Building a Medieval Clay Oven in the Anglo-Saxon House - Part I | Romano-British Updraft Furnace
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ต.ค. 2024
- The Anglo-Saxons and Romano-British built clay ovens to cook food, bake bread, and heat their homes.
These ovens were built of cob; a mix of clay soil, sand, gravel and straw.
While gathering resources for the oven I also finished the interior walls of the pit house. The wattle walls were covered with a daub of sandy clay and straw. This was then covered with lime wash, mixed from slaked lime. The walls were painted with two coats, but will need several more over time.
Gathering cob materials is hard, heavy work, and one of the buckets broke free of its hazel hoop, so another was quickly fashioned to repair the bucket.
This oven design is based on an updraft kiln used by both the Romano-British and Anglo-Saxons. Early Anglo-Saxon examples have been found at Cassington, Oxfordshire. In these kilns, the fire is stoked from below, and is drawn up vertically through a flue or vent into a clay or turf dome above, with a smoke vent in the top or side of the dome.
These updraft kilns were primarily used for pottery, and there is no evidence that they were used indoors or for cooking. However, I wanted to create a design that aligned with the known technologies of the time, but allowed for a smoke free house!
First, a small chimney and arched stokehole were built as the 'updraft' part of the oven. This is known in modern times as a 'rocket stove'. This chimney was built up around into a solid cob block, to provide good thermal mass for heating the house.
Heavily grogged cob, with lots of gravel for thermal resistance, was used for all areas in direct contact with fire, while the rest of the block was made of standard straw cob. The arch and chimney were supported temporarily by hazel frames until dry. These will frames will eventually burn away as the oven is used.
The domed oven was built around a woven willow frame. Again, this frame will burn away eventually, leaving the solid cob dome. A thermal layer was applied first, followed by a straw cob insulation layer.
An outlet flue was formed from the back of the dome, out through a hole in the wall, to the exterior of the house, which will allow the smoke to exit.
The floor was covered with dry rushes for warmth, and a test fire lit in the oven, to check it worked as intended. The updraft draws the fire well once it is going, with little smoke, and once a door is added to the upper entrance of the oven, there will be very little, if any, smoke in the inside of the house.
Next, the oven just needs a cob door, flue grate and some finishing touches, before it is ready to start experimenting with baking!
With thanks to:
Herknungr, Musician, playing “Spekð".
Grzegorz Kulig, Silversmith, for making the pattern-welded knife.
Matuls, Cooper, for making the alder bucket with hazel rings.
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Hi all! You can check the subtitles and description for more detail. Thanks for watching, and many thanks to Herknungr for the music “Spekð"!
If you like what I do and want to support me further, consider becoming a patron: www.patreon.com/gesithasgewissa/
Finally another top quality video
You need an Anglo Saxon JCB 🤣 great stuff👍😉
@@rickywhite7578 A PERFECT 👍🏻 WARM HOUSE 🏠 🌼🍀✨
Like your videos because you show by example not Blather on and on. Quiet is good
Thank you!
Great comment!! My feelings exactly.
Couldn't agree more. This guy and the Primitive Technology guy from Australia are very relaxing to watch.
Show, don't tell!
Seeing you place the clay piece by piece really makes me think that the difference between claywork and bricklaying actually is fluid.
Very much so! It's a great way to build with a drier cob mix for extra structure
If you think about it brick work is just pre fired clay work really. ❤
Isn't practical experimental archeology just fun? And so much more teachable than just reading about it or seeing an exhibit in a museum.
I'll bet you have a ton of footage you've got to edit with each project you undertake. You are awesome at recreating all of the things you do. I love watching your videos because of the attention to detail you provide plus the subtitles. I'm hard of hearing so I miss some things when trying to listen to people talk in videos. With your subtitles, I can learn while watching and know I won't miss anything.
I'm glad to hear to love the videos, thank you for watching!
I have hearing problems too and agree with your comment.
@gesithasgewissa thanks for the interesting and informative content!
What patience, what skill and fortitude our ancestors must've had to make something like this. Thank you for *your* skill and patience in recreating it.
Thank you for the kind words!
Amazing work! Expanding on the facilities a Saxon household or village would've had is just what I was hoping to see. So glad you're doing this.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Quick tip: At 2:13 you use the hoe to mix the dob. The hoe will get stuck through suction, the thing is not to jerk it free, like you did, but break the air-seal first with a more gentle pull that you hold until the mud breaks off the back of the hoe. Then apply force. This saves energy (and your lower back if you do it again in 692...).
