Welcome to Lethra. The Iron Age village is our take on a small settlement landscape in the period 200 BC to 200 AD.
On this page you will find useful information about your stay in Lejre Land of Legends.
It is the best known ancient period, archaeologically speaking. Every time something is built in modern-day Denmark, the site is examined for any underlying ancient monuments and cultural layers.
Most often, archaeologists come across myriads of post marks with darker soil colors. These so-called “post holes” are cut and different house plans are revealed and separated from each other and fence courses from different phases.
Back then, houses and then the first villages in Denmark’s history were enclosed with wicker, brushwood or palisade fences, often with no major defensive purpose. Primarily, the fences were intended to prevent cattle from eating thatch, or to separate the ownership of grazing poultry and cattle in tethers.
As for the man-high palisade fences, they could at least prevent the entry of mounted warriors into the village during attacks. The stone-paved paths connecting the gates to the house entrances prevent the village from muddying up as cattle are led to and from the surrounding pastures and woodlands.
Apart from the innermost and most hilly parts of the country, almost all of Denmark has been populated and under the plow during the Iron Age. If you check your local museum’s archaeological builders’ reports, your home may well be on top of an Iron Age house!
/The staff of the Iron Age
Information about your stay
Enjoy your time travel to the Iron Age
Are you and your children ready to break old habits and go offline to experience something special this summer?
Then Lejre Land of Legends offers a different kind of time travel to the Iron Age. You will live as Iron Age people in the Iron Age village of Lethra. You’ll learn about the life of the Iron Age people, lots of fun and practical tasks and learn about Iron Age methods and materials. You will gather firewood and bake bread, pick herbs and cook soup, try your hand at textiles and forge in the Iron Age way. The week offers shared experiences, new challenges and lots of socializing.
HistorienHistorien
Since 1967, families from the past have traveled in time in Lejre Land of Legends and taken part in an experience that is considered a groundbreaking experiment worldwide. In addition to bringing the Iron Age environment to life, over 1,000 Danish and foreign families have tried the time machine and participated in the experiment. They have tested archaeological hypotheses about living conditions at the time in practice and helped refine our understanding of the ancient environment, society and people.
OplevelsenOplevelsen
An ancient family vacation is a full-day experience where you can enjoy and wander in the darkness and silence of nature, or even tinker all night if you like.
You’ll have the opportunity to tell the story of the exciting and evolving Iron Age on which the Vikings later based their expansion; a multi-ethnic and dynamic world of barbarians settling in Iron Age villages – competing with Roman cities for civilization – from tribe to state.
FortællingerFortællinger
You can weave your own Iron Age personality around the history of the Iron Age and Lethra. As a family of the past, you travel back 2000 years in time. You become part of the reconstructed environment of the time and get the opportunity to live in the everyday life of the past for a short week. A time travel to the Iron Age allows you to return to your present – more relaxed, closer as a family and perhaps a little more at peace with yourselves. With a vacation in the Land of Legends, you get an experience and many stories that you can take with you in life.
We hope that you will take home some unforgettable, fun and different vacation memories and experiences, and we will do our utmost to make it happen. We want you to feel welcome in our prehistoric present and that you will help build on it. See you soon, behind the hills of Lejre, where the Iron Age village of Lethra – your home for a while – is waiting for you.
For ordinary families
Families of the past in Lejre Land of Legends are ordinary families who want to spend part of their vacation in one of our reconstructed environments.
The families of the past are an important part of the education in Lejre Land of Legends. The Iron Age families help bring the areas to life as part of Lejre Land of Legends’ cultural history experiments and share their own experiences with the public.
You don’t have to be a traditional nuclear family to become a family of the past. Friends, neighbors, grandparents and extra children can easily be part of your Iron Age family.
A week as a prehistoric family is an all-round, full-body experience and an unforgettable week where you as participants learn a lot about the past, old chores and crafts – and about your own skills and limits.
