Hand Carving Windows for the Anglo-Saxon Pit House | Early Medieval Carpentry and Live-Edge Joinery
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 เม.ย. 2024
- Anglo-Saxon settlers built Early Medieval pit houses with primitive tools, digging foundations, raising earth and wattle walls and thatched or shingle roofs.
After gaining victory over the Britons at the Battle of Peonnum in 658 A.D. the Gewissæ pushed south west towards the River Parrett.
While the tribal elites fought for power and territorial control Anglo-Saxon freemen settled unclaimed land amongst their Romano-British cousins.
The first structures built were pit houses, used first as military outposts and dwellings and then as workshops and storehouses once settlements grew and timber longhouses were erected.
Today, all that remains archaeologically of these structures is the pit itself and the accompanying post-holes. There is usually little evidence for floors, walls or roof structures.
Reconstructions of Anglo-Saxon pit-houses must therefore incorporate building techniques that are "archaeologically invisible" in order to be accurate or at least plausible.
"Archaeological invisible" building technologies often proposed for Anglo-Saxon pit houses include A-frame rafters resting on the ground, wattle walls staked into the upcast earth but not below ground level, or walls resting on sill beams.
The orientation, pit and post-hole features of this pit house are an accurate reconstruction of Sunken Featured Building 8 excavated at the West Saxon settlement near Lechlade-on-Thames, dated to the 7th century. The archaeological report can be found here: Prehistoric and Anglo-Saxon Settlements to the rear of Sherborne House, Lechlade: excavations in 1997. 2003. C Bateman, D Enright, N Oakey.
www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk...
Despite constant warfare between tribal elites, the Anglo-Saxons often peacefully settled land left unoccupied after the Roman withdrawal from Britain, amongst neighbouring Romano-British communities.
This led to considerable cultural exchange between the Anglo-Saxons and Romano-British, resulting in what is now known as Insular culture during the late 7th and 8th centuries.
Hazel logs were cleaved and hewn into planks to form the window.
As the hazel logs were thin, with twisted grain, the planks were cleft tangentially, to maximise the width of the plank, with just two planks produced from each log. The grain was too twisted to split out two planks from each half.
The planks were marked up with charcoal and a straight edge.
Hazel stems as old and thick as this are rare, it was interesting to see the beautiful light grain and medullary ray pattern, similar to oak, although much lighter.
On two of the planks, a protruding cleat was carved on one side, to allow an attachment for closing the window and timing it against the central frame strut. These cleats are based on evidence from the Nydam ship, which had planks with cleats which were lashed to the internal frames.
The planks were edge-jointed while keeping their natural ‘live edge’ by carving them to fit each other. The planks were butted edge to edge to find the high points, these were marked and removed, and the process repeated until the planks fitted edge to edge as closely as possible.
Edge-jointing the planks this way rather than reducing them down to perfectly straight edges before jointing them, meant that as much width of the plank as possible could be retained, which was necessary as the planks were already narrow and close to the needed width of the finished window. This method also reduces wastage, and producing interesting curved and organic joins.
The planks were held together with wooden ledges, let it into recesses in the planks. The shape of the hand carved ledges was marked out with charcoal before being cut with a chisel to produce a nice close fit which held together with friction.
This friction fit would not last unfortunately, as the planks were still green and would shrink slightly as they dried. Holes were drilled through the planks and ledges and the window was lashed together. Again, this is inspired by Iron Age and Saxon ship technologies, with lashed and sewn planking.
Lashing the window also allows refitting of the window later with wooden pegs, once the planks are fully dry, so that the edge joins can be fitted very tightly with no gaps.
The window has simple hinges of tarred flaxen cord, the same used to lash it together. The window can be tied shut from the inside with cordage attached to the cleats on the back of the planks.
With thanks to:
Hector Cole, Blacksmith, for forging the Saxon T-shaped Axe.
Grzegorz Kulig, Silversmith, for making the pattern-welded knife.
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Hi all! You can check the subtitles and description for much more detail. Thanks for watching! If you like what I do and want to support me further, consider becoming a patron: www.patreon.com/gesithasgewissa/
What are the tools you use referred to
@@jimmiegoodman8816 Anglo-Saxon T-shaped axe, chisel and spoon auger ☺
This is the real early access version of manor lords
gotta set the game to x1/1000 speed for realism
Haha! As real is it gets!
