SAXON HALL RECONSTRUCTION OPEN WEEKEND
24 and 25 OCTOBER
POSTPONED: We’re really sorry but the event has been postponed due to unforeseen ground conditions which mean that we are unable to raise the barn. A further date will be announced as soon as possible and we hope you can make it then. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused and please keep an eye on the blog for updates https://avalonarchaeology.wordpress.com/
Visitors to the Avalon Marshes Centre at Shapwick can see exciting progress being made on two archaeological reconstructions at an open weekend to be held on 24 and 25 October.
A Roman building and a Saxon hall
The reconstructions, of a Roman building and a Saxon hall, are being created by the South West Heritage Trust as part of the Avalon Marshes Landscape Partnership. The partnership has been generously funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Once complete the buildings will be wonderful places for school groups and the general public to get hands-on experience of life in Roman and Saxon times.
Visitors to the open weekend will see the partially-completed dining room of a Roman villa with underfloor hypocaust heating and cob walls. The reconstruction includes stone rescued from a Roman villa at Cannington. The other building is the recreation of a 9th-century Saxon longhall based on evidence from the royal estate at Cheddar.
The Carpenters’ Fellowship has milled and crafted the timber frames for the hall and will be erecting the walls over the weekend. They will be helped by a group of ‘hands-on heritage’ volunteers who have been working on the Roman dining-room and other projects over the last three years.
Come along
The open days will run from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October. There will be a chance to see both buildings and to find out more about their creation, but no public access will be allowed on the construction site itself. The project is being run in partnership with Natural England who own and manage the Avalon Marshes Centre.
Toilets, a café and a craft shop are also on site at the Avalon Marshes Centre, Shapwick Road, Westhay, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 9TT.
