The Butser
Ancient Farm Project
and/or preserving
an ancient way of life for modern insight
What is the Butser?
There aren’t many places
in Britain where you can walk back in time – and fewer still where
you can walk back in time to the late Iron Age. One such place that
you can is the Butser Ancient Farm Project, located just south of Petersfield
in Hampshire.
The Butser Ancient Farm Project
is the product of 35 years of exhaustive research and archaeological
reconstruction of late Iron Age and some Roman sites – a method that
the Project calls “Experimental Archaeology”. Through this method,
the Project has created many Iron Age and early Roman buildings from
Roman villas to Celtic roundhouses, utility buildings such as sheds,
a granary, and a forge as well as many associated earthworks, fences,
animal pens and similar constructions. They have also researched, developed
and reconstructed a whole way of life, as it would have been in Iron
Age Britain. From cooking and daily life such as weaving clothing to
animal husbandry and metalworking, Butser provides a complete view of
how our Iron Age ancestors may have lived loved and worked through their
day-to-day lives. But it is not just history we can gain from the Butser
project; they have been instrumental in keeping old breeds of animals,
old strains of crops and dwindling crafts and techniques from disappearing
from Britain’s shores altogether.
Since it’s founder, Peter
Reynolds died in 2001 Butser seems to have lost some of its direction,
however a new team has recently taken over management of the Project
so expect new developments at Butser to be on the cards.
Butser’s Buildings
Since the project moved to
the present site at Bascomb Copse near Chalton, all sorts of buildings
have been popping up on site.
The recreated farmstead or
small community is centred around the Great roundhouse which is 50 feet
in diameter. It is based on archaeological evidence for many such roundhouses,
which were common across much of southern England in the late Iron Age.
A second roundhouse has been
built based on excavations at Moel y Gerddi in Wales. It is built on
a double ring of posts and the Butser Ancient Farm Project hope to decorate
and furnish it as such a roundhouse would have been in the 3rd
Century BC. There are also two smaller roundhouses based on finds at
the lake village of Glastonbury. These are used for general educational
activities for visiting groups.
One of Butser’s main strengths
is that it isn’t just a roundhouse – it’s a complete replica settlement,
which would probably have been occupied by several families. Because
of this, there are all sorts of smaller supporting structures and buildings.
There is a granary, based on a four-post structure find. It is unusual
in that its rectangular rather than round like the main houses. However,
it still has a conical roof as do the other buildings.
A forge is being built at the
moment and should be in operation in the near future. Butser plan to
run blacksmithing workshops in the future – check their site for more
details. 
The forge will also become part of their research programs
where techniques of blacksmithing will be researched and eventually
demonstrated to visitors. It also gives the Butser project more scope
in what they can build in the line of structures as archaeological evidence
does suggest that Iron tools and sometimes even fixings were used in
the construction of Celtic/Iron Age buildings.
As well as buildings, Butser
has an array of other structures and devices – from an earthwork ditch
and bank, which surrounds the settlement, to beehives, chicken coops,
and storage pits, Butser abounds with all sorts of interesting constructions.
They even have a pole lathe with which they perform the practicing of
“bodging” – wood turning powered by the movement of a pole or
sapling swinging back and forth. With this lathe they make spindles
and handles for pots and tools. Again, Courses are run at Butser –
keep up to date with their website for more information.
Iron Age Farming and Food
One of Butser’s most notable
successes has been the reconstruction of Iron Age farming techniques,
both in animal husbandry and the growing and preservation of ancient,
and also endangered crop varieties.
A variety of rare breeds are
kept at Butser and will be on show to visitors. The list is long but
includes all sorts of “primitive” domesticated animals, for instance
the Soay sheep that are akin to the small sheep raised in the Iron Age.
Small primitive cattle and pigs are also kept and displayed, along with
Exmore Ponies, which is a native pony breed believed to be a descendant
breed of ponies that roamed Britain since before the last Ice Age.
Also to be found at Butser
are various grains and vegetable crops that have been found amongst
archaeological evidence dating from the Iron Age. The grain staple of
Iron Age Britain was mostly Wheat and Oats, from which a number of breads
would have been made, as well as other staples like oatcakes and something
similar to porridge. 
Also to be found in cultivation are the likes of
wild carrot and primitive peas along with wild foods such as vetches
and nuts. Several times a year Butser hosts days with guest specialists
in Iron Age and Roman food who demonstrate the preparation and cooking
of the cuisine of the time.
Courses and Learning Opportunities
There is a rich program of
events at Butser; indeed there are courses running almost every weekend
from April to October. If the idea of learning such skills as roundhouse
building, smithcraft, flint-knpping, weapon making, and food preparation
sound enticing, check out their website for a full program of events
and activities. There are also some talks on a variety of historical
and archaeological topics.
Ritual and Celebration
at Butser
The Butser Farm seems to play
host to a Beltane celebration, Harvest festival with Iron Age food and
celebration and a celebration for Samhain with storytelling.
Please remember though that as a Secular organisation some of the celebratory
events at Butser may rub some Pagans the wrong way with the likes of
burning Wicker Men… you have been warned!
Contacting/Finding Butser
Butser’s full postal address
is:
Butser Ancient Farm,
Chalton Lane,
Chalton,
Waterlooville,
Hampshire
PO8 0BG
Or phone: 023 9259 8838
Directions to find Butser can
be found at the Butser Ancient Farm Project’s website: http://www.butserancientfarm.co.uk/
