Team 5 w/b 22.10.18

Date: 5th Nov 2018 @ 2:36pm

This week we had an amazing trip to Tatton Park for our Anglo Saxons and Vikings drama activity day.

As we walked along a dark path in the morning, we were greeted by a cowled figure.  She was an Anglo Saxon lady who was out foraging in the woods.  She was quite upset because she couldn’t find any of her fellow villagers anywhere.  She took us back to her village where we began to help her search.  Suddenly, a huge Viking warrior appeared!  The Anglo Saxon villager and the Viking warrior didn’t like each other very much, and we began to see her point when he explained that he was there for the ‘Danegeld’ - a payment that each Anglo Saxon village had to give to the local Viking chief.  Without it, we would be taken as slaves!  To see how skilled his potential new recruits were, he set us to work on some different tasks…

Our first task was to learn how to defend ourselves in battle.  We learned about the shape and construction of Viking shields, including how the middle part - or pommel - could be used offensively as well as defensively.  We practised raising our shields together to form a line, and were shown how this could keep us safe during a battle.  Next, we learned how to work as a team, with the back row forming a shield over the heads of the front row to protect them from incoming missiles like arrows.  We also learned about the different types of swords, axes and knives the Anglo Saxons and Vikings would have used, and the different jobs they would have been used for.  We ended the session with our best, loudest battle roars!

For the third part of the day, we learned about how Anglo Saxons would have made some of their food.  We identified wheat and began grinding it between two stones.  The powder that we extracted turned out to be flour!  We added some water to it and mixed it to make a dough.  Then we flattened the dough and placed it on a large metal pan, which was placed into a live fire.   

The last part of the day saw us learning about different trades.  We were revolted by the work that the tanner had to go through to make leather.  We also learned that you wouldn’t want to live downstream from the tannery!  We got to smell different ingredients that went into the process - some were nicer than others!  After that, we learned about how the Anglo Saxons would have hunted.  We spotted some deer tracks and talked about the best methods for tracking, as well as which tools would have been used.  Finally, we went back to the main dwelling in the village where we were told that the Danegeld had been recovered, so we would not be turned into slaves.  We enjoyed the day so much that a few of us even voted to stay behind as slaves!  Unfortunately, we were needed back in the 21st Century, so we thanked our hosts and heading back to school on the mechanical horse (the coach!).

We hope every has an amazing holiday!