A DAY OF DISCOVERY: STONE AGE DAY AND ARCHAEOLOGY DAY
September 20, 2022
Lower School pupils enjoyed activities in a mysterious tent erected on the Lower Close last week. Lower 2 pupils learnt about the Stone Age, whilst Upper 2 pupils learnt all about Archaeology. Read on to find out more…
On Tuesday 13 September, Lower 2 pupils enjoyed Stone Age Day down at the Lower Close. They discovered a mysterious tent and spent the day talking to its unusual inhabitants, learning about how they live. The pupils were taught by two actors, Scruff and Twig, who showed them a variety of things such as how to prepare a pheasant and how to make a flute out of bone. They even learnt to make face paint by rubbing two stones together.
A Lower 2 pupil, Orson Wylie said “in one corner of the tent there was a big prehistoric bear skin with big knife-like fangs. It was very scary. Brave hunters from 65 thousand years ago killed it… It was a fun day.”
Henry Bulman, another Lower 2 pupil described the day saying “we walked into the tent, and I was amazed how realistic and big the woolly mammoth skull was. When I sat down the fur was so soft, I could sleep on it.”
Then on Wednesday 14 September, it was the Upper 2 pupils’ turn to enjoy the mysterious tent for Archaeology Day. The pupils put on their detective hats and went in search of some clues to reveal the past. They entered the tent and were met by Anna and Jay, the resident archaeologists. Excited to share all that they have learnt about primary and secondary sources of evidence, the pupils couldn’t wait to get ‘stuck in’ and dig for evidence themselves.
There were ‘trenches’ with evidence buried under either sand or soil. After being taught how to ‘dig with brushes’ and record findings, the pupils began to explore the contents of their trench. It felt as though they were on real-life archaeological digs, with each group discovering clues and trying to piece together the evidence and decide what they had found.
One group found a replica ‘bog body’ and delighted in coming up with theories about how the body had got there and who it was. Another group discovered a neolithic butchery site and the third group found such a wide range of artefacts, including pottery and sewing materials. The pupils also learned about the process by which archaeologists can reconstruct the facial features of a person when they have found their skull. The day finished with Jay showing the pupils the fossilised woolly mammoth bone that he discovered at a dig in Wells.
Vihaan Raje, an Two, said his group found “two bones, a piece of leather, an arrowhead, a sowing needle, a stone patio, a broken pot of burnt seeds and a piece of broken flint.” His group decided they must have found the remains of an old building.
Another Upper 2 pupil, Ethan Liao remarked, “I found some animal bones and a human skull. This was my favourite part… It was a fun; interesting and exciting.”
