In October, Wessex Archaeology North’s Alix Sperr, Maria-Elena Calderon and Emma Carter made a return visit to North Ridge Community School in Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster, to help them with their annual Anglo-Saxon celebrations.
North Ridge Community School caters for pupils with severe learning difficulties, with some pupils having additional needs. The school intake spans preschool up to the sixth form (aged 3 to 19) and it currently has around 120 pupils. The present school was built in 2008, and an archaeological excavation undertaken prior to its construction identified a small Anglo-Saxon cemetery, dating to the late 7th to late 8th century; the results of which have just been published in the Yorkshire Archaeological Journal (click here for our list of recent publications).
As part of this year’s celebrations, the school played host to two groups of visiting students from London and Sweden.
The pupils took part in a range of activities which included the always popular Anglo-Saxon dressing up, excavating real archaeological finds from a sand pit, colouring in sheets-a-plenty, and this year Wessex Archaeology took two extra activities along: Anglo-Saxon bread and butter and brooch making.
The bread making activity gave the pupils a hand-on opportunity to see how bread was once made. Once the basic ingredients were mixed, the children kneaded their own dough and then decorated it with seeds and oats. The bread was later baked in the school ovens.
Butter churning proved also very popular, and the children were asked to shake a jar containing ceramic baking beans and double cream. This process emanates the churning process thought to have been used in Anglo-Saxon times and made many a sore arm from vigorous shaking! The pupils were amazed to see butter and buttermilk made after their efforts and all who tasted it agreed it was delicious.
Another opportunity for sticky messy hands was given in the brooch making activity. The pupils were given a range of craft materials and resources showing the types of brooches worn by wealthy Anglo-Saxons, and encouraged to use their imagination to create magnificent jewelled brooches and pins. Shiny metallic confetti proved particularly popular! The finished creations added the finishing touches to Anglo-Saxon dressing up, allowing the children to proudly wear their creations.
A lot of fun was had by pupils and teachers, and the team felt honoured to be given the opportunity to spend time with the pupils of North Ridge School and their visitors.
For more information about Wessex Archaeology's Community, Education and Outreach projects and the services we can offer, please click here or email education@wessexarch.co.uk