The Iron Age Farm Dongen is a project in which a group of enthusiastic volunteers since 2005 visitors want to show, feel, hear, smell, in short experience the life in the Iron Age in the South Netherlands (800 to 50 BC). On a site of about 1 hectare, this settlement is located just outside the built-up area of Dongen. The people in the Iron Age were farmers. They kept cattle and were farming on fields.
Central to the site is a typical Iron Age farm. The "map" of the farm is based on information from an excavation from Beek and Donk (NL). The farm has a size of 12 m long, 4 meters wide and is about 5 meters high. It was used as living and sleeping space for one family. Farm life probably played outside as much as possible. Around the farm there are fields, a vegetable and herb garden, sheds and sheds. Under our roofs and in the sheds we show iron-age activities, such as forging iron, working wood and bone. On the site there are also various ovens: a potter's oven, a bread oven, an iron smelter, a smoker and a smithy. The volunteers have immersed themselves in the history of various crafts and have become proficient in this.
A small urn field and burial mound tell that the Iron Age resident was not interested in eternal life either. It is generally assumed that our distant ancestors worshiped many gods and goddesses and thanked us for enforcing a good harvest, hunting, health etc. In our yard there are examples of such as a 'Viereckschanzen' and there are 'local gods'.
There are also several theme days every year, such as the children's do-day, where all kinds of activities can be done by children. Throughout the week, school classes receive a fascinating explanation about the Iron Age, after which they can also get started with some DIY activities. Workshops are also regularly organized including forging.
