Wondering what experimetal archaeology is?
Ornavik Park has the answer:
Experimental archaeology is a scientific approach which belongs to filed of archaeology. Its aims to explain how people at that time used an object or contructed a building. Based on the results of excavations or analyses of historical archives, this experimentation allows you to better understand what living conditions were like at the time. It also allows to scientists to validate the use and the manufacturing method of an object or a building. Through the construction of buildings, the manufacture of clothing, the creation of gardens, and the staging of events such as battle re-enactments, it creates a vivid picture of what life was like for the men and women of the historical period in question.
Take a journey through time with Ornavik and experimental archaeology
Ornavik Park was created following Christian Sébire's visit to another experimental archaeological site, the Château de Guédelon in the Yonne department. The man who would become the founder of the association Les Vikings, an 911 was inspired by this to create a park dedicated to the birth of Normandy.
With this in mind, Ornavik Park offers a faithful reconstruction of buildings and techniques from the 10th and 11th centuries, allowing you to learn a little more about the origins of the Normandy region in a fun and practical way.
Our scientific committee of archaeologists and historians advises the association's team and always approves the park's construction and staging projects before they are launched, such as the farm and the Carolingian church.
Our goal is to give you a real sense of what a medieval village might have looked like. Our teams have therefore embarked on the crazy challenge of taking inspiration from Saint-Martin-de-Trainecourt, a Carolingian village in the Caen plain dating back to the early Middle Ages, now located in the commune of Mondeville, near Caen.
You can also discover what everyday life was like for people at that time, thanks to our volunteers who have revived ancient crafts and techniques (pottery, carpentry, shipbuilding, blacksmithing, cooking, gardening) and are happy to share them with you.
