Children from schools in Torfaen and Monmouthshire were transported back 2,000 years to the time when the Iron Age Celts lived in our woodlands.
The youngsters re-enacted the often gruesome life and times of their ancient descendants during visits to Blaenavon Community Woodland.
The journey back in time was organised by Forestry Commission Wales Woodlands for Learning team education officer Juliette Staples in partnership with Ceri Cadwallader, the Interpretation and Education Officer for the Forgotten Landscapes Partnership.
The children built an Iron Age roundhouse with wattle and daub walls, using freshly cut hazel to weave a wattle wall and then throwing a muddy mixture into the gaps.
They also underwent warrior training and made “severed heads” from cardboard decorated with mud and other natural materials and mounted on stakes. Each warrior tested their skills with their spears and roars to destroy the heads of their enemies.
The educational voyage to discover how the inhabitants of Wales lived 2,000 years ago also involved a visit to the Blaenavon World Heritage Centre, where the children learned about life in an Iron Age village and tried their hand at some Celtic crafts, learning how to weave a small piece of cloth and make their own clay pot.
Juliette said, “Woodlands are a great learning environment and what better way to bring history to life than to get your hands dirty and use the natural resources around you, just as the Iron Age Celts in Wales did.
“The children loved the hands-on activities and got stuck in to the many roles of being an Iron Age Celt, especially being scary warriors!”
The schools taking part were Gilwern Primary and Llantillio Pertholey Primary of Abergavenny, Hillside Primary from Blaenavon, George Street Primary in Pontypool and Nant Celyn Primary, Cwmbran.
The time travel was helped by the Heritage Lottery Fund, which paid £100 transport subsidy for each school and provides the funding for Ceri’s post.
The visits proved so popular that more schools have booked similar trips for the autumn.
Ceri said, “I saw one of the children a few days later and she told me she had gone back to the woods with her mum to show her what they’d done, and then went on to recreate all the activities at home and in the garden. She was definitely a happy customer!”
