MIDWINTER FEASTS PAST AND PRESENT
As we prepare for our Yuletide feast we connect with our Neolithic ancestors who feasted at Stonehenge during the Winter Solstice.
We recently visited Stonehenge which still conveys a spiritual atmosphere despite the crowds - as the grey clouds scudded by us we imagined how it must have looked to the tribes gathered from all parts of Britain to celebrate the shortest, as well as the longest day, of the year here in Neolithic times.
There is an interpretation centre with interactive display tracking how Stonehenge developed and how it must have looked at its height, before the Pyramids had been built, with its full circle of dressed sarsen and blue stones (transported from West Wales). There is also a reconstruction of the round houses where the people who built Stonehenge, and attended its rituals. lived. This is based on archaeological excavations at a settlement near Durrington which has also provided evidence of how these people celebrated.
The current accompanying exhibition FEAST! showcases the results of the archaeological evidence researched over the last decade. This suggests that Neolithic people gathered here with livestock and produce from as far away as Scotland – reminiscent of our own journeys to share Christmas feast with family and friends this time of year.
The midwinter solstice was an opportunity to celebrate and consume livestock which would not survive the winter. This, in turn, ensured the community was well nourished to survive until the Spring, when crops could be grown again and good grazing for livestock would return.
The large amount of bone remains analysed showed that pork was the most popular meat, with a little beef. This makes sense as pigs have large litters, can be fattened quickly for feasting, and then the best livestock can be held back for breeding next season. Flint tools had been used to butcher the meat and the remains suggested plenty of meat was left on the bone – there was more than enough to go around at these midwinter feasts. The beef had been stewed and the pork roasted over open fires – traditional hog roasts.
Very similar to the pork joint and crackling that usually accompanies the Turkey dinner in modern times!
The remains of food accompanying the meat feasts is more ephemeral but from the nut shells, stones and seeds identified it is evident that these people also ate hazelnuts (nuts are still a common feature of our Christmas feasts) cherries and wild crab apples, along with leafy vegetables and mushrooms which they could forage seasonally.
Some grooved pottery shards analysed also contain evidence of dairy fats. Neolithic people were not able to digest raw milk, so they made butter, yoghurt and even cheese to allow this valuable protein to be eaten. When we visited the reconstructed roundhouses a very hospitable ‘Neolithic’ couple offered us flat bread and pork and beans that had been cooked over open fires using similar pottery – they explained the process of soaking and placing the bowls at the edge of the fire to prevent them from cracking - and the results were certainly tasty. The cheese was made by heating the milk in these pots with rennet and then straining it to make a ricotta type soft cheese. Fast forward to our modern Christmas with its speciality cheeseboard…
The Neolithic peoples also grew early grains such as barley and oats, so porridge and broths were also a feature of their winter diet. These are still comfort foods for winter breakfasts and hearty lunches today.
But the Stonehenge mid-winter parties seemed to be the ultimate meat fest!
There was also evidence that many of the bowls and implements used had been buried at the end of the celebrations before the tribes returned home – perhaps in honour of the ritual significance of the Solstice feasts.
Certainly, one way of getting out of the washing up! Although, ‘your turn to dig a hole in the frozen ground and bury the feast remains darling,’ may not have gone down too well the morning after…
The FEAST! exhibition includes impressive aurochs skull (an ancient breed of cattle which roamed Britain until around 1500 BC) a cauldron from about 700BC found in the bottom of a Welsh Lake and a facial reconstruction from the skeleton of a man found on site – he seems very familiar British type sporting 1970s style hair and beard (Think Gordon Lightfoot on the cover of his iconic Sundown album).
FEAST! Is a great insight into how our ancestors lived and celebrated. It is on until September 2018. If you are unable to visit, there are great online resources available here.
Something to ponder while we prepare our own FEAST for 2017.
We recently visited Stonehenge which still conveys a spiritual atmosphere despite the crowds - as the grey clouds scudded by us we imagined how it must have looked to the tribes gathered from all parts of Britain to celebrate the shortest, as well as the longest day, of the year here in Neolithic times.
There is an interpretation centre with interactive display tracking how Stonehenge developed and how it must have looked at its height, before the Pyramids had been built, with its full circle of dressed sarsen and blue stones (transported from West Wales). There is also a reconstruction of the round houses where the people who built Stonehenge, and attended its rituals. lived. This is based on archaeological excavations at a settlement near Durrington which has also provided evidence of how these people celebrated.
The current accompanying exhibition FEAST! showcases the results of the archaeological evidence researched over the last decade. This suggests that Neolithic people gathered here with livestock and produce from as far away as Scotland – reminiscent of our own journeys to share Christmas feast with family and friends this time of year.
The midwinter solstice was an opportunity to celebrate and consume livestock which would not survive the winter. This, in turn, ensured the community was well nourished to survive until the Spring, when crops could be grown again and good grazing for livestock would return.
The large amount of bone remains analysed showed that pork was the most popular meat, with a little beef. This makes sense as pigs have large litters, can be fattened quickly for feasting, and then the best livestock can be held back for breeding next season. Flint tools had been used to butcher the meat and the remains suggested plenty of meat was left on the bone – there was more than enough to go around at these midwinter feasts. The beef had been stewed and the pork roasted over open fires – traditional hog roasts.
Very similar to the pork joint and crackling that usually accompanies the Turkey dinner in modern times!
The remains of food accompanying the meat feasts is more ephemeral but from the nut shells, stones and seeds identified it is evident that these people also ate hazelnuts (nuts are still a common feature of our Christmas feasts) cherries and wild crab apples, along with leafy vegetables and mushrooms which they could forage seasonally.
Some grooved pottery shards analysed also contain evidence of dairy fats. Neolithic people were not able to digest raw milk, so they made butter, yoghurt and even cheese to allow this valuable protein to be eaten. When we visited the reconstructed roundhouses a very hospitable ‘Neolithic’ couple offered us flat bread and pork and beans that had been cooked over open fires using similar pottery – they explained the process of soaking and placing the bowls at the edge of the fire to prevent them from cracking - and the results were certainly tasty. The cheese was made by heating the milk in these pots with rennet and then straining it to make a ricotta type soft cheese. Fast forward to our modern Christmas with its speciality cheeseboard…
The Neolithic peoples also grew early grains such as barley and oats, so porridge and broths were also a feature of their winter diet. These are still comfort foods for winter breakfasts and hearty lunches today.
But the Stonehenge mid-winter parties seemed to be the ultimate meat fest!
There was also evidence that many of the bowls and implements used had been buried at the end of the celebrations before the tribes returned home – perhaps in honour of the ritual significance of the Solstice feasts.
Certainly, one way of getting out of the washing up! Although, ‘your turn to dig a hole in the frozen ground and bury the feast remains darling,’ may not have gone down too well the morning after…
The FEAST! exhibition includes impressive aurochs skull (an ancient breed of cattle which roamed Britain until around 1500 BC) a cauldron from about 700BC found in the bottom of a Welsh Lake and a facial reconstruction from the skeleton of a man found on site – he seems very familiar British type sporting 1970s style hair and beard (Think Gordon Lightfoot on the cover of his iconic Sundown album).
FEAST! Is a great insight into how our ancestors lived and celebrated. It is on until September 2018. If you are unable to visit, there are great online resources available here.
Something to ponder while we prepare our own FEAST for 2017.
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