For anyone else wondering, yes this is indeed the only way anyone in the UK can get a new build home in the current economy
😆😆 Quite true
I'd prefer to love in this rather than a shity new build woth no character
The crows crowing in the background really adds to the authentic medieval atmosphere.
Glad you don't find them annoying haha. I don't notice them until I come to edit!
@@gesithasgewissa No it's the perfect ambient background track. Really rustic.
It's called being outside
@@Ashmurtagh100 😆
In medieval times, crows were the only bird.
My grandfather worked with wood. I used to watch him work. Seeing these videos, I feel like I am accessing some ancient memory of how my ancestors lived for thousands of generations before me, in a simpler, slower time before technology accelerated to where it is today.
Beautifully said! I'm glad, that is the intention of this project.
Your videos are so nostalgic. They remind me of an experimental archaeology project I took part in as a child back in the 90's. It was based quite a few hundred years after this, in the 1600's, but we built a house in a day, also using all of the contemporary tools and techniques, and wearing the same clothes. At the end of the day we had a huge feast with folk music and a faux marriage ceremony, as that's what they used to do when the community built a house for a new couple. they'd also lay out the property boundary by throwing a stone. Once they had the fire burning at the end of the day, and smoke coming out of the chimney, that was the ritual complete and the couple ready to move in. The house is still standing and educating people to this day!
That sounds incredible! What a fantastic thing to have been a part of ☺
@@gesithasgewissa It was! ☺I've only got three videos on my page here, and the documentary film made in 1997 is on there if you want to check it out! (I'm the one in the mustard yellow dress banging sticks at the beginning!)
@@lotus.b.lazuli2020 fantastic, I'll watch it now! Thank you
I am literally obsessed with these videos
Glad you're enjoying them 😃
Ohne die harte Arbeit und die Ideen unserer Vorfahren wären wir nicht soweit wie wir heute sind.Kein Baumarkt,kein 8Std.Tag
Ich sage Respekt für Ihr Video 😊
Well said, and thank you friend!
you are my favourite youtuber right now, the setting, silence in your videos, its awesome !
The silence is a strength.
Glad you're enjoying the videos!
This very well may be the best series I've watched on youtube in all my years. After playing some Medieval Dynasty, Manor Lords, and the latest alpha of Pax Dei, this answered so many questions without saying a single word. I love the sounds of nature and work, it's all just so rad.
Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying the videos!
Guy wants to film in peace and quiet. The crows: "Hold my beer".
I know right? So annoying 😆😆
Great craftsmanship, this is definitely one of my favourite TH-cam channels
That's lovely to hear, thank you!
I’m amazed by your craftsmanship given how few and simple your tools are! Nice work!
Thank you very much!
Crazy how well those boards turn out with nothing but an ax. Humans are an advanced species, modern technology just makes is faster not better than our ancestors
I doubt any modern buildings will still be up in 300 years, but a lot of stone built and little thatched cottages will still be alive and kicking. I think your comment summed it up perfectly.👍
Well said!
Once I saw a video where planks for a boat were cut the same way. The amount of wastage is insane! No wonder that forests shrinked so drastically during ages.
It's funny that you make a "window shield" in spring. Is it done on purpose, or you just had some timber and an uncovered window hole, so you decided to put it all together?
The hut under the flowers looks incredible beautiful! Just add a dog, some hens, sounds of Old English - what an immersion! Amazing project, i'm so glad to see it's evolving.
At first glance, more wood is wasted, but if you want a comparable level of durability today, the amount of waste is similarly high. An interesting aspect is that in the past, especially in England and Spain, the trees were shaped while they were growing for their later use, which was labor-intensive but allowed for better use of the wood.
remember, whatever isn't used becomes firewood. So the waste is less than it looks.
@@jonawolf8023 Exactly -- for instance -- 'crotches' or purposefully bent tree trunks to pre-form ribs of war ships.
None of it is wasted if your heating with a fire. Shavings and dust also keep the weeds/ grass down as they steal the nitrogen from the soil as they rot down.
