass or cress seeds over the compost, water sparingly, and
put in a warm light place. Some types of cress will start to sprout after 24 hours.
After 10 – 14 days, with light watering, the cress will show its own crop marks –
the cress growing above the walls will have smaller, darker leaves, and will not
be as tall as the cress growing on potting compost alone.

To make a mini aerial photograph: In a dim room, use a desk lamp or flashlight
held at different positions over the cress tray to see how the direction of the light
source changes the visibility of the crop marks by changing the direction of the
shadows. Pupils can take several different photographs under varying conditions
and compare them to see how the visibility changes. They can also compare
visibility of crop marks in colour photographs and black and white photographs.

The cress can be harvested for use in sandwiches and salads.
References:

This experiment is based on an original by English Heritage, adapted by Jo Catling
of the Reticulum Project, Museum of Antiquities, University of Newcastle (now
the Great North Museum)
29
OUT-OF-ORDER STORY ACTIVITY
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand how archaeologists Out of Order Story clue cards (at the
create a sequence of events for past activity
end of this activity sheet)
based on the excavated evidence
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age (Northumberland
examples);

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and
describing objects.
Learning Questions:

When was the Iron Age?

Why were hillforts built?

What was life like in a hillfort?

Did hillforts change over time?

What are hillforts like today?
Activity Details:
Archaeologists investigate what happened in the past by establishing three facts: When
Did It Happen?, What Happened? and Where Did It Happen?. Once these facts have
been established (as much as they can be!), archaeologists can start trying to figure out
Who Did It?, and, even more importantly, Why Did They Do It? We may never be able
to answer all of these questions but it is very rewarding and interesting to try. Trying to
understand more about the past helps us to understand the present.

Print and cut out the Event Cards, separating the date card from the event card.
Lay out the dates cards in the correct stratigraphic order (oldest at the bottom,
most recent at the top) then line up the story events beside them based on what
the students have learned in class and from the slides.
The principle of stratigraphy is that the older events are below the younger ones. It may
30
be confusing for students to order the Story cards with the most recent event at the top
and the oldest event at the bottom. Explain that this is because, in an archaeological
site, the oldest layers are at the bottom and the newest layers are at the top. As people
keep visiting a place, they build up newer layers of archaeological activity on top of the
evidence and remains that are already there.
STORY CARDS

(separate these)

DATE CARDS
People make Rock Art
4500 years ago
Burials in Bronze Age
cairns
3500 years ago
Hillforts are first built
About 2900 years ago
31
Different types of hillfort
with more defences are
built
About 2300-2400 years ago
Hillforts are abandoned
About 2100 years ago
The Romans arrive
About 2000 years ago
Romano-British people
build villages on hillforts
About 1800 years ago
32
Knights and Castles
(The High and Late
Medieval Periods)
About 950 to 500 years ago
(AD1066 – 1500)
The Victorian Period
About 113-177 years ago
(AD1837 to 1901)
The End of World War 2
60 years ago
You visit this ancient
landscape.
What will you add to the
story of this place?
Today…
33
PREHISTORIC POTTERY DESIGN
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help students understand the
String
ceramic/pottery technology of the Iron Age
Replica stone artefacts
by creating replica pottery objects.
Thick cardboard
Sticks and other objects for incising
designs
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Iron Age
(Northumberland examples);

KS2 Science: Working scientifically. States of matter (change of state from
heating).

KS2 Design and Technology: Evaluate artefact design to determine function,
develop technical knowledge. Properties of materials.

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and
describing objects.
Learning Questions:

What was life like in a hillfort?

How do archaeologists learn about hillforts?
Activity Details:
Pottery is a useful technology that has been used in Northumberland and the North
Pennines since prehistoric times. People have made pots out of different types of clay,
and in different shapes and designs, over this time. People used pots for storing food
and drink, and maybe even for making cheese out of milk. People also used pots to hold
the cremated ashes of their dead relatives, and buried them inside cists, cairns and
burials. Other pots inside these monuments contained gifts of food and drink for the
dead person to take to the afterlife. So, pots had many uses.
Iron Age pottery fragments are often dark grey or black, and have a rough gritty texture.
This is because they were made out of coarser clay that had not been processed as
much (by soaking and removing impurities) as later types of clay. Sometimes material
34
was added, such as manure, straw and grit. The black colour comes from pots being
fired in simple low-temperature kilns. Later on, people used more refined clay and fired
it at a higher temperature, which means that the texture of the pottery is finer and the
clay bakes to a pale colour as the kiln fuel is “cleaner” (Graham Taylor, pers. comm.
2014).