A different kind of vacation
As a prehistoric family in the Iron Age, you travel 2000 years back in time and move into one of the four reconstructed longhouses in the Iron Age village of Lethra for a week. Here you’ll learn about the life and times of the Iron Age people, lots of fun and practical tasks and learn about their crafts and resources.
Throughout your stay, there will be at least one instructor from Lejre Land of Legends who, as a local Iron Age inhabitant, will be at your disposal during the daytime. The instructor will help you through your time travel and guide and instruct you in everything from cooking and herbal knowledge to lighting fires, caring for animals and the many other chores of Iron Age life.
We hope you will enjoy every moment of your vacation in the world’s best time machine.
Before you arrive at Lejre Land of Legends
It is important that you read this page carefully.
Mad og kostvanerMad og kostvaner
When it comes to food and diets, you must consider what you can bring to meet your special needs, as the Iron Age diet could not decide whether the food should be organic, vegetarian or vegan, alcohol or fermentation-free, lactose or gluten-free, halal or kosher, blessed or junkish. As families, you can choose to separate vegetables and meat, opt out of ingredients or dishes on the menu if the basic ingredients you receive are delivered according to the hygiene rules under the smiley scheme.
The most important thing for us is that you get the food you need to thrive and stay healthy and healthy Iron Age people.
God jernaldermad tager tidGod jernaldermad tager tid
Fast food in the Iron Age means about 2 hours. Especially for newly arrived ancient families, it can take a long time to prepare meals.
That’s why it’s important to give them something to make the wait less long. In the weeks leading up to your stay, you can make your own dried herbs, plants, fruits, meat or fish, or even Iron Age beverages to supplement the ingredients you are given. Feel free to bring nuts, apples and biscuits if you know there is something that will help your children have a good experience. These are also items that you will be provided with, but will be shared with the rest of the village.
MedarbejdereMedarbejdere
Throughout your stay, the local Iron Age villager will brief you every morning at 10:00 and the other village instructors will introduce you to selected crafts in the morning so you can tinker away in the afternoon. Remember: An ancient family stay is a full-day experience where you can also enjoy and wander in the darkness and silence of nature, or even tinker all night if you like!
Allergi og overfølsomhedAllergi og overfølsomhed
An Iron Age family vacation offers many wonderful outdoor activities, Iron Age houses with clay floors that – although the past is anything but dusty – are dustier than most modern buildings and sleeping under thatched roofs and with straw in bed. As an allergy sufferer, it’s up to you to decide if a vacation in the past is for you.
Food, allergies and food
Food throughout your stay is part of any holiday as a family of the past. As an Iron Age family, the basic elements of food are raw materials such as grain, dairy, meat, fish, peas, apples, mushrooms, nuts and onions and wild herbs. The food is prepared as an ancient family with the help of the local Iron Age inhabitant. In terms of raw materials, the diet is similar to what we know the Iron Age farmers of the past were able to provide, although the menu offers less porridge and more ancient feast food.
Vegan, vegetarian and dietary considerations
As Iron Age food cannot be made in versions that are lactose-free, gluten-free or 100% vegan, we recommend that those with special dietary requirements bring additional food as needed. Lejre Land of Legends is not responsible for a varied and filling diet that meets these requirements.
The important to-do list
Here is an overview of the most important things to remember to bring from home:
FOOD PACK for lunch on the first day.
SLEEPING BAGS. The sleeping areas consist of straw beds lined with sheepskin and wool blankets, which make the beds soft and warm to lie in. A sleeping bag or duvet is recommended to take with you.
KNIFE – WITH WOOD SHAFT – so it looks like an Iron Age knife and not a modern scout or hunting dagger. Riveted handles and scabbards are not recommended.
LIGHT & EXTRA BATTERIES or your cell phone. Remember to bring a charger!
Toiletries and personal necessities (e.g. glasses, allergy medicine, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, etc.)
EVT. WARM UNDERWEAR, i.e. sleeveless undershirts and long/short underpants in natural colors (off-white, brown, beige)
WOOLY SOKS IN NATURAL COLORS à la “cozy socks”. It can be cold in the evening and the shoes are thin leather sandals.
