Dates: Wednesday 7 August 2024–Sunday 1 September 2024, All Day
Venue: Yorkshire Museum
‘Britain’s Oldest House’ to be Built in Museum Gardens!
7 August to 1 September 2024
Just what is it like to build and live in a Mesolithic House? 11,000 years ago our ancestors were not just surviving, they were thriving and this summer, visitors to York’s Museum Gardens can see the challenges of building a Mesolithic house for themselves and find out more about these ancient people’s lives from the exhibition in the Yorkshire Museum.
From 7 August, a team from the York Museums Trust and the University of York, and experts in ancient technology and archaeology, will build a Mesolithic house using evidence gleaned from the world famous prehistoric archaeological site at Star Carr in Yorkshire. One of the most important discoveries at the site was the oldest known house in Britain. The house construction in the Museum gardens will be based on evidence from the archaeological site using techniques and materials, such as stone tools and plant materials which would have been used 11,000 years ago. Professor Nicky Milner, Head of Archaeology, and Dr Jess Bates, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of York, are spearheading the project with experts Diederik Pomstra and Leo Wolterbeek and support from Dr Adam Parker, Curator of Archaeology at York Museums Trust. This project has been made possible by funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