Are any fingerprints visible on the pots you see in museums? Some
archaeologists have used fingerprints to identify whether men or women made
pots in the past.

Petroglyphic analysis can identify the source of the clay used to make pots and
thereby identify trade routes.

Would you use a cooking pot as a burial pot? Do you think people made special
burial pots, or just used any old pot they could find for a funeral? Why? Do
people today still use burial pots?

Why do you think designs changed? Pottery designs changed from the Neolithic
to Iron Ages. Some very different shapes and styles came into fashion. A type of
pot called Beaker Pottery may have been introduced from the Continent in the
Bronze Age. Some archaeologists think that this pot brought over by people who
also liked to drink beer, and was used especially for that purpose. Can you think
of containers in your life that have special purposes?

Pots in prehistory were made by hand, and probably weren’t made on a potter’s
wheel. Some people think pots are made by rolling a snake of clay and then
coiling it up into a pot shape, and then smoothing the sides. But this method
means that the pots break in a distinctive way, into fragments with diagonallysloped edges. Fragments like this are very rare, so it looks like most pots were
made as “thumb pots”.

Making a replica “thumb pot”: Make the pot out of plasticine or clay. Roll a ball
of clay in your palm. Press your thumb into the top to make a dent. Start to
gently turn the ball in your palm, while still pressing your thumb into the dent.
Gradually this will form the sides of the pot. Don’t press your thumb all the way
through – leave about 1cm thickness to be the base of the pot. If you need to
make the sides taller you can then add a coil of clay and keep building up the
35
sides. Decorate the pot according to the design you have chosen. Use pointed
sticks, shells, rolled cord (wrap the cord tightly around a stick and then roll it
against the sides of the pot), your fingernails, and other objects to make the
patterns. Allow to dry.
Some of the tools used by potter
Graham Taylor in recreating decoration
on replica pots – shells, bones, string
(coiled and twisted), sticks, smooth
stones, combs and arrowheads.
What tools made the marks on the real
and replica artefacts shown below, and in the artefact handling box?
A replica Iron Age cremation pot, by Graham Taylor, and afragment of Iron Age pottery
(with fingernail marks) from the Great North Museum collections.
All photographs © Northumberland National Park with thanks to Graham Taylor and the
Great North Museum for allowing us to photograph their objects.
36
IRON AGE SALT EXTRACTION ACTIVITY
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand prehistoric
1.5 tbspn table salt, 3 c water, Mixing
technology through experimental
bowl, Coffee cup, plastic wrap, Small
reconstructions
rock
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Neolithic, Bronze Age
and Iron Age (Northumberland examples);

KS2 Science: Working scientifically. States of matter (change from liquid to gas,
evaporation).

KS2 Design and Technology: Evaluate artefact design to determine function,
develop technical knowledge. Properties of materials.

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and
describing objects.
Learning Questions:

What was Iron Age technology like?
Activity Details:
Iron Age people extracted salt from seawater and natural salty inland springs through
evaporation or boiling. In some parts of England, a special type of Iron Age pottery used
for collecting salt by boiling has been found. It is called briquetage or VCP (“Very Coarse
Pottery”). Clay moulds were also used.
Water becomes vapour (or steam) and evaporates in two ways – by passively
evaporating, which is what happens when a shallow dish of water gradually dries up, or
your clothes dry on the washing line, or by boiling, where the water turns to vapour
from being heated. Salt can be extracted from water by evaporation and boiling because
salt is heavier than water – when the water turns to vapour, the heavy grains of salt are
left behind. The following activity is based on an activity by Williams (2014).

To evaporate salt from salt water quickly, on a hot sunny day. Put salt and water
into mixing bowl and mix thoroughly until salt is dissolved. Place the coffee cup
37
inside the mixing bowl, making sure the salt water does not come over the edge
of the cup. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap, and seal the edges tightly. Put
the small rock on top of the plastic wrap, over the middle of the coffee cup. Set
the mixing bowl in full sun, and wait. Within an hour you should see water
droplets (condensation) forming on the underside of the plastic. They will
gradually drip down into the coffee cup. After several hours, a good amount of
water should have collected in the coffee cup. Taste the water in the cup – is it
salty? (It shouldn’t be!) The water evaporated and left the salt behind. If you
removed the plastic wrap and let the water evaporate freely, eventually nothing
would be left in the bowl except the salt. The water is able to evaporate, but the
salt is too heavy and stays in the bottom of the bowl.

To remove salt water by slow evaporation. Dissolve salt into water as above, and
then leave in a sunny spot for several weeks, checking regularly. Eventually the
water will evaporate.