SOME EXTRA FERRARIAN SNACKS for the waiting time for the time-consuming meals, for example dried meat, fruits, mushrooms, rose hips, apples, chamomile, extra honey, smoked meat/fish or similar. Remember that it must be allowed in Iron Age life!
A PADLOCK FOR YOUR OWN WOODEN CHEST IN THE PRESENT!
Farvel til det moderneFarvel til det moderne
We recommend all prehistoric families to bring a sleeping bag, flashlight and other gear. During your stay, modern-day items are packed away before Lejre Land of Legends opens for day visitors at 10:00 and can be taken out again after 17:00. It is possible to store sleeping things in the houses in the village, while valuables can be stored in our chests at the modern Multihus.
An Iron Age holiday is a fantastic shared experience with lots of intimacy. You’ll experience the life and times of the Iron Age people first-hand, with lots of fun and practical tasks, crafts and tinkering. This also means that Iron Age life is more physically demanding than modern life, and there will be many walks in the beautiful rolling countryside.
What about pets?
It is not possible to bring pets on a vacation as an ancient family. Both for the sake of Lejre Land of Legends’ own animals, such as sheep, but also because in all parts of Lejre Land of Legends there may be loose tourists of all ages who must be able to move freely. (The tourists, not the sheep.)
Information about sleeping & bathing
SovepladserneSovepladserne
Ancient Iron Age families sleep in the reconstructed Iron Age houses in Lethra. Each family has its own house, which is furnished with bedding areas with straw and skins.
Morgenmad, kaffe og badMorgenmad, kaffe og bad
How about morning coffee? And showers? During their stay, most ancient families try out Lejre Land of Legends’ recipe for what you could call the Iron Age answer to substitute coffee. It’s something with dandelion roots.
But all jokes aside: During their stay, all past families have access to modern facilities in Lejre Land of Legends’ backstage area. The Multihouse has a kitchen – including a coffee machine, fridge and freezer, showers and changing rooms, and modern toilets with pull-out toilets.
Personal items and clothes can be stored in locked chests at the Multihouse.
Who are you as a family
To become a prehistoric family in the Iron Age village, you must be a group of 3-8 people. The group must contain a minimum of 2 adults over the age of 18. You don’t have to be a traditional nuclear family to become a prehistoric family. Friends, neighbors, grandparents and extra children can easily be part of your Iron Age family. The children should be somewhat independent of the adults, who spend a lot of time cooking, chopping wood and interacting with the audience.
In the Iron Age, the space inside was not large, so you will have plenty of opportunity to be close to each other and enjoy the fire. In addition to your family, there are 2 to 3 other families living in the village that you’ll work with, for example, on cooking.
You will be part of the experience for our regular guests every day between 10:00 and 17:00. Many people will ask you questions about your experiences in Land of Legends, so you must be able to speak Danish or English. It is an advantage, but not a requirement, that you speak one or more foreign languages, have some knowledge of the Iron Age and are practical. The most important thing is that you want to travel back in time, live offline for a week and are willing to be a living exhibit. Remember that Iron Age life is more physically demanding than modern life and there will be many long walks in beautiful rolling countryside.
The 10 commandments of good manners in Lethra
A helping hand for a helping hand makes Lethra the best village in the Iron Age world!
When in doubt, always ask the permanent residents of Lethra, e.g. about tool use and materials for arts & crafts.
Always have an adult present when a fire is lit.
Use wood charcoal for stoves and finely chipped firewood for domestic use only.
Sort and peel birch bark into strips in a basket for kindling.
Extinguish the fire after use by collecting embers with a metal bowl in the water-filled zinc bucket.
Empty the zinc bucket behind the smokehouse and fill it with fresh lake water.
You will take care of your Iron Age home’s fixed and mobile inventory and put it back in place.
Sweep the house to keep it tidy.
