Our Anglo Saxon and Viking Workshop at Fulham Palace

Yesterday, we visited Fulham Palace to take part in an Anglo Saxon and Viking workshop. We got the chance to show off how much we’ve learned so far this term as well as learn some new things about the Anglo Saxons and Vikings. For example, we learned that the Vikings had longboats which weren’t deep below the water level so that they could sail up shallow rivers (like the River Thames when the tide was low).

We learned about the basic principles of archaeology – that the more deeper below ground an artefact is, the older it will be because layers of Earth cover artefacts more and more gradually over time. We pretended to be archaeologists and ‘dug’ up replicas of artefacts, and placed our finds into chronological order in a human timeline. We also had the opportunity to explore Anglo Saxon artefacts, translate Anglo Saxon text and try on Anglo Saxon clothing. Tunics have come up a lot this term in our class texts so it was great to see what it’s like to wear one!

After our workshop and lunch (we took advantage of rare pleasant weather and ate outside near a chicken coup), we took the opportunity to explore the museum within the palace and find their archaeological discoveries on display. This site is rich in archaeological finds because it has such a rich history dating back to the Roman times – the moat was definitely dug by Anglo Saxons to help defend the site from marauding Vikings who were sailing down the Thames looking for land and treasure. In more recent History, Fulham Palace was a residence for the Bishop of London until the late 20th century.

We had a really nice day at Fulham Palace and are extremely grateful for the kind reception and hospitality from the staff. Year 5, what was your favourite part of the day?