To remove salt from salt water, by boiling. Put the salty water solution in a pot
and boil. When all of the water has boiled off, the salt will be left in the bottom of
the pot.
References

Williams, Julie (2014) How to turn Salt Water into Drinking Water [webpage]
URL:http://www.education.com/activity/article/Take_salt_out_of_salt_water/
Accessed 12th June 2014
38
THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS – MAKE COMPOUND TOOLS
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help students understand prehistoric technology through
Replica artefacts
experimental reconstructions. To emphasise that the artefacts
Thick card
recovered from the archaeological record may not show the
String
whole story of past technology, because only the most durable
Sticks
materials survive.
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Iron Age (Northumberland
examples);

KS2 Science: Working scientifically. States of matter (change of state from heating).

KS2 Design and Technology: Evaluate artefact design to determine function, develop
technical knowledge. Properties of materials.

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and describing
objects.
Learning Questions:

What was life like in a hillfort?
Activity Details:
Although the Iron Age gets its name from one type of material, many other materials were
used in everyday life in the past. See the reference photos on the next page for examples.

What are compound tools? Do you often use objects made of two or more
materials? Like forks with metal heads and plastic handles, or shovels with wooden
handles, or a pen made of metal and plastic. Would it be easy to use a fork without a
handle? Or a hammer?

Combining materials: Adding different parts can make a tool more useful. An
arrowhead isn’t very useful without the shaft, feathers and bow to fire it. A sword,
dagger or knife is much easier to use with a handle. What other objects are
improved by being made into compound tools?

Make a replica artefact by tracing one of the examples onto thick strong card (or by
copying a reference photograph). Good shapes to try are arrowheads, daggers,
swords, and spearheads. To haft an arrowhead, cut a notch about an inch deep
39
lengthways into the end of a thin straight stick. Press the card arrowhead into the
notch, and then tie it into place with the string you made in the String Revolution
Activity. Use the same methods to make replicas of tools and weapons from other
periods of prehistory. Is the tool easier to use with a handle?
Additional images on following page:



"Hunt bridle head" by Thowra_uk - Arabian head. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hunt_bridle_head.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Hunt_bridle_head.j
pg
Spindle picture (cropped from original by: Roland zh (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
Brooklyn Museum [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia
Commons
Reference and comparison images:
A sword with a wooden handle or hilt
This sword is NOT from the Iron Age, but it
shows what a simple wooden handle might
have looked like.
An Iron age sword from the Great North Museum
Creative Commons © Brooklyn Museum
©NNPA
Iron Age Harness fitting found in Northumberland ©
Portable Antiquities Scheme
A piece of modern horse harness (Image Creative
Commons © Thowra_uk)
40
A replica spindle being used to
spin wool fleece into thread.
Creative Commons © Roland zh
A spindle whorl from the Great North Museum ©
NNPA
41
WHO’S WHO IN PREHISTORY?
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand how archaeologists Replica artefacts (or printed-out
study identity in the past through discussion
photographs)
and role play using replica artefacts
Additional costume items made by
students (optional)
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Iron Age
(Northumberland examples);

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and
describing objects.
Learning Questions:

What was Neolithic/Bronze Age/Iron Age life like in our area?

What was Neolithic/Bronze Age/Iron Age technology like?
Activity details:
Archaeologists investigate what happened in the past by establishing three facts:
1. When Did It Happen?,
2. What Happened?
3. Where Did It Happen?
Once these facts have been established (as much as they can be!), archaeologists can
start trying to figure out:
4. Who Did It?
5. (and, even more importantly) Why Did They Do It?
We may never be able to answer all of these questions but it is very rewarding and
interesting to try. Trying to understand more about the past helps us to understand the
present.
Before you can ask “Who did it?” you have to think about the identity of the ancient
person. Using the replica artefacts as inspiration, take on the role of a prehistoric
42
person, and an archaeologist, and learn about life in the past.
Who’s this? / “The Skeleton Game”

A student selects several of the replica artefacts, photographs of artefacts,
and/or replica jewellery made in class craft activities, and (without telling other
students their choice) decides on a prehistoric identity for themselves (e.g. a
stone knife for a Neolithic hunter; a socketed bronze axe and a beaker for a
Bronze Age person; a saddle quern and a piece of pottery for an Iron Age farmer)
and then lies down as if dead, with the objects placed around them.

Other students take the role of archaeologists who have just opened this “grave”
and are using the evidence they see to identify the “skeleton” inside. The
“skeleton” must remain silent until the “archaeologists” reach the correct
conclusion.
An archaeologists’ dream come true – Ask an ancient person about their life!/ The
“Hot Seat”

Once the “skeleton” is correctly identified, the student archaeologists get to do
what every archaeologist dreams of – ask the ancient person about their life!