Make the interior inviting and attractive with fresh decorations and flowers for yourself, your guests and the next residents.
What you MUST know
Rules and practical information for safety
We want your stay to be as historically accurate as possible – both for your own sake and that of your guests. We therefore have some rules that everyone staying in Lejre Land of Legends should be aware of.
Ild, sygdom og sikkerhedsregler i JernalderenIld, sygdom og sikkerhedsregler i Jernalderen
Smoking: Smoking is allowed behind the Multihouse. In case of drought, smoking may be completely prohibited. Staff at Lejre Land of Legends do not smoke around children and other guests.
Alcohol: No alcohol during opening hours between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. After closing time, families are responsible for their own drinking.
Open fire: Outdoor fires may only be lit in the designated fire pits. Other use of open fires is only allowed with an instructor or by appointment. During a drought period there may be special restrictions.
In case of burns: Use cold water for at least half an hour. An open burn or a burn that is larger than the person’s hand must be checked by a doctor after cooling, also if the burn forms a ring around a finger, arm or leg.
In case of fire: Make efforts to extinguish the fire before it grows large. Use fire blanket / fire extinguisher – remember to remove the splint.
Fire in person: Use the fire blanket. Lay the person down. Put the fire blanket on from the head downwards. Never the other way around! The flames will hit the head.
Illness: The nearest doctor is in Lejre. Outside opening hours, call the emergency medical service. Better to go once too often than once too little.
Medical transportation: Lejre Land of Legends has a contract with Falck to transport our visitors in case of illness or accident. Our subscription number is 0634391.
Sikkerhedsudstyr i JernalderenSikkerhedsudstyr i Jernalderen
Water buckets in the stable: In all residential houses and the smithy there is a metal bucket that must always be half full of water. This is used to add embers when the fire needs to be extinguished. When the embers are completely extinguished, the bucket is emptied onto the pile and new water is poured in. The bucket can also be used for fire extinguishing.
Water fire extinguisher: Water fire extinguishers are available in all residential buildings and in the forge. If you use a water fire extinguisher to extinguish a fire, such as a burning straw, the jet must be dispersed. This way, you hit a larger area with the water and also prevent the straw from spreading due to the pressure of one powerful jet. In all houses, as well as in the blacksmith’s shop, there are fire blankets that can be used in the event of a fire in the grass.
Fire blankets: There are fire blankets in all residential buildings. They are used to extinguish burning people or small burning areas, such as grass or straw, by preventing oxygen from reaching the fire. Shield your hands from the fire by rolling them into the edge of the fire blanket. Approach the burning area hidden behind the fire blanket and place it calmly over the fire when you are very close. If a person is on fire, get them to lie down, then place the fire blanket over them and calmly pat out the fire. By holding the blanket up as a screen against the fire, fire blankets can also be used to keep a passageway open to the exit of a burning house so people can run past. Be aware that other wool blankets, skins or garments can also be used as fire blankets in an emergency.
Powder extinguisher: Available in the forge. It’s effective, but very messy. It can be used for almost anything, including electrical equipment up to 1000 volts. For personal fires, however, other extinguishing equipment should be used.
The fire pump: Located by the lake in a brown wooden box. On the inside of the lid of the wooden box are instructions on how to use the sprayer. The fire pump is used for house fires or other fires. It is rarely possible to save a burning house made of straw and wood. Therefore, the fire extinguisher should be used to prevent further fires by spraying surrounding houses and areas. It’s often a good idea to spread the jet as much as possible over the flames, unless the jet needs to reach far away.
First aid kits: In all residential buildings, above the front door or almost on a shelf, there is a falck kit with plasters, wound cleansing wipes, gauze compresses, gauze bandages, scissors, and tick pliers for emergencies. You must bring your own personal medication, headache pills and the like. If you run out, let the staff know so they can replenish it
In case of house fire
Get everyone OUT of the house. Use the fire blanket to keep the way clear.
Crawl along the floor in smoke-filled rooms. If there is time, get all animals out of the house too.