The modern wastage is much higher than old-time processes.
I could literally watch these videos every day. It's amazing how precise you are carving wood with an axe. Brilliant!
Glad you're enjoying the videos!
I hope someday you are able to assemble the right people to make an actual Anglo-Saxon longhouse. Subscribed.
Welcome. I would like to build larger projects in the future!!
@@gesithasgewissacould also be interested . I am quite practical and live in your part of the world . What’s the best way to contact you ?
Marvellous contrôl of the axe blade when thinning the wooden planks !!
Thank you, it's a lovely axe to use!
This is so cool. The ingenuity of it all is so fascinating!
Thank you!
I’ve been waiting for an update- great vid!
Thank you!
Your videos are very interesting, but the lack of talking also makes them very relaxing to watch.
I'm glad you enjoy them!
What language were they speaking to each other? I wonder what it would sound like.
@@paulstrickler5684 I think Beowulf was written by the Anglo-Saxons and I've heard that modern Icelandic is still fairly similar to Beowulf
@@paulstrickler5684 The Anglo-Saxons spoke Old English, which is also what Beowulf was written in ☺
The craftsmanship when fitting those boards together was magnificent. They’re solid as hell. Also, I love how to take time to showcase the simple beauty of nature
Thank you for the kind words!
Im in chock, Incredible how good camera footage was in that time
It has been colourised 😄
*shock
Your form of bonding pieces of wood is amazing
Thank you!
Love this series. I've not long finished The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England by Marc Morris and it was a great read. Fascinating to see the work and skill that went into these early medieval buildings. Thanks for doing this :)
Oh cool, I'll try and check that out. Thanks for watching!
It's amazing how resourceful our ancestors were making so much with so little materials and tools. As always it's an amazing experience and learning chance watching your videos!
They were so talented at using what was around them!
These are such a treat to watch - so soothing and meditative after a stressful day.
Thanks Sable! I'm glad you find them relaxing
It looks so beautiful there in spring. 8:03
It is absolutely stunning!
That’s so lovely!! I love the way the live edge boards look together. It’s like one continuous piece of wood!
Thanks so much, I really like the design too!
I remember when I was a kid I found a tree and it split into planks almost effortlessly. Now maybe they stumbled upon the same type of scenario and improved on it from there.
Cool!
U are creator of the most beautiful sense ❤and u deserve the best event ❤️ 💖
Full of good feeling and beautiful senses ✨️
Thank you for the blessings
❤ wielki szacun dla twych umiejętności i myślenia ,trzeba mieć wiedzę aby to zrobić i wyobraźnię architekta,brawo ty😊 pozdrawiam Piotr.
Thank you Piotr! Following in our ancestors footsteps fills me with respect for their skills.
Well done, (from one timber-frame woodworker to another.)
Patience and adherence to the proper steps are the key in "green" woodwork.
Thank you, pleased to see that some of my viewers are timber-framers, what an awesome job!
To be honest, this is incredible. I find it fascinating, how humanity used to do things that we do today. Didn't expected that this window will be held by lashing, but as mentioned in video, it gives more "flexibility" with it, expecialy when wood will dry out. Also, i have a question. How often would people in these times would have to change their roof? How long it would be able to still be usable if it would be left? Of course, excluding any human interaction with it, such as burning it or removing parts of it.
Thank you! This style of directional thatching is quite short-lived. I'm expecting to get about 3-5 years before it needs major repairs or re thatching. But the re thatching can be done straight over the old thatch, in a slightly thinner layer, so it still stays as insulation for another few years.
@@gesithasgewissa oh, interesting. Well, i guess that the thatch would not be hard to find, though my brain completly forgotten that there would be no need to remove whole roof. 3-5 years is enough time to either repair from time to time or stockpile more thatch to fix more serious issues with the building. Well, thank you for reply!
I only wish I had half the control you have with your tools. Inspiring and humbling in the same moment!
I don't suppose you'd hold a seminar? We'd all promise not to talk...
Thank you! Oh that's quite a good idea, perhaps I will think about it for the future. Haha, you'd be very welcome to talk, it would be great to get some feedback!
