• British Lords and Kings were very rich and powerful in the Dark Ages. They often lived in big wooden buildings known as 'Great Halls'.
• These were the equivalent of mansions or palaces today. They looked a bit like huge barns.
• A lord might have two great halls, one next to the other.
• They were built of big wooden beams. The walls were filled in with wattle & daub (wickerwork covered in mud and animal poo!)
• The roofs were thatched with reeds or straw.
• They might be surrounded by smaller buildings used for lots of different purposes.
• Great Halls were often built in old hillforts. These were places where British lords had lived before the Romans came to Britain. They were well built and safe from Saxon attacks.
• Some great halls were built in new places. They were surrounded by small earth banks which formed little forts.
• Some lords lived in towns houses.
• Activity Sheet available.

But what was it like inside?