Once everyone is safely out, do a head count.
One person calls 112
The others turn on the fire extinguisher and spray nearby houses. If there are many people, start a fire chain with buckets from the lake to the houses.
When the fire brigade arrives, remember to unlock the joints & main gate for them. You can also help them by telling them where to look for people (hooks, beds etc.). Remember that they don’t know the place and the house.
Rules and practical information for fire prevention
Families from the past and other groups who have agreed to stay in the Iron Age Village in SAGNLANDET Lejre, Historic-Archeological Research & Education Center, must read the rules below before the start of their stay. All groups must be instructed in the use of the fire-fighting equipment available in the village at the start of their stay.
The facilities’ fire extinguishing equipment must be checked daily during your stay. The equipment in each house consists of: 1 fire extinguisher with water, 1 fire blanket, 1 metal bucket for water and 1 fire extinguisher. In addition, the village has: 1 motorized fire extinguisher by the lake and 1 powder extinguisher in the new smithy.
Bonfires must always be supervised by an adult.
Fires must always be extinguished at night.
The flames on the fire pits must never reach above knee height.
Any use of paper and flammable liquids for lighting fires is strictly prohibited. Coniferous wood must also not be used on fireplaces in houses as the resin content can cause sparks to fly.
There must be no flammable materials, such as hay, straw, paper, grease and wood shavings, at a distance of 1 meter from the fireplace.
Extinguish the fire by placing the embers in a metal bucket with water. The buckets must not be emptied on the dung heap until the embers are extinguished.
Outdoor bonfires may only be lit in designated areas and at least 10 meters from thatched roofs. There must always be a bucket of water nearby.
Smoking is prohibited in the historic environments. Smokers can be assigned smoking areas by the Land of Legends staff, out of sight of the guests.
Cobwebs are regularly removed from the inner roof of the house, as the dust in the cobwebs is easily ignited.
The doors should never be blocked by furniture or anything else.
Færdsel u0026 opholdFærdsel u0026 ophold
The stay of past families and the guest experience should be as historically accurate and authentic as possible. Families should be welcoming to our guests, initiate dialog with them and help create an authentic historical environment.
During opening hours, families should mainly stay in their historical areas. A few short trips to the workshop area, fire pit, archway, shop and the Multihouse are allowed if needed and agreed with the wizards. However, families are reminded that they are still historical people who do not bring modern items, even if they are outside their historical environment, and in that case they are allowed to “advertise” their area and still be open and welcoming to our guests.
Modern items such as cameras, cell phones, sleeping bags, towels and inauthentic food for both children and adults should be stored away during opening hours. Make-up, jewelry and watches are not allowed during opening hours when families are wearing costumes. However, glasses may be worn and it is allowed to keep wedding rings on.
We strive to make the costumes as historically accurate as possible. Therefore, no visible modern clothing may be worn under the historical costumes. (for example bras, T-shirt edges & boxer shorts). In exceptional cases and by agreement with the instructor, families can change into modern clothing if there is something special going on elsewhere in the Land of Legends that they would like to experience.
The entire family or group arrives and travels together, unless otherwise agreed with the instructor. Only those who have booked a stay can be part of the past family.
Past families are allowed to receive guests after closing time by agreement with the instructor, as long as this is done with consideration for the other families – even outside opening hours. Guests arriving after closing time do not have to pay an entrance fee. If they arrive during opening hours, regular admission is charged.
Past families are not allowed to buy modern food (ice cream, coffee, chocolate, sandwiches, etc.) in the Café or shop in their costumes during opening hours. Adults are allowed to buy ice cream or similar to eat after closing time if they have changed into modern clothing. Alternatively, adults can buy ice cream for 5 minutes in the Café at closing time (without changing clothes).
During your stay, please wash the pottery house council with just boiling water in the village itself to minimize damage during transport to/from the facility building in the “present”. The entire pottery house council will be thoroughly scalded before/after each new past family stay on Thursdays.
