Anglo Saxon pit house

Built with tools and techniques 650-700 AD. JUST WOW!



I think I see him digging in clay with a wooden pick and shovel... He also builds a bed with cordage lattice for "box springs".

Wow - I just love experimental archaeology  So much of which is still applicable today.

What a great video. Thanks! I love this type of living history. There's much to learn.

I really enjoyed this video thank you!
I wonder about the threshold? I would worry about the pit house turning into a "pond house". I guess the removed soil must act as a dyke to keep water out.

I guess the removed soil must act as a dyke to keep water out.

Um yeah, I guess... But I don't see how. I do see a berm. It is highly unusual in my area to have a basement. Because, flooding. Yet, the Chickasaw winter houses had a similar dugout footprint. I wish I knew what they did to avoid seepage.

It looks like the house a whole is built into a slight slope, so I imagine that the levels direct run off away from the building. It's hard to visualise subtle slopes on video.

Also, my understanding is that these houses usually had a thick layer of rushes laid to make a dry and warm floor. While a small amount of moisture beneath the rushes wouldn't be ideal, the people living there would probably be pretty effectively isolated from it. And those living in them weren't stupid - if water flowed in the door the first time it rained they would quickly realise they needed to drain the water away. These houses weren't being improvised on an ad-hoc basis, they were a well understood design that was in use across large areas of the country for hundreds of years. The knowledge of how to build them well would have been common.

I particularly liked his bucket! I wonder what wood it was made from?

The handle looked comfortable for use.

Jay Angler wrote:I particularly liked his bucket! I wonder what wood it was made from?

The handle looked comfortable for use.

Ooh, well spotted Jay! (from about 12:33 in the video) It's a nice orange wood. I wonder whether they would have used alder for buckets? That is supposed to be durable in water. This thread started by Judith Browning has some lovely buckets made from cedar wood.
I like the fact the handle doesn't move - it means it doesn't compact and stack like a folding handle, but much more controllable.

Okay, so the pick is metal. What a cheater.

Here is the builder's 5 part playlist on the building the pit house done in 5 parts.

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:Okay, so the pick is metal. What a cheater.

The Iron age started in Britain around 800 BC, and this build is considered Medieval which starts around 500 AD. Some of the archeology I've looked at suggests that Iron tools took over fairly quickly - they were just so much better than their predecessors. Would a single builder have as many iron tools as this fellow had??? If they're right that this style of housing was widespread, I suspect there were work parties that helped each other within extended communities, but that's just a guess.

Jay Angler wrote:Would a single builder have as many iron tools as this fellow had??? If they're right that this style of housing was widespread, I suspect there were work parties that helped each other within extended communities, but that's just a guess.

I think you're right Jay. It's unlikely that someone would have been building in isolation in England then, I believe most people then lived in community. Iron tools would have been pretty precious though - if he had an axe, a pick, a chisel he would have been pretty rich I think! Iron works is pretty fascinating stuff  - real magic. this re-enactment site has some interesting insights into the works of the smiths pre-industrial times. Also wood working on the same site: a nice rabbit hole if you're into historic crafts.

Nancy Reading wrote:Iron tools would have been pretty precious though - if he had an axe, a pick, a chisel he would have been pretty rich I think! Iron works is pretty fascinating stuff  - real magic. this re-enactment site has some interesting insights into the works of the smiths pre-industrial times.

Yes, there's a lot to learn and I certainly don't know it all, but I did recently watch a video which was looking for Viking landings in North America. A promising spot and disturbance in the right time period, but didn't seem to have a settlement and the conclusion was that Vikings had likely stopped there and dug for what they called "Bog Iron". I gather that's a form of small bits of iron found in bogs due to the bog chemistry and finding it sped up the process of getting workable iron, but don't quote me on that - I'm no geologist and some of geology seems like Mother Nature Magic to me!

Bog iron is iron ore deposited by biological/chemical processes, essentially iron oxide (rust) that concentrates in certain spots. It has to be smelted to get metallic iron.

I've been watching this guy for while now.  I LOVE his videos!  He usually answers in the comments if you have questions.  I wish he'd do a video on his clothes.

I enjoyed watching this video. I think I'll watch his channel too, at least some of his videos. Even though this is Medieval and I am a Stone Age re-enactor ...

I agree with some comments here: back in those days one man would not have built a house on his own!

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:Built with tools and techniques 650-700 AD. JUST WOW!

I think I see him digging in clay with a wooden pick and shovel... He also builds a bed with cordage lattice for "box springs".

I agree with the wow factor here, but the axes, chisels, and hammers are metal. He did make the shovel and I’m impressed!
I’ve been searching for a way to build a form cheaply for the dome I’m building on my property. This just might be the way to go!