Now I'm going to enjoy the rest of the video. Thanks for making these excellent series!
Thanks!
Bringing back the lost knowledge is a honorable path
Kind words, thank you!
I didn't skip, but I was SO eager throughout the video to see the fire being lit. haha. And it looks so cozy, as expected. Once the outer layer is dry I'm sure the heat will radiate well and create a nice feeling when cooking
Glad you liked it!! Yeah I really like the bed too
Fantastic, it reminds me of the 'Rocket stoves' we see being built on YT over the last few years, it shows nothings new under the sun.
It is essentially a rocket stove, or updraft furnace!
I really love this content. I would like to see some weaving, both cloths n baskets, and pot making too!
Both are things I'd like to try at some point!
@@gesithasgewissa yes! ❤️
I have completely immersed myself in the mid 1700's for the last number of years, however, watching your videos and your commitment to authenticity , is really tempting me to move the clock back a few centuries ! [- ]
That's great to hear! I follow ' The Woodland Escape' and often see many similarities in the way people lived
@@gesithasgewissa Wow ! Small world. Peter [ Woodland Escape] is a good friend of mine, and I have participated in a number of his videos .
Love to see all the technology our ancestors utilised, we truly stand on the shoulders of giants!
This is one you dont usually see. Super used to seeing bloom irom vids but the old anglo saxon skill set has yet more to reveal to me. Here in pennsylvania usa we are just covered in enormous amounts of iron rich red clay, i think im gonma make one of these. Cheers my man, thanks for sharing your journey. The souls of the men of the seax surely smile down on you.
Glad you enjoyed a more niche aspect of Anglo-Saxon history, ahh rich red clay sounds perfect! There some red iron earth near me I have been thinking of painting decoration on the walls
Brutally underrated channel. Love the videos bro!
Thank you!
These films are absolutely fascinating. The people must have worked their arses off, all day 365 days a year.
Yes but i think the people in previous centuries also felt a sense of accomplishment after all the work was done.
I’m sure they did, it had to be done though or starve.
@@keithblakeman2823 true
Excellent!! You did a nice job on the oven. Can't wait to see you cook something in it. It should add some coziness this winter as well. Thanks for showing us the build!!
Can't wait to show you all cooking and baking!
What a difference a lick of paint makes! I always used to imagine the murky past in black and white. But of course our ancestors lived in bright sunshine and experienced a full colour 4-D existence just like we do today.
That lime wash really brightens the interior!
As soon as I see a new video by you in my feed, I watch it. As a student of European and American history, and as a person whose ancestry comes almost completely from Northern and Western Europe to include the British Isles, this is fascinating to me.
Thank you very much!
I really like the way how that oven looks, with this cone-like upper part. Also, i am glad that you've put some lime over those walls, so they would stay longer in better condition without any "plants" growing on them.
Glad you like it!
amazing what can be done with simple natural materials
Indeed!
There seems no end to your talents. I'm really enjoying your videos.
The best cob oven I ever saw!
Thank you!
Compliments to you!!
That is some absolutely wonderful work and art you made!!
All your techniques are so appropriate!!
Thank you, I appreciate it!
Theres so many skills that most people these days would never realise existed.
I have been learning traditional woodworking, using only hand tools, and I can utilise tools that a lot of chippies have never heard of even in theyre 50s.
I would recomend expanding on your chisels, as they are such fantastic tools, but also maybe check out if the Saxons used planes, as I know the Romans had versions.
Great videos and I really enjoy watching.
My hands would be so sore after working all of that clay! Especially the mud with the gravel in it.
It is pretty rough!
That looks like a lot of work, but it must be very rewarding as well. I find all the different historical furnace designs quite interesting and the one you show in the video I have not seen before. Great work again, cheers
Thank you! I've yet to test it out fully with cooking and baking, but I think it will be well worth the effort!
This channel has so much Potential! 😊
Im really looking forward to see many more awesome videos how your little kingdom evolves ❤
love the longer videos!
Good to know!
Your build looks so nice
This must be my favourite channel in this genre. The thorough dedication, the commitment, the quality of your work- I'm in awe. Every time one of your videos pops up it's an event in our house. Thank you so much for this priceless window into our past. I am glad to think you'll be much warmer this winter! 💕
È sempre un piacere vederti all' opera
Thank you!