This was calming, dreamlike, and a welcome distraction from everything else. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching
Brother you are doing a fantastic job with the windows and you’ve got some real good skills as I’ve never seen windows made like that before and the precision is incredible so keep up the great work!
Lee from Tennessee.
Thank you very much Lee!
“You make thoughtful and beautiful work, I like your crafts.”
Thank you!
Nice work. Love your vids brother. Keep em coming.
Thank you!
I thought I was pretty good with an axe, but that's some very fine workmanship there. Well done.
It's all practice, but thank you!
Mad skills absolutely mad.
Thank you!
My 4 year old and I shucked corn while we watched this video, and she wants you to know that we were doing hard work too.
Haha, that's great. Tell her I know it, and good work! Sounds like a fun activity to watch videos alongside ☺
Thank you so much for these videos! I mean this in the absolute nicest way possible cause I’m really grateful for it but them but whenever I watch them after like 9-10pm they put me to sleep almost every time! I am unfathomably interested in this stuff and you do incredible work but they’re just so freaking peaceful and calming I can’t help but nod off to the lovely sounds of wood chopping, wind flowing through trees and just blissfully relaxed nature! Legitimately makes me feel warmer in my bed!😂
I'm glad you enjoy the videos and they are so relaxing for you. That is the intention, haha! Thank you for the kind words
Who gave a 6th century man a video camera 😭😭😭
An alchemist brought it forth using his dark arts. That or Argos. I'm going with the former.
Not 6th, 7th
A gift from the gods!!
I really love watching you work. Once again, fantastic skills you have.
Thank you so much!
Amazing, as usual
Thank you!
Nicely chopped and chiselled. 👍
Thank you!
hey man, im just amazed by your craft. Thankfully the algorithm, at least this time, sent me something really good. i watched the whole proccess of this building, since the digging. Really an awesome work, mate. It inspired me to do one myself haha maybe one day.
Thank you. Glad it inspired you!
This is excellent.👍
Thanks!
This is experimental archeology at its best. How fascinating to watch that window come together. Are those period accurate tools and methods? I’ve seen every episode of time team and have seen all the BBC farm series. I just love learning how people did things in the past. Keeping the live edge in the construction of the window was beautiful. It adds so much more character than making g every edge as perfect as possible. You make it look easy to do all that with a chisel and side ax, but I imagine it takes years to learn how to do that well. Thanks for taking us on the journey with you.
Thank you. The BBC farm series are great! I research every tool and technique I showcase on this project to make sure it accurately represent the time period, yes. I really like the curvy boards too. I guess I've been using an axe almost every day for a couple years now.
Nice job! That looks like a lot of work.
Thank you! Well worth the effort
This guy is doing real life Manor Lords roleplay. 10/10
😄😄😄
As always impressive work brother! You're a constant creative and spiritual inspiration.
Thank you!
I love these videos :)
Glad to hear it!
watching these videos makes me appreciate what a mammoth invention hand saws then table saws/ sawmills must have been!
Definitely!
Man this looks so much fun!!! wish i could do that!!! :D
It is good fun!
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing, fren.
Glad you found it interesting!
wow! amazing!!!
Thanks for watching!
Ah lot of work untill the house is finished
Well done, a good piece of craft like all the other things you made 👍
Thank you!
Its really great job.
Thank you!
Your skill with the axe is sublime. Isnt it lovely that spring has sprung. All the leaves in bud and the woods are waking up to the sound of new life. I presume you will pilgramige to the stones for the solstice?
Thank you. The spring is welcome indeed! I will certainly be celebrating solstice in some way, yes!
Love you video
Thank you!
Very nice work.
Thanks!
Thats impressive
Thank you
Très beau travail!!!!❤❤❤
Thank you!
What about GLUE? Our fellow anglo-saxon would have known some glue recipes too? The fitting and lashing is so clever, though.
Certainly, although many period glues are water soluble which isn't ideal. Cheese glue is less so. As these boards are green, they will shrink as they dry and would pull any glue joints apart anyway. But yes, they would likely have used glues on interior, seasoned, fine woodwork such as shrine and book boxes, lyres, lecterns and so on.
