We ran our Ancient Craft Sessions in schools across Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. These aim to share archaeological discoveries and get children thinking about ancient ways of life.
At every school, our team led an all-school assembly, sharing the discoveries from the excavations on the A428. This included talking about archaeological finds and what they tell us, and a little Q&A.
We then led classroom workshops during the day. The schools chose between weaving or brooch designing, and the children got to have a go at making these crafts and discussing what life might have been like over 2,000 years ago.
Both of these activities linked closely to what we discovered during our excavations. We found evidence of looms and weaving, as well as a portion of wattle and daub. Objects like small brooches and clothing pins were also found.
We encouraged more than just a simple making task – we included opportunities for children to trade materials and experience a ‘barter economy’.
Like all our school programmes, we customised our sessions based on what the class had already learnt about in their own lessons. This meant the craft sessions reinforced what had already been taught.
These activities and archaeological excavations took place as part of the National Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet Improvements.