Your channel for me is like video meditation. I love watching it and I zone out and just relax. I am amazed at the level of work and time everything took back in the past. You could not just go to the store and buy things. I wondered how you got into experimental archaeology and anthropology? What led you into recreating the past in such detail as you are doing now? I think this is just wonderful. I appreciate all the work you do and the fact you video it for us to watch. I have a lot of questions because I only have an overview of the time, I do not know details. Like were they Christians in this region? You spoke about a bell tolling in a video being from the local church. I thought it was more Pagan worshiping than Christians, although I know Christians were there. I will not make you tell me all about it, I will do the research myself and find out. I always wondered how people went to the bathroom, what they wear for underwear, how they deal with a cold or the flu. So I got some work to do. Thanks for inspiring me. And I am a new member and joined Patreon. You are awesome! Thanks again.
That's great to hear! Thank you for so generously becoming a patron. I'm always happy to answer questions!
I have always been fascinated by history and loved crafting things. I got interested in the Vendel period while living in Sweden and then turned to the Early Anglo-Saxons on returning to Britain. I studied nature conservation but ended up reading more about archaeology. This project means I can do both; engage with the natural landscape, and explore history and heritage crafts!
In late 7th-century Somerset, Christianity was spreading rapidly from neighbouring Saxon kingdoms, as well as from the native Romano-British culture. But this was mostly among the elite and even the Gewissan kings danced between paganism and Christianity. Paganism was still widespread amongst the general population. So there was both influences! The first Anglo-Saxon stone church was built at Glastonbury around 680-700 A.D. although there was an earlier wooden church there too, of Celtic origins.
Great content, playing with mud is always on top.
What an amazing labour of lov. The time, Technic, patience and love you are putting in the clay oven is on full display.
Thank you for sharing and taking on on this journey
very interesting!.....I love learning through your expert craftsmanship!.....thank you!
Glad you find it interesting!
Can you please can make a longer version of this video in whitch you show us how you start a first fire in this oven? Please, do not rush.
I will, in the next oven video, show some authentic fire lighting!
Can't wait to see you cooking in this oven man!!@@gesithasgewissa
I was sad that the scenes of the burning stove were so short 😢
Watching the oven take shape, I thought of the beginning of the Epic of Gilgamesh - “before there the first ovens were lit, before there was bread…”
Ooh that's a good line. I like it!
Stunning work; great craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you very much!
@@gesithasgewissa You are so very welcome. It's wonderful to watch your work!
You've never looked more like one of the anarchist Monty Python mud farmers than in this specific video, lol
Hahahaha!
I kept thinking of the line: "There's some lovely filth down here!"
@@marcusaurelius9736 SAME!
“My name’s DENNIS!”
This is fantastic for a fantasy I am working on, thank you.
Great to hear!
Fascinating!! Absolutely fascining!!!
Thank you!
Awww trusty bucket!!
They are real troopers!
That’s amazing bro.. so much work. My feet would be destroyed 🇺🇸
Thanks! I'm surprised how well they fared haha
This is brilliant it starts off beautifully with two deers and a hare and then a legless man begins the task of processing mud and straw and building something. Bit by bit, very much like play doh, it takes shape. Experimentation archaeology is great and so rewarding. You probably know know how they should have done it but not precisely, as the mysteries of this construction will have been lost to time as this would not have been preserved for future generations. Brilliant work as always. Thanks again for sharing.
I think you meant pant less not legless.lol
Glad to see I’m not the only one pokes lil holes in between layers to act as Velcro for the next! Love working with cob W/D so much! Great project!
Fabulous video. Thankyou for uploading.
I built a cob rocket stove in my cob house and know just how much work you put into your superior model! However , after nearly five years its still doing its job albeit a bit cracked.
i tried doing the hole in the wall but the wind in a certain direction blew smoke back.....be interesting to know how you combat that at a later date so i can learn from the expert. 😊
Oh wow! Great to hear from another cob rocket stove maker and owner! Any advice on maintenance? I'm going to keep daubing the cracks as they appear. I put the oven on the most sheltered wall, from rain and wind. The outside of this wall almost never gets wet because it's completely out of the wind, but I'll keep you updated!