This is really interesting and satisfying to watch, the house is coming along great. I can't even imagine how many hours you've been working on that house for.
I'm genuinely curious, how did you learn to do all this? How did you know all the steps to build this thatch house? I imagine you must have some sort of background in carpentry, like that's what you do for a living when you're not making these videos.
Thank you! I worked for a year as a shipwright on a reconstruction of an Anglo-Saxon longship, but apart from that I do all the research myself and work it out as I go along. Many Medieval techniques don't necessarily need a high level of skill, just patience! I'm lucky enough to be earning enough to make a living from these videos now, thanks to you all.
Great to see a connection to our past. It’s important to grasp how our own ancestors lived.
I completely agree, we have a lot to learn from them!
Good for quieting my brain for sleep
Glad to hear it!
Nice
Thanks
Very nice
Thanks
Would you fill in the tiny gaps in the window boards with mud/daub, or is that not needed?
Yes definitely. Or once the wood has dried out completely I could refit the boards tightly and peg them together with wooden pegs instead of sewn lashings.
Nice video
Thank you
Your videos are great, I love your project! Also, it’s kind of unintentional ASMR 😂
Thank you!
So beautiful and ❤❤
Thank you!
Wanted to say thank you for the wonderful videos. Love watching you work, love the silence, its so mesmerizing. That tunic you wear looks so comfortable. Would you by chance divulge how you got it? Did you make it? Would you have a pattern of it or a link to where I might find a pattern to make one myself? Thanks again, keep up the good work.
Thanks for the kind words! The tunic is a reconstruction of the Migration period tunic from Högom, Sweden. I did make my tunic, yes. You can find pictures of the original pattern online, I adapted the fit using that as a guide. It is super comfortable ☺
It's amazing what you can do all without the use of nails! The house is coming along nicely 😁 And the captions are back ❤
Did I see blackthorn and stitchwort flowers in there? Blackthorn on the tree and stitchwort would be the white, sort of double petaled flowers on the ground
It is indeed! Those are both blackthorn and stitchwort, you're correct. The stitchwort is so beautiful and delicate. I also have elm flowers at 8:23 and cowslip at 10:32!
@@gesithasgewissa Ah, Cicely's Elm Tree flower fairy isn't depicted when the tree is flowering so I didn't even know it had flowers. She does have a Cowslip fairy though so I missed that one. I was wondering what those yellow flowers were
TH-cam sucks, I have notification turn on for your channel, but I didn't get any notification, I went to check to see if you uploaded new content because the Primitive Technology guy uploaded a new video today and it reminded me of you. I think i missed a few videos from you, cuz my notifications are broken i guess.
Sorry to hear that, but glad to know you are still checking ☺ I have no idea how the notifications work, sorry!
The skill you need for making the hut and things that you need for daily living is immense. Where do you research what level of skills you need for this as it’s surely tempting to bring in modern technology especially when things are taking so long and your hands are developing blisters and callouses from the hours of hard work. It’s humbling to see how wasteful woodworking is, but a good reminder to us modern humans that is the one reason we have turned towards plastic and other materials that are readily manufactured to the detriment of our environment. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience, it’s really appreciated.
Hewn planks and carpentry aside, most of the techniques used to build the house are fairly basic - more a question of patience than skill once you know how to actually do it. These would have been everyday skills in pre-modern society, which you would pick up as you grew up.
For my part, I research all the Anglo-Saxon specific history using archaeological journals and books which I was able to get during my university studies, as well as online. For a specific craft, for example the thatching, which there isn't much known about from the period, I look at evidence and information from earlier and later times, many old houses in Britain today still incorporate medieval techniques and materials. Once I have researched how the technique works, I just give it a try and learn on the go!
I'm not really ever tempted to use modern technology, as the whole point of experimental archaeology is to learn by doing things the way our ancestors did. I prefer full immersion to do that, and have been on previous projects which incorporated modern technology which I felt obscured a lot of potential learning. Luckily, this being my personal project, I can take my time and really be a perfectionist about it, which of course isn't always possible with larger projects
☺
I don't really get blisters any more, as I use my hands every day, but I definitely used to when I first started wood working with an axe! It's definitely so much more wasteful if you have twisty timber, although all the chips will be used as firewood, which was also vital in the period. So it is not completely wasted.