Students answer based on what they have learned through the course.
Additional discussion points:
Who are you now? What would your life have been like in prehistory?

Are you a child or an adult? What gender are you? Reviewing what the class has
learned in the What was Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age life like in our area?
Learning Questions, students can talk about what their life might have been like
if they lived in the past.

Question assumptions! Don’t assume children, adults, and people of different
genders had the same jobs, roles and responsibilities in the past as they do
today.
43
Are you an elite person? Or a non-elite person?

What is “status”? What is “power”? (Telling someone what to do? Having more
food or treasure? Receiving these things because of your success, or because of
your family?)

There are people today who have status and power – who are they? Why do
they have their power? Some people have status and power because of their
work – for example, a police officer or a teacher or a doctor can tell other people
what to do because of their training and the responsibilities of their work. Other
people have status and power because of who their parents are – for example,
the Queen and her family. They have inherited their status and power. Can you
think of other elite people?

How can archaeologists tell if someone was elite? Are they buried with precious
objects? Do their skeleton and teeth show that they were strong and healthy,
from having good food to eat and rarely going hungry? What other signs could
you think of?
References:

Tyne and Wear Museums (2014) Book of Delights[.pdf] URL:
<http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/geisha/assets/files/Book-of-Delights-v13FINAL-VERSION.pdf > Accessed 12th August 2014
44
THEN AND NOW
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help students interpret ancient artefacts
Replica artefacts (or printed-out
based on comparisons with modern objects
photographs)
Additional replica items made by
students (optional)
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Iron Age
(Northumberland examples);

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and
describing objects.
Learning Questions:

What was life like in a hillfort?

What do archaeologists do?
Talking about identity and social difference in the past
A useful way to start looking at ancient artefacts is to compare them with modern
examples, and with other artefacts of the same type from different periods in the past.
Identifying change and continuity in the past is a way to start looking at how peoples’
lives and beliefs changed (or stayed the same!) over time.
Compare the artefacts with their modern day equivalents. Which materials and design
features are the same, and which are different? Why were the objects designed and
made like that? – was it for fashion? Did changes over time make the object better, as
people worked out more sophisticated designs and methods? Do objects and designs
always get better over time?
For example, if you are looking at the replica cauldron, your investigation and discussion
could involve these questions:

Where does iron come from? From iron ore, found in the ground

How was iron smelted in the Iron Age? Iron ore was burned with charcoal to
separate the pure iron. Early Iron Age people could not create enough heat in the
45
furnace to melt the iron to a liquid. It was formed in small lumps, which then had
to be reheated and hammered into the right shape. Because of the time taken to
produce it, iron would have been very valuable. It could be recycled into new
objects by heating and reforging – like the replica cauldron which is made of
recycled smelted charcoal iron.

Was it difficult to make a hemispherical object from a lump of iron? Yes, it had to
be beaten into shape using a hammer. You could show students a video of a
blacksmith at work or visit a smith. The cauldron had to be made in two pieces
because it was too difficult to get a piece of iron large enough to make the
cauldron in one piece. It also takes a long time – half a day – to make the rivets.

What are the advantages of using iron for cooking utensils? Iron conducts heat
well. It’s robust. It’s water-tight, if the rivets and pieces are fitted together
properly.

What are the disadvantages of using iron for cooking utensils? Rust

What are its design features? The handle to hold it. One could be hung on a hook
over a fire. Also this allows to temperature to be varied by moving the pot
higher/lower over the fire.

How does this compare with what we use in the kitchen today, and where we
get our utensils from? Some pupils may have hand-made pottery at home but
metal utensils are probably machine-made. Most utensils will have been bought
rather than made by family members.
46
EXCAVATING AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand how archaeologists
Archaeological objects from Loan Box,
excavate archaeological artefacts. To emphasise
or other objects to excavate (toys,
that it is important to dig slowly and carefully, and cutlery etc)
to record where things are found: it’s not just a
Excavation tools & sorting trays from
“treasure hunt”
Loan Box
Recording equipment - graph paper,
pencils, clip-boards
Measuring tapes, string and camping
pegs
A plastic tray full of clean sand
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Iron Age (Northumberland
examples);

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and describing
objects.
Learning Questions:

How do archaeologists learn about hillforts?
Activity details
Dampen the sand in the tray, and bury the artefacts. Vary distribution depending on your
goals for the activity. Pupils will use the trowels and brushes to excavate the objects and
place them in the sorting trays for further investigation.
Depending on the level of your students, you could set out or ask them to set out a
quadrant grid over the sand tray using the tapes, string and camping pegs. Divide them into
pairs or small groups to excavate each quadrant. Collect and label the finds in the sorting
trays.
Make a context label for each sorting tray saying which grid the finds are from.