@@gesithasgewissaI cover entire burner in a thin layer of cob each summer so it has time to cure for winter. I figure the cracks will be bigger on the inside so the walls will be thinning out? But yes I maintain my wee cob hut by in filling hairline cracks with fine clay and oiling them. Hanging on the side of a mountain so wind is everywhere...😮
@@maggietaylor9713 Thanks, I'll do the same! A cob house on the side of a mountain?! Sounds wild and windy but picturesque 🌲
Beautiful piece of work! I hope it works well for you.
splendid cant wait for p 2
Neither can I!
Howdy 🤠
I appreciate how you really prove the point of pre-industrial life. So many forget that fair some steps was reduced by manufacturing things, such as bricks to make said furnace.
I love the living history thing, and you’re encouraging me to get back into the US 19th century. (Fortunately there’s a community here that is fair bit into it, lol.)
Also, I enjoy seeing progression on the house you’ve built, it’s really coming along :D
❤ super film instruktażowy ,w tamtych czasach wiedza i umiejętności decydowały o rozwoju i życiu ,dziękuję że pokazujesz jak to kiedyś było ,nasi przodkowie nie byli zacofani mieli technologie odpowiednią do czasów.dzis chcą opanować wszechświat a nie ogarniają zwykłych zachowań ludzkich np. miłość totalny brak.dzieki za te filmy nagrywaj dalej,powodzenia pozdrawiam.
🔥🌳🌲 mega wyciszają mnie twoje filmy 👍👍👍
Looks awesome! Please show the oven in work more. Maybe some cooking.
absolutely fantastic. i love watching your videos and cant wait for the next
Thank you very much!
Very impressive
Thank you
Very cool! Looks great. Once dry the outside of it looks like it will also provide space for storing some small items.
I'm a little curious how the interior will behave as it dries. That's a lot of cob, and it won't dry all at once, but will dry from the outside in - I would expect to see some cracking both on the surface (both exterior and interior) and deep inside the walls.
Thank you! Yes, I am expecting some cracking, but the great part about cob is you can just keep daubing the cracks!
I bet you could do a nice smoked trout in that oven .
古い日本家屋と同じ壁の作り方です。
とても興味深い。
木桶もほぼ同じ構造です😊
That's great, I was actually inspired by those old Japanese ovens!
Your awesome be safe out there
Thank you!
@@gesithasgewissa your welcome
Top handmaking.
I actually came here to note that bread ovens and furnaces were kept AWAY thatched homes, because of reasons 🔥, but a quick read of the description clarifies things: "These updraft kilns were primarily used for pottery, and there is no evidence that they were used indoors or for cooking. ".
Nice work 👍! Always good video
Thank you!
Loving every minute of these vids, well worth the patronage! I’d love to do this myself when I’m a land owner.
Thanks!
Thank you so much!
love this so much!!
Thank you!
Beautiful video as always! I hope we see you cooking or baking something nice next time :D
Me: He's either mixing up white wash, or he's gonna paint the walls with yogurt
My dog: Yogurt!? O.O WHERE!?
Me: Ah. Right. Words I can't say in front of you.
Dog: YOGURT!!! **Runs to the fridge**
I'm sure you know what you're doing, but always be sensible around fire! Might be a good idea to keep a modern fire extinguisher somewhere where the camera can't see it, could save your life. (Maybe also a carbon monoxide alarm if you plan to stay overnight, but I'm overly cautious so use your best judgement I suppose.) Happy Spooky Month!
Haha! Thanks for the advice too
awesome work!
Thank you!
Love all of you videos!!! Hope you will make a bow with hand tool in future😊
Thank you! I've actually got a yew stave seasoning, so you may be in luck
I've read somewhere that the use of cow manure was popular in making walls and similar structures. The reason is that fermentation creates a porous structure, making it more heat resistant.
It was used, as well as horse manure. The added fine fibre adds structure to the daub or cob
seriously, one of my favorite channels... I always enjoy seeing a new video...
If I may ask a few questions:
Why only clay/cob? Does stone play any role here?
With the shape, it kind of reminds me of a Rumsford design maybe?
Does the heat project out from the opening of the fireplace or does the whole cob heat up and radiate from there?
From a safety perspective, any "fire" risk?
excellent video as always! thanks so much!
That's great to hear! The lack of stone is a specific choice to match the archaeology in Southern Britain. Only one Anglo-Saxon stone oven has been found and that in Northumbria.
