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My Total Living History Experience
During the last weeks of August 1997, Keltica's CEO, Will
Marshall-Hall found himself taking part in an experiment at the
Castell Henllys Iron-Age Celtic settlement site near Felindre
farchog in Pembroke, West Wales. The experiment was arranged by
the site manager Phil Bennet a month earlier and on the evening
of 18th August, Will settled down to his first night alone in a
2000 year old reconstructed round house.
Excerpt from Diary:
“My Guess is its 21.00hrs or just after on account of the
darkness. I've gathered brush wood and left it to dry by the
hearth. Due to my late arrival, I've made my first concession in
the shape of a single block of fire lighter. Just before last
light I made up my bed, and the fire has gone out, not enough
kindling. This leads me to my first question.....Did they leave
the fire lit 24 hrs or begin afresh with it each morning? My
guess is its 24hrs, however, via practical Archaeology, the next
two weeks should give me the answer”
This is the kind of thing I had loved watching on television as
a child and never really thought I'd actually get the chance to
do it myself. All in all it took three nights to find myself
sleeping well, it perhaps would have taken less time to settle
in but on the second night, the world’s supply of wildlife
seemed intent on breaking in and going for my food supply. On
one particular night early on in the experiment I had lit my
lucky half-candle for the last hour but then promptly fell
asleep and it was to a strange purring-come-whirring sound that
I woke up before dawn to see a huge Moth... its wingspan was the
width of my hands held flat side by side. The moth was doing its
best wall of death impression in the round house roof,
occasionally it dive-bombed my candle and I lay there wondering
what exactly to do. A minute later I decided that instead of
venturing into the realms of Celtic saga's and bravely salmon
leaping into the roof space and hurling my spear at it with my
foot, I simply blew the candle stump out and covered my head
with my blanket!.
Within the first week I began to fall into the natural rhythm of
waking at first light and sleeping just after first dark. We
know people in the ancient world followed this perfectly logical
routine. Perhaps had I been able to make Tallow & Beeswax
candles, I would have stayed awake longer.
Based on original document ©William
Marshall - Hall 1998
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