As the pupils dig, encourage them to think about where the artefacts are being
47
found. Are they buried deeply? Are many artefacts together in one corner of the
sand tray? What is the sand like - is it clean, or full of pebbles and sticks?
Archaeologists take note of this information to understand more about how
artefacts came to be deposited in the ground.

In addition, you can ask the students to keep records as they dig (if suitable for their
age level). This may involve writing down the name of each object as they find it.

Place a selection of excavated objects on a large piece of paper (A2+) ruled in a 10cm
grid. Pupils draw the objects onto a smaller piece of paper (ruled in a 2cm or 5 cm
grid). If using a drawing frame, leave the objects in the sand, place the drawing
frame over them, and let the pupils draw them in situ. Explain the importance of
recording the position of objects relative to each other in understanding how they
might have been used in the past.
References:

Northumberland National Park 2012. Archaeological Recording Practices: Guidelines
for archaeological excavation and recording techniques [.pdf] URL:
<http://www.isgap.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/Archaeology%20Recording
_Final.pdf > Accessed 20th July 2014.

Printed copies of this booklet may also be available: contact the Northumberland
National Park for more information.
48
PHOTOGRAPHING ARCHAEOLOGICAL
OBJECTS
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand how archaeologists Original or replica objects from Loan
record artefacts with photography. To
Box.
emphasise that drawings can show up details
A clean white table, a sheet of clean
that are lost in photographs, and that
white card, an angle-poise/“Pixar” lamp
drawing something makes you pay more
A digital camera and/or film camera
attention to how it is made.
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Iron Age
(Northumberland examples);

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and
describing objects.

KS2 Maths: measurement, scale, diameter, circumference.

KS2 Art: Drawing, different methods and materials
Learning Questions:

How do archaeologists learn about hillforts?
Activity details
After finishing the Artefact Illustration activity, talk about how archaeologists also take
photographs of artefacts. Explain that photographs and drawings are useful in different
ways:

Archaeological drawings are always in black and white. They are useful for
showing the very fine detail of an artefact. By drawing an artefact, the
archaeologist has to think really carefully about how the artefact is made.

Archaeological photographs are in black and white and colour. They are useful
for showing the colour and surface texture of an artefact.

To practice photographing artefacts: Place an artefact on a flat surface, next to
a photographic scale (a ruler, or a hand-drawn scale), and photograph its front
and back using a digital camera. Explain that archaeologists draw and
photograph artefacts because illustrations can emphasise important details that
49
are hard to see in photographs, such as decorative motifs or the direction of flake
marks on stone tools. You could create a photo booth with a sheet of clean white
card for the background, use lumps of Blu-Tak to hold the artefacts in place and
an anglepoise lamp to light the artefacts to take photographs without shadows.
Archaeologists usually use film cameras as well as digital cameras, as there is no
set agreement on archiving digital photographs yet so a film record is still
required for an archive. You could practice taking photographs with a disposable
camera and have them developed for a classroom display.
Sample scale for photos or drawings:
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10cm
References:

Council for British Archaeology (undated) Fabulous Finds 2: YAC Factsheet –
Drawing and Photographing Different Types of Object [.pdf] URL: <
http://www.yac-uk.org/sites/www.yac-uk.org/files/nodefiles/leaderdocs/activities/YAYA_02_Drawing_different_objects.pdf > Accessed
2nd March 2014
50
UNDERSTANDING WHEN AND HOW
ARTEFACTS WERE USED - TYPOLOGIES
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand how archaeologists Original or replica objects from Loan
look at the shape, colour and form of
Box
artefacts, and compare them with other
A selection of everyday modern objects
artefacts, to try and understand what they
familiar to the students: pens, pencils,
were used for.
cutlery, camping plates and cups,
figurines (toys, cars, blocks) in different
materials, sizes and colours
Note paper and pens
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Iron Age
(Northumberland examples);

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and
describing objects.

KS2 Maths: measurement, scale, diameter, circumference.