Yes it's perhaps similar, though more similar to a rocket stove. It's based on Anglo-Saxon and Romano-British updraft kilns used for firing pottery.
Heat does project out of the opening, but the whole cob mass will heat up over time and radiate for a long time as thermal mass. This feels quite safe, as the flue is lower than the top of the dome, sparks do not fly out of the opening but get caught in the 'crown'. I made sure to remove sticks from the wattle wall well away from the flue, so it is completely surrounded in cob.
I LOVE IT!
Thank you, very cool!
Thanks for watching!
Wow you are building incredible and enviable skill sets, while making wonderful videos. My hat off to you and thank you for the great videos.
Love how the aesthetics and function marry here; lovely work!
I confess my surprise that no stone was used for the base of the fire itself; it probably wouldn't have been too difficult to find one that fit and could be integrated with the cob/gravel mixture, just for extra "will not burn" safety, so I wonder if it's because there is no historical evidence of such.
Can't wait for the next part!
Final aside: will you add these, and the one with the windows, to your "building pit house" playlist? ::nudge hint nudge::
Thank you!
Thank you! Exactly, the lack of stone is a specific choice to match the archaeology in Southern Britain. Only one Anglo-Saxon stone oven has been found and that in Northumbria. Ah yes, thanks I will add it right now!
Hello. Great job. You could put sticks as reinforcement in the thicker wall of the furnace. May the Gods bless You!
Thanks! It doesn't need it though, once it dries it will be self-supporting. The hazel and willow frames are just to support the cob while it's wet
C'est beau!
Thank you!
Love your videos! ☺ The oven looks great! The house is starting to look nice and cozy.
never seen clay made this way i like it, although i imagine this would be more for building then art, but you sir made both
👍👍 beau boulot bravo
Beautiful !!!
Thank you!
Will build one!!
Cool!
That was just wow!!
Nicely done
Thanxs a lot again for your great videos!
You earned my subscription. Excellent skills and well built. My only thought was to put some incline into the exhaust tunnel as opposed to exiting the building horizontally.
Interessant
I love the authenticity. The only thing I question is that a peasant in 662 A.D. would own steel tools at all, let alone the fine steel tools you use. Knife, axe, pickaxe, shovel, hammer...that's one wealthy peasant.
What an amazing build. Sometimes I think we forget how easy we have it nowadays. Out of curiosity, how much time did you spend just making the clay for the oven? Thank you for providing us with a window to the past through living history o/
Thank you. Not including filming time, I think the whole thing took about four days, and a good quarter of that was spent gathering and mixing cob!
White washing the walls nice
Indeed! Many more coats to go, haha
Супер ) ваш контент и стиль видео очень похож на primitive technology channel и это очень радует ) ❤
At this point, with the oven, I really just have to ask:
Are you at all in contact with a certain someone from Australia, Northern Queensland, who also has a youtube channel?
•••
Seriously, Primitive Technology is another channel of which, like yours, I absolutely cannot get enough of. ❤
I'm not, but he's always been a huge inspiration!
Excellent, thank you
Great videos. Any plans to finish the Anglo Saxon shield? I love watching weapon and shield builds etc
I will be yes, it has not been forgotten!
@@gesithasgewissa nice! Cant wait.
I bet it's pretty cozy in there! Love seeing the whitewash added to the walls as well. It makes me wonder whether they might have painted decorative patterns inside their homes too?
Did you find you got cracks through the clay as it dried? I would have thought it would be better (but obviously a much longer process) to build up in small stages and dry each stage as you go with a low fire maintained over a long time to slowly draw out the moisture. Then build on the lower completely dried stage. Very possible I'm completely wrong though and you had no cracks at all lol
This was really just a small test fire to show the concept, I'll be letting it dry and filling any cracks with daub before I start to use it properly!
@@gesithasgewissa nice man! Excited to see it in use in future videos
What a beautiful setup. How hot does it run? Would a damper be needed, or would it allow the temperature to get too high?
Thank you! As to these questions, I am not sure yet, but I'll update with Part II once I've had a bit of an experiment!
Sweet. 👍
Thank you!
That took a lot of materials. But I suppose that when you're inventing the AGA lol. That's going to be a great bread oven.
Lots of materials, but also lots of THERMAL MASS! Haha
@@gesithasgewissa that I didn't think about, even on a cold night when asleep and the fires gone out, that earth will radiate lovely.