I applaud your patience and dedication to your craft. I certainly enjoy your work and watching your videos. 😊
Once the house is built your population amount will increase by 5. Youlll be able to make more villagers. I suggest getting them to work gathering resources either logging or mining
That's a good shout, I might be able to upgrade my town centre after that!
Hey! I love your videos. I'm fascinated by the subject, and I'm always doing research on Prehistory and Early Medieval history on the isles in hopes of writing a story one day or engaging in living archeology. Is there any reason why the plank window was preferred as opposed to a simpler and cheaper wattle construction? Cheers.
Thank you, that's great to hear! I went for planks because, once they are dried and re-fitted tightly, they will make a draft proof barrier, where woven wattle does not
No saws in England at that time? Surprised to see the leather to tie it together. Thought they would have used pins. Tight fit on those boards. Good job👍🏻🇺🇸
Iron was relatively expensive at the time, and requires quite some skill and time to forge into nails i guess, so any easy accessable material would probably have been prefered..
Saws existed but they were not commonly used for woodwork for reasons that are unclear. Saw blades from the period have been found, and the Romans had saws, so it's strange but apparently true that the Saxons didn't widely use saws for wood or metal work, but they did use them for cutting bone.
@@alexmckee4683The saw is the worst tool for working with wood, the fibers are cut off which is bad for durability, warping and surface quality. In addition, a saw is difficult to make. Only with industrial production and rising labor costs did the saw slowly become more and more used for woodworking.
@@sirmeon1231Until the 19th century, furniture makers tried to use as little metal as possible in order to save costs. A good example is kitchen cabinets, where all drawers and doors can be closed with a single lock.
@@jonawolf8023 yeah, I meant for the final trimming off the edge
Great craftsmanship there ❤️ really cool to see the whole process done with an axe, also interesting to read your comments about why the boards were carved rather than split.
I've done some green woodworking and really enjoy it but I use saws as well for cutting to length, cool to see how you do that accurately with an axe on larger pieces.
Is the axe you're using a period version of a side axe? Does it have a fairly fine edge? I've currently just got a hatchet which is good for riving and can be used for shaping but it's quite a chunky edge (and also doesn't have flat sides) so not great for the latter - it takes quite a lot of effort.
I also use a drawknife and froe, do you know if they would have had those back then or are they more modern?
I don't know if you're planning on doing more stuff like this but might be worth making a beetle and gluts for helping with splitting. It's super helpful to have a bit more weight for driving wedges and I find the beetle better than a sledgehammer for a lot of jobs
Thank you. Great to hear you are also interested in green wood working! It is a T-shaped hewing axe, which is a side-axe yes. The edge is sharp, although profile wise I think it could be finer. As it has a flat side though, it doesn't matter too much, and I had it forged following an archaeological example! Spokeshaves and drawknives are rare but present in the archaeology, I'm not sure about froes but as they could have easily used billhooks in a similar way. I would like to forge myself a froe so I'll see if I can find any examples...
@@gesithasgewissa thanks for the info 🙂 been enjoying the channel.
I'm not an expert by any means but I found that froes are probably best for getting accurate splits on fairly thin diameter stuff in combination with a riving brake, I snapped the handle on mine a couple of times and also twisted the froe itself (after I made a better handle!) when using on larger (probably also knotty 🙊) pieces so learned you can't actually lever that hard with one, although it's also possible mine isn't very good quality!
@@jonnyramsden1161 Yeah I'd definitely like a froe for splitting out shingles and fine planks!
Will you daub the inside of the walls, or limewash it?
I will do both probably!
You're pretty handy with that axe. I am not as precise with saw and powertools
Thank you, hand tools are great for meditative work.
Interesting video. What is the reason for such a bizarre fastening of the transverse bars using a cord? Usually they make a groove of a trapezoidal cross-section and hammer the bars into it so that they firmly hold the entire structure even without nails or cord. Sometimes wooden dowels are hammered, but only into the outer boards.