KS2 Art: Drawing, different methods and materials
Learning Questions:

How do archaeologists learn about hillforts?
Activity details
If an archaeologist finds an artefact, they have to find out what it is. A useful way of
finding out what an object was used for is to compare it with other objects of known
purpose. If it looks the same, perhaps it was used in the same way? This is just the first
step in beginning to understand an ancient artefact. Archaeologists can also examine
how types of artefact change over time. By looking at the same type of artefact from
different times, archaeologists can see different styles and designs. Sometimes these
changes were for practical reasons, and other times it was all about fashion. Then if an
archaeologist finds a new artefact of that type, they can see where it fits in with the
changing designs. They can use this information to work out how old the artefact is,
relative to the other artefacts. Many examples of artefact typologies can be found in
51
textbooks and online.

Using the familiar modern artefacts: mix all of the artefacts up and set them on
the floor. Students can take the role of “future archaeologists” excavating a site
from the ancient 21st century. Looking at these objects, the Future
Archaeologists can start to understand what they are by dividing them up into
different TYPES. For example, if the class is working with a selection of crockery
and cutlery, they can sort them into Knives, Forks, Spoons, Plates and Cups. They
can then sort Cups into Mugs, Teacups, Glasses, Wine Glasses. They can then
sort these sub-categories by colour and material.

Rather than just putting the sorted materials into piles, pupils can lay out their
types in rows on the floor. Ask pupils to stand up and look down on their sorted
artefacts. Is it obvious how the different types go together? Does their system
make sense to someone else?
Here is an early typology by Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt Rivers (1827-1900), an army
officer, ethnographer and early archaeologist who pioneered this method of looking at
artefacts. This diagram is from his work 'Evolution of Culture', Pitt Rivers 1875, plate III.
Image source: http://england.prm.ox.ac.uk/englishness-Balfour-in-the-Upper-Gallery.html
52
The artefacts have been laid out so that the most “simple” object is in the middle (the
stick). The most similar objects get put next to the simplest object. The further away an
object is from the centre, the more it has changed from the original simple form. If the
simplest object is the oldest, the more another object differs from the first one, the
more time it has had to change, and the newer it is.
This isn’t the only way to look at artefacts (and it isn’t always right!) but it can be a
useful place to start looking at how objects change over time.
You can apply the same method to the designs of buildings and hillforts – consider a
simple univallate hillfort (the oldest type of hillfort, with a single ring of defenses), a
bivallate or multivallate hillfort (a later modification to hillfort design, where more
defenses are added), and a hillfort with a Romano-British settlement built over it.
53
“THE STRING REVOLUTION” – TWINED STRING
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand prehistoric
Nettles (or raffia), work gloves, a stone
technology through experimental
or stick
reconstructions
Instructional videos (links below)
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Neolithic, Bronze Age
and Iron Age (Northumberland examples);

KS2 Science: Working scientifically. Plants.

KS2 Design and Technology: Evaluate artefact design to determine function,
develop technical knowledge. Properties of materials.

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and
describing objects.
Learning Questions:

This activity deals with Neolithic technology but is included as a precursor to the
following activity “The Next String Revolution – Spinning Yarn” as an example of
how the technology developed over time from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. It
is also likely that twined string was still made and used even after spinning
technology was developed, much as coarse twine is still used by gardeners and
crafters today.
Activity Details:
Although Neolithic means New Stone Age, people used a lot of other materials such as
wood, plant matter, leather, bone, horn, antler, shells, feathers, leather, wool and clay.
String and textile crafts were a technological revolution just as important as stone tools.
String made nets, bowstrings, bags, and could be woven into clothes.

What “Age” do we live in? The Steel Age? The Plastic Age? How much of what
you are wearing is made of these materials? What about your home and
classroom? How many other different materials do you use every day?

Invisible technology: What tools do you use to make the nettle string? Your
54
hands? A stick or stone? Do you think an archaeologist would recognize the stick
or stone as tools?

Making twisted cord from nettles: Collect the nettles, choosing upright and stiff
stems. Wear gloves! Rub off the leaves and stings by running your hand down
the stem, and trim off the top and bottom of the stem. Rest each stem on a flat
surface, and press a stone or stick against the stem – slide it down the nettle to
flatten the entire stem. This is called bruising the nettle. Don’t press so hard you
tear the stem. Cut the stem open with a sharp knife, or use your fingernails. Bend
the stem at around the halfway point. This should separate the nettle into two
parts or layers. One part will be hard and stick-like – that is called the “pith”.
Remove this part and throw it away. The remaining fibres are what you use to
make the cord or string. You can use the fibres just as they are, or you can twist
them into cord. (Optional: dry the fibres overnight). This activity is based on
instructions by Sussex Wildlife Trust: (2014).
Experiment with different twisting methods to see which you prefer. Compare the
different results. Which do you think is best?

