What was found at West Stow?
Excavation at West Stow has discovered evidence for hunter-gatherers living in the area during the Mesolithic, or “Middle Stone Age” period. Temporarily camping on the knoll, they left behind them five or six dense concentrations of Sauveterrian-style waste lithic flakes, blades, cores and other stone implements.
Is West Stow open today?
Standard opening hours are daily 10am-5pm (last entry 3.30pm in Winter and 4pm in Summer). Please be aware that dogs on a lead are welcome in the country park but assistance dogs only are permitted in the Anglo-Saxon village due to the presence of livestock.
Is West Stow English Heritage?
Over the course of several seasons of excavation between 1965 and 1972, West Stow was one of the most extensively excavated early Anglo-Saxon settlements in the country. The excavations revolutionised our understanding of the design and construction of timber buildings of that time.
What Anglo-Saxon place names still exist?
We can spot many other Anglo-Saxon words in modern day place names in Britain today. Examples include: “Leigh” or “Ley” – meaning a forest clearing – Henley, Morley, Chorley. “Bury” – meaning a fortified place – Bury, Shaftesbury, Newbury.
What did an Anglo-Saxon village look like?
Anglo-Saxons houses were huts made of wood with roofs thatched with straw. Much of Britain was covered with forests. The Saxons had plenty of wood to use. There was only one room where everybody ate, cooked, slept and entertained their friends.
What do Anglo-Saxons eat and drink?
Anglo Saxon Food and Drink
- cereals – Wheat and rye for bread, barley for brewing and oats for animal food and porridge.
- vegetables – carrots, parsnip, cabbages, peas, beans and onions.
- fruit – such as apples, cherries and plums.
Are dogs allowed at West Stow?
Dogs welcome Dogs are welcome in the café and country park. Dogs must be on a lead in the country park. Assistance dogs only are allowed into the visitor centre, museum and Village.
What was life like in Anglo Saxon villages?
Most people in Anglo-Saxon England lived in villages. Their homes were made of wood, wattle and daub , and thatched roofs. They were normally just a single room with space for a fire and a hole in the roof to allow smoke to escape.
Did Saxons have surnames?
Although the Anglo-Saxons did not have surnames in the same way that we do today, they distinguished between two people with the same name by adding either the place they came from or the job they did to their first name, for example a woman named Edith who lived in the town of Blackburn would be known as Edith of …
What does Stow mean in place names?
meeting place
Stow or stowe is usually derived from stowe, which meant meeting place. Bristol was brigg stowe, the meeting place by the bridge. SUTTON. Sutton is a common place name in England. It is usually derived from the Saxon words sud tun, which meant south farm.
What is West Stow Anglo-Saxon village?
West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village. West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village is an archaeological site and an open-air museum located near to West Stow in Suffolk, eastern England.
When were the first excavations in West Stow?
The first excavations to take place in the vicinity of the West Stow village were undertaken in 1849, when an Anglo-Saxon cemetery was accidentally discovered on the nearby heath, and “skeletons and numerous urns” were found. Finds discovered at the cemetery would be collected by a number of locals until 1852.
Does this rotting West Stow House reveal Anglo-Saxon builders’secrets?
“Rotting West Stow house reveals Anglo-Saxon builders’ secrets”. Bury Free Press. 13 October 2015. “Saxon Hall at Bishops Wood is rebuilt after fire”.
Where are the Bury sewage farms in West Stow?
The land to the north and east of the West Stow Anglo-Saxon village has been heavily modified during the construction of the Bury sewage farms, with the north-east corner of the site having been partly destroyed by a gravel pit in the 1950s.