Staying and traveling in Iron Age costume in the other reconstructed environments: the Stone Age field, the farmhouses and the Viking marketplace is not permitted during the opening hours of Lejre Land of Legends.
Information about the Iron Age village of Lethra
The Iron Age village of Lethra
Lethra Iron Age Village is Lejre Land of Legends’ oldest and best-known attraction. It was planned as an attempt to reconstruct Denmark’s earliest village form by ethnologist Hans-Ole Hansen in 1964. Based on the Jutland excavation material from the 1950-60s, Lethra covers the middle and best documented part of the Iron Age (500 BC – 700 AD) from around 200 BC to 200 AD.
The entire Danish area was evenly populated and shows many different types of sites, graves and houses, some of which were preserved over 20 cm high as fire plots.
Lethra thus gives us a small version of a village from the Early Iron Age, consisting of 4 residential houses: the fisherman’s house by the lake, the chief’s house by the cellar, the farmer’s house in the middle and the longhouse by the pottery half, as well as 4 workshop houses: the iron and wood smithy, the weaving hut and the fence house, for storage or animal keeping.
The Iron Age area also includes the burial ground on the other side of Agersø, as well as the sacrificial bog and the surrounding fields and pastures. Since 1964, many of the 70 buildings and structures have disappeared, but some building plots can still be seen as oval elevations in the terrain.
Information about the houses
Common inventory
The following equipment is part of the fixed inventory most commonly found in excavations of Iron Age house sites or commonly used in everyday life. If any of these props are missing, please let your wizards know and they will try to solve it for you. Otherwise, you’ll have to be creative Iron Age people and come up with or make an alternative solution.
Til ildstedetTil ildstedet
A firebox with min. 2 fire steel and 2 flint stones and a pine sponge
A basket with straw/hay, moss and birch bark strips
A blowpipe for the fire (hollowed out elder)
Possibly a small chopping block for splitting firewood (inside the house)
Til madlavning og opbevaringTil madlavning og opbevaring
Ceramic shards as baking trays for biscuits.
Dead / cracked jars for decoration or for dry goods (flour, grain, nuts, etc.)
Gravestones on the bedstone in the Fisherman’s, Chieftain’s and Farmer’s House
The spinning mill’s starched skin plates in the Longhouse.
Til at bære med i fællesskab landsbyens andre beboereTil at bære med i fællesskab landsbyens andre beboere
Towing skins (gathered in the Farmer’s House and the Fence House)
Yoke so you can carry two water buckets and have something in your hands.
Til oprydningTil oprydning
Rice cakes in each house. Hand broom and dustpan in the wood forge.
Til landbrug (samlet i Bondehuset)Til landbrug (samlet i Bondehuset)
Foliage knives for fresh shelf branches or foliage feed for animals
Hoes for breaking clay in the clay pit or cutting peat
Sickles for cutting tall grass bundles and scythes for cutting hay
Shovels with or without ledge for cutting peat
Rake and pitchfork to gather hay when dry.
Arrow to pull to keep the fields open before the next sowing
Drag skins to transport peat or clay.
Til håndværk i hvert beboelseshusTil håndværk i hvert beboelseshus
1 small axe and 1 club for chopping firewood
Possibly leather rags
InventarInventar
Shelves & hooks
Like most houses from the Early Iron Age, the houses are roughly symmetrical on both sides and oriented, with the stable to the east, the living room to the west, and two doors to the entrance that distribute the light in the center of the house.
The most important part of the house is the FIREPLACE. This is where you get light and heat, and where you can prepare your food. The fireplace is made of clay mixed with straw and cow dung. Under the clay mantle are large granite stones that help retain the heat after the fire is extinguished. The hearths are easily broken and care must be taken not to step on them, especially with modern tread soles. Incidentally, it is said that under the hearth is the home of the Norns, those who spin each person’s thread of life. So, if you step on the hearth, you step on their roof and they are not happy about that!