Twisting Method 1: Find the middle point in your length of fibres. Twist the
nettle fibres between thumb and forefinger (both hands). Eventually the fibres
will kink and a small loop will form at the middle point. Keep twisting and the
two halves of the fibre will wrap each other. As you continue this twisting
process, the cord develops. Video demonstration by Chapman (2010).

Twisting Method 2: Roll the fibres on your thigh: after you have twisted the
fibres together a few times, fold them in half and keep twisting them. They will
kink together and wrap around each other the same as in the first method. Video
demonstration by Ray Mears (2011).

Twisting Method 3: Tie two bunches of fibres together at one end. Twist one set
of fibres, and then twist both sets of fibres together, then twist the second set of
fibres, and twist both sets of fibres together. Video demonstration by Barnhart
(2010).
55
Some videos and websites demonstrating the methods of making and twining nettle
string are recommended below.

Chapman, D. (2010). Making nettle string. [Online video]. Available at: <
http://youtu.be/Wn6wikrwQq8 > Accessed 21 June 2014.

Mears, R. (2011). Making Cord from Nettles. [Online video]. Available at: <
http://youtu.be/lQHvqWCN5Eo > Accessed 21 June 2014.

Barnhart, J. T. (2010). Raffia. [Online video] Available at: <
http://youtu.be/TMBXpSzHrPg > Accessed 21 June 2014.
References:

Sussex Wildlife Trust: (2014). Make Nettle String. Available at:
<http://www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/wild-summer/wild-play/makenettle-string/ > Accessed 21 June 2014.
56
THE NEXT STRING REVOLUTION –
SPINNING YARN
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand the technology
Replica spindle or reference
used to make yarn, the amount of work
photographs
required, and the methods of experimental
Air-drying clay or CDs
archaeology.
Wooden dowel
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Iron Age
(Northumberland examples);

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and
describing objects.

KS2 Maths: measurement, estimating amounts and time required to make cloth

KS2 Art and design: Drawing, different methods and materials
Learning Questions:

How do archaeologists learn about hillforts?
Activity details
No Iron Age spindle whorls have been recovered in Northumberland but examples are
known from other parts of Britain. It is likely that Iron Age people in Northumberland
also used woven cloth to make their clothes. They would have needed to spin the
thread to do this.
The size, shape and weight of the spindle whorl influences the speed of the spin and the
thickness of the yarn. Small spindles rotate faster, so they are used for making thin
threads. Heavy spindles are used for spinning two or more threads of yarn together
(called “plying”). Different sizes and shapes would have been in use at all times in order
to create different types of thread.

You can use air-drying clay to make different sizes and shapes of spindle whorls.
Once they are dried, attach them to spindle shafts and experiment to see what
results different weight spindles have on the type of yarn that is being spun.
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What spindle whorls are best for spinning thin yarn? Thick yarn? For plying yarns
together?

Whorls can also be made from modern materials such as CDs held in place on a
length of dowel. Cutting a hooked notch at the top end of the shaft (with the
whorl at the bottom) gives a convenient place to anchor the thread.
How long would it take to spin enough wool for clothing? Bring in a knitted garment
like a jumper and compare its weight to handspun yarn.

Pupils are to spin as much yarn as they can within an allotted amount of time. At
the end of this time, they are to weigh how much yarn they have spun on the
scale. Weigh the knitted garment and work out how long it would have taken to
spin enough yarn to make it, based on the result of the students’ experiment.

Use this to talk about the difference in the value of clothing now and what it
might have been in the past. Talk about how people might have worked so they
could spin yarn all the time. When one becomes very experienced with spinning
yarn, it is possible to do it while walking, as well as when sitting down. There are
examples from the historic record of shepherds and farmers (women and men)
spinning while doing their other duties – when they needed to use their hands for
other work, they would just put the spindle in their belt.
Here are some useful demonstration videos available on the internet:

Swales, Lois 2014. Spinning Techniques for Hand spindles and whorls. URL:
<http://youtu.be/UUsDVFPYtGQ > Accessed 29th August 2014. (This video shows
different methods and includes footage of her using a spindle and a distaff. She
explains about the differences between modern and historic spinning).

WEBS: America’s Yarn Store.2012. How to Spin on a Drop-Spindle. URL:
<http://youtu.be/FrZcr7_qXFY > Accessed: 29th August 2014. (Demonstrates
modern techniques using a top whorl spindle, but explains the principles clearly).

