Early Middle Ages

The island Öland is situated 400 kilometres south of Stockholm, between the Swedish mainland and Gotland. It is 137 kilometres long, and maximum 16 wide. Its favourable position in the Baltic Sea has lead to active occupation – it is rich in archaeological artefacts. Spread across the island, there are 17 so called ring forts dating to the pre medieval period.

25 km south of Malmö, Sweden, you will find the Archaeological Open-Air Museum of Foteviken. Inside a city wall open toward the sea, the world’s only attempt to recreate an entire Viking Age town shows a number of streets with 23 houses and homesteads, reflecting life in a late Viking Age and early Middle Age town in 1134 AD.

The preHistorisch Dorp in Eindhoven is the replica of a prehistoric village, complete with dwellings and demonstrations of skills used by historic people. The open-air museum recreates life from this and later eras, including Roman and early medieval. Find out how the Romans lived, meet militant Batavians, visit farmers from the Iron Age and go on a hunt in the prehistoric times.

Butser Ancient Farm is situated in the South East of England, approximately 50 miles to the south of London. The concept of replicating an ancient farm began life in 1970 as a research project developed by the Council for British Archaeology and the Research Committee on Ancient Agriculture from the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

After 15 years of preparation, 1994 the first Dutch archaeological theme park opened in Alphen aan den Rijn, not far from The Hague, Utrecht and Amsterdam, an area which houses 6 million inhabitants. Archeon covers 10,000 years of human development in the Netherlands. From hunter-gatherers in the Stone Age and farmers in the Bronze and Iron Ages, through the Roman period and right up to everyday life in 1340 AD, “Archaeo-interpreters” show what life was like in “their time” in the 43 reconstructed buildings

Southeast of Bielefeld near the Teutoburger Forrest, one finds the Archäologisches Freilichtmuseum Oerlinghausen (AFM), originally founded by the “Reichsverband für Deutsche Vorgeschichte” as a political presentation of the Germanic people. The combination of man, nature and technique is made tangible and understandable here.