Tuesday 4th June Outdoor Painting- with a difference

Wow! What a wonderful inspiring visit we had to this reconstructed site and Marc, archaeologist and  our guide made it so special with his wealth of knowledge, much gained from having been key to much of its construction alongside the many volunteers who have built and carved and mosaiced and woven and painted their time and effort into this site.

We started in the Iron Age round house, still under construction in similar fashion to the Glastonbury Lake Village huts and Marc explained the life that would have  been experienced living in this way.

We then made our way to the Roman Dining Room and were awed by the fantastic mosaic floor nearly completed by volunteers and made entirely with small  tiles made by them from local stones.  We studied the wall paintings of the Gods Bacchus, Dianna and Flora, an early Christian symbol and marble simulation paintings in similar style to those found at Roman sites across Europe.  This was pure luxury for the Roman elite with underfloor heating which the reconstruction team mastered along with authentic construction of the building from the stone foundation to the cob walls and ventilated roof tiles.

Next we moved onto the Anglo Saxon Feasting Hall, a reconstruction of a High Importance hall as would have entertained King Alfred filled with beautiful carvings depicting  stories from Beowulf and Grendel and other Norse fables; weaving looms; dyed wool; stained glass and highly decorated wooden furniture.

Alongside the hall sat a  Viking trading vessel as would have sailed up the Parrett in days gone by and evolved from dug out canoes, since improved and engineered with extreme skills using wood split rather than sawn to preserve it’s inner strength.

Finally we visited the excavation hut originally used by Harold St George Gray and Arthur Bulleid when they were excavating the Glastonbury Lake Village where a film was available too showing life on the levels.

Time then for sketching, tea and cake in the cafe and gallery.  The day was  breezy but some of us opted for a little sketching around the fire in the Feasting Hall to return another day as there is just so much to take in and see.

The day was really made special by Marc who’s knowledge was captivating both in a historical way but also how the reconstruction has been done and how much they have all learned from doing it.

We were not as many as we had hoped but those of us there had a fabulous visit; this is not a destination to be missed and I am quite sure we will all be visiting again in the not too distant future.  Thank you Marc and all the Avalon Marshes team.

Katy H.