WEBS: America’s Yarn Store.2012. How to spin Hi and Low Whorl styles on a Drop
Spindle. URL: < http://youtu.be/eVv9OYJ-uXI > Accessed: 29th August 2014.
58
TELLING STORIES ABOUT THE PAST:
REPORTS AND NARRATIVES
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand how archaeologists
Replica artefacts
use the information they have found in
Results of any previous activities from
excavations and investigating artefacts to tell
this booklet
stories about the past, by writing reports and
interpreting their results.
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Iron Age (Northumberland
examples);

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and describing
objects.

KS2 Maths: measurement, chronology

KS2 Art and design: Drawing, different methods and materials, photography
Learning Questions:

This is useful as a review activity.
Activity details
Archaeologists need to share their discoveries with the world. This is how we continue to
learn about the past – by sharing our discoveries we can inspire other people to find out
more about the past. Archaeologists often share their discoveries by writing reports.
Reports have all the important information about an archaeological discovery:

Introduction: What did you investigate? Where was it? Who did the investigation?
Why did you do it?

Methods: What did you do? Did you dig up a site, or draw a map, make a crop mark,
or investigate artefacts?

Results and Interpretations: What story can you tell about the past?
For example, students could complete any one or more of the practical activities in this
booklet and use their findings to create a mini-report. Each section need only be a sentence
long, with photos or drawings from the activities included. Below are some sample reports,
for a site visit to Brough Law hillfort and for the Archaeology Detective activities.
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Aerial photograph image: AirFotos. Lined paper image from http://llstock.deviantart.com/art/lined-paper-17761720 ©2005-2014 LL-stock.
60
Photographs: NNP. Lined paper image from http://ll-stock.deviantart.com/art/lined-paper17761720 ©2005-2014 LL-stock.
61
THINKING SKILLS
KEY STAGE 2 (Upper and Lower)
Learning Objective
Equipment
To help pupils understand how archaeologists Replica artefacts
use the information they have found in
Results of any previous activities from
excavations and investigating artefacts to tell
this booklet
stories about the past, by writing reports and
interpreting their results.
Curriculum links:

KS2 History: Changes from the Stone Age to the Iron Age: Iron Age
(Northumberland examples);

KS2 English: spoken and written communication, explaining reasons, and
describing objects.

KS2 Maths: measurement, chronology

KS2 Art and design: Drawing, different methods and materials, photography
Learning Questions:

What do archaeologists do?

This is useful as a review activity.
Activity details
Living maps: Use post-it notes to label important features on maps and aerial
photographs. Think about why Iron Age people would have wanted to live in this place.
Create labels showing the “use” and ask pupils to find the appropriate feature on the
map. Eg: Water to drink = river; Somewhere to sleep = roundhouse; Encloses animals
and people = hillfort wall. Students can explain their reasoning.
Concept maps: Concept maps involve classifying information and exploring the
relationships between different factors. Use this to review pupils’ understanding of the
relationships between environmental, cultural and physical factors in the Iron Age.
62
Diamond rankings: Decide the relative importance of different factors. Ask the class to
call out things they think are important for a particular site or artefact to a total of 9
statements. (You could ask students for their ideas in one class, and then write them out
onto A4 sheets of paper to use in the next class). The class works together to lay these
out on the floor in a diamond pattern, with the most important at the top of the
diamond and the least important at the bottom. There is no “right” answer, student s
just have to explain their choices. Some example statements are provided below:
When making an iron cauldron for cooking, what factors are the most important?

Tin and copper (to make bronze) are rare

Iron is common

Iron is sometimes not as strong as bronze

Iron can rust

Iron pots can be water-tight

It is hard to make fire hot enough to smelt iron

Iron can be heated over the fire

Iron can be repaired

Pottery breaks easily.
63
When building a hillfort, what factors are the
most important?

Near fresh water

On a steep slope

Near the farm lands

Lots of room inside

High strong walls

More than one line of defence

Easy to see other hillforts

Easy to be seen by other hillforts

Near the forest (wood for building and fuel)
Odd One Out: This activity can be played as a short game. Three objects from the
Archaeology Loan Box can be chosen, and pupils have to decide which is the odd one
out. Usually, any one of the three can be the odd one out; pupils have to justify their
decision.
Which is the odd one out, the Cauldron, the Pot or the, Bone Needle?. The Cauldron is
the only one with a separate handle, the Pot is the only one which will break if dropped,
and the Bone Needle is the only one used for sewing.
Further reading on Thinking Skills:

Bowkett, Steve 2014. 100 ideas for primary teachers: Developing Thinking Skills.
Bloomsbury Education: London.

Northumberland County Council 2000. Thinking for Learning: the Big Picture in
Northumberland. Northumberland County Council: Morpeth.
64