Not necessarily bizarre if you are familiar with the shipbuilding tradition of the time, many ships had lashed and sewn planking and domestic carpentry may well have reflected that. In this case, as the wood is green, the lashing allows me to easily take the window apart so I can fit it tightly with pegs once the boards are dry. If I pegged it now, the boards would shrink and leave gaps, and it would be much harder to take the pegs out that undo the lashing. You can always check the subtitles and description for more detail, this is also explained in there ☺
Very cool! How did you drill the holes? Did you bore them out with an Early Medieval drill, or did you use some other method?
I did bore them with a small Early Medieval spoon auger - you can see me drilling them at 10:24, but I maybe should have included a longer shot!
@@gesithasgewissa Ah, right; I think I just missed it the first watch-through. I may have been making mac and cheese at the time lol
I've been admiring your axes in your videos, they seem very well made. Where did you get them?
They are lovely! The felling axe is a vintage french axe I chose for its similarity to axes from Nydam and Flixborough. The polished T-shaped hewing axe is based on Anglo-Saxon finds from the 5th-8th centuries, and I had it forged in medieval wrought iron by Hector Cole.
@@gesithasgewissa Thanks! I was hoping one was hand forged for you. 🤌
It amuses me that after all that careful fitting, the final step is to sew it together.
that wasnt the final step, wood has to dry for the final step
As Mark says, the timber is green, so it will shrink, and a carefully pegged fit would end up with gaps anyway. This way, I can easily take apart the window and refit the boards with a precise pegged fit, once they are dry. There's always extra information in the subtitles and description if you are interested!
If I may ask, what wood is the log that was used?
It's hazel, you can find more detail in the description and subtitles ☺
❤❤❤❤
Thanks for watching!
Are you going to apply some type of glue to the joints to further wind proof it? or is that not historical? or maybe the rest of the cabin is windy so a bit of wind from there won't make a big difference.
Some air movement is necessary to "draw" the smoke. In cold weather, a blanket or fleece would be pegged to the inside to keep the warmth in and the draught minimal.
Not necessarily glue, but they could be wind-proofed with wool caulking or daub. But until I make a better door and get covers for the upper triangles, you're right, it doesn't make too much difference!
cool vid, buy your volume levels on the music are way to high. Found myself having to adjust the volume up and down a few times just to watch till the end.
Cool, thanks for the feedback, I'll keep it in mind for the next video!
❤️
Thanks for watching!
@@gesithasgewissa Thanks for the vidéo 👍
Lets goooo
😄😄
You need to be funded heavily my dear friend.
You're too kind, thank you friend!
Goodness, that plank construction looks so satisfyingly smooth. You mist have a steady hand.😊 But judging by your videos, building your own abode is such a time/energy-consuming enterprise for a person who has to live somewhere ASAP (despite your videos being my humble freeman power fantasy😂). People rarely dared to live outside communities, so I assume, other members helped with some of the work (and especially pro tips, since you practically require knowledge in carpentry, basic mechanics, architecture)? Also, given the extensive exploitation, does your axe require sharpening often? And if so, how woud you go about doing it, at that time period?
Thank you! You're right, living in communities was always mot common during this period, for the benefits of security, shared labour and good company! If I had a ready horde of Saxons to make more community focused videos with me, I certainly would. But you will have to make do with this lone humble freeman for now 😄 I sharpen my axe about twice a day when I'm using it all day, it's quite a discipline! I use natural stones for sharpening, some of which are local that I have shaped and polished myself, and finer whetstone imported from the Pyrenees which you see in this video.
@@gesithasgewissa cool, thanks for the tip! And I do think a large part of your videos' appeal is imagining you could do it all by yourself, at least for me.XD
Is the next upload a screen for the window?
I probably won't put a screen up, as it needs the open holes when there is a fire inside for the smoke to escape. The window is more for bad for weather, to stop wind and rain coming in.
There is a suggestion these pit houses may have had a wooden floor. Valuables and retted flax and bast could be stored beneath prior to spinning and weaving.
Some of them may well have, although just as many have been found with hearth fires at the bottom of the pit, suggesting that was the domestic floor level ☺
Did the Saxon's not have an adze? It seems like that would speed things up a bit.
Adzes are not any faster than an axe really, and with small boards you would have to secure them well to use an adze with two hands.