The FIREWOOD you use is and should always be hardwood. Conifers did not grow in Iron Age Denmark, in fact, it wasn’t until the 1600s that the first spruce plantations appeared. The firewood was oak, beech, ash or birch and was chopped and split with an axe, for saws are only documented in small editions in Iron Age bone combs. It is likely that most of the firewood was therefore collected on the forest floor and finely split to dry faster and reduce smoke during domestic use. Above the hearth in some of the houses hangs a small HANGING BASKET. This is called a tare and is a kind of hanging shelf for small kindling, among other things. The model is ethnographic and there is no archaeological evidence of such a thing. This is not a cradle, as you will soon find out: there is simply too much smoke up there under the ceiling.
No actual Iron Age BEDS have been found, but the absence of pottery sherds in certain areas of the houses may indicate that there were beds in these areas. There are also remains of charred posts and building timber, which could be from beds or other furniture. On the beds are sheep skins and under these, straw to soften the beds. How Iron Age people slept and decorated their sleeping places, possibly with pillows and quilts with feathers or straw in them, is still an unsolved mystery!
There are manybenches and stools in the Iron Age Village, and no tables. Several stools have been found in archaeological excavations in Feddersen Wierde in Germany and in the spoils of war find in Viemose on Funen. Some archaeologists believe there was status in having a stool because it elevated you above others. In the Bronze Age (2000-500 BC), which preceded the Iron Age (500 BC-700 AD), stools were found in the graves of rich people as part of the burial equipment, so they must have had a special significance back then.
LanghusetLanghuset
Information about the Longhouse: Lethra’s largest house
The Longhouse reconstruction no.17 is our last offer from 1989 for a dwelling house from around 200 AD. Like the Chieftain and Peasant House, it is a (principle) model house that compiles data from different excavation sites of the same date. The floor plan of the house is unique in Denmark’s Iron Age, as it is typically widespread and dated throughout the country from 1-200 AD. Thus, Iron Age sites such as Nørre Fjand, Priorsløkke, Jelling, Gårslev, Hodde, Overbygård have inspired the reconstruction. In addition, finds from Vestervig and Ginderup in Thy have provided models for the reconstruction of the hearth and entrance paving under the southern doorstep.
The reconstruction of the longhouse has given us the opportunity to register the necessary material volume and work effort very carefully: 20 40-year-old oak trees for the roof-bearing timber frame, 65 20-year-old oak trees for roof trusses, 250 roof battens from young oak trees, 200 hazel shoots for roofing, 3000 willow shoots for the wicker wall, 13 m3 clay, 5 m3 chopped straw and 1m3 horse bulbs. House 17 has required a total of 2213 man-hours, i.e. a 6-month period of felling, chopping, assembling, building and roofing divided between 6 to 8 employees working 12 hours per day.
Langhusets inventarLanghusets inventar
The hearth is an exact reconstruction of the hearth found in an Iron Age house near Vestervig in Thy. Granite stones were wrapped all at once with a massive “mushy Iron Age concrete” consisting of clay, sand and water. The hearth was allowed to dry cold for 2 weeks, after which rope prints and wheel cross motifs were stamped on the leather-hard surface. The most curious aspect of this very durable reconstruction (over 14 years without renovation) is that the hearth has gradually developed the same crack pattern as the original, something that can prove the veracity of our reconstructed construction method through experimental archaeology.
You’ll be spending many hours at the TURNING WALL. At almost all Iron Age settlements, archaeologists find grindstones and/or push grinders, i.e. pieces of the lower part that is used to grind flour (the bed) and the small smooth stone that is used to grind flour (the runner). The rotary grinder, invented by the Celts, was first introduced to Denmark during the 2nd-3rd century AD. It is 6 times more efficient than the old push grinder, which has been used since agriculture was introduced in Denmark over 5,500 years ago in the Neolithic period.
Langhuset er ovnenes mesterLanghuset er ovnenes mester
As a resident of Langhuset, you will be responsible for the nearby kiln area, which gathers the village’s earth and baking kilns. The associated safety equipment must be hidden but accessible: fire extinguishers, water sprayer, fire blanket and a bucket of water.
REMEMBER to collect firewood from the forest and use brushwood to heat the stoves. The finely split firewood is only for domestic use, so don’t smoke too much inside.
HEATING the oven takes 2 to 3 hours so that the stone foundation can accumulate enough heat for the actual baking and after-heating:
Pick up the crust stone so that the flames can pass through the oven.
Light the fire with the fire starter, birch bark and fine twigs, then with thicker brushwood.
As the heat rises and both the stove and wood dry with less and less smoke, push the fire further and further in.
Keep the fire going so that the flames come out of the stove by a maximum of 20 cm, preferably out of the chimney hole.
Feel the outside of the stove to see if it is hot enough. It shouldn’t be too comfortable to hold your hand on for a long time.
Get the STOVE EQUIPMENT ready: the scraper to take out the embers, an old, damp willow broom to sweep ash from the bottom of the stove, the wet oven door from the lake’s brew and a spatula to take food in and out of the oven.
Now it’s time for the FLOUR TEST. Throw a handful of flour into the oven and count to 10. If the flour turns black immediately, repeat the test after a few minutes. If it browns slowly and nicely, the oven is ready for the food.
HøvdingehusetHøvdingehuset
Information about the Chieftain’s House: Lethra’s first chieftain’s seat
The Chief’s House was built in 1975, and reconstructed as a so-called model house that collects data from different excavation sites of the same date. House no.10 belongs to the next generation after the Farmer’s House (house no.2), which took into account the functionality of the house in terms of light, smoke and air with both animals and people under the same roof. The floor plan is inspired by the house plots found at Esbjerg, West Jutland, dating from around 1 AD, but the paved stable is an exact reconstruction of the one found at Sjælborg in the same area.
The half roof of the chieftain’s house has been completely or partially replaced in 1984, 1966, 2018 and 2024. In 2008, the peat doubling was removed from the barn’s plank wall and tarred, giving the house more light, air, smell… and fewer rats. After a few winter storm damages to the ridge over the last 15 years, we were convinced to use peat sheets as the most stable ridge method, rather than wet oat straw that flies away easily and crow trees that really belong to the Middle Ages.
In February 1997 and 1998, Høvdingehuset and Langhuset were the subjects of experiments on the internal climate of Iron Age houses. The Climate X experiment has revealed the comfort of the houses in terms of heat, cold, draught, smoke and humidity. After 2 weeks with archaeology students living here with 0 to 6 degrees of frost outside, the heat of the hearth could peak at 15-25 degrees up to the ceiling but only 8-12 degrees in the living area at 1 meter height. In the stable and elsewhere, the temperature could be even 3 to 5 degrees lower, debunking the myth that livestock under the same roof brings extra degrees of heat. Unfortunately, Høvdingehuset was voted the coldest house in the village due to the many openings and its location at the foot of the dance (labyrinth) hill, which brings moisture from underground and wind currents from all directions.
Høvdingehuset as house no. 10 was built right next to house no. 1, which was actually moved from Hans-Ole Hansen’s parents’ garden in Allerslev, where the reconstruction first stood. As the house was leaning, it was planned to record the fire on the village’s first house in August 1967, which remains our oldest and most famous attempt in the world (see our book Iron Age Houses in Flames from 2007), and since then Farmhouse no.2 has become the most patinated house in Lethra, without extensive intervention on its original structure and appearance.
Høvdingehusets inventarHøvdingehusets inventar
There’s a real Cradle hanging by the sewing bed. The original looks like a furnished trough with ventilation holes found together with a small clay rattle in the Iron Age village at Overbygård, Central Jutland and dated to around the birth of Christ. The trough was then used as a coffin for the little one-year-old child after his death and placed under the fireplace in one of the houses. The custom of burying special animal bones, pottery shards by the posts or grain-filled jars under the hearth was widespread. However, whole humans buried under the hearth or horse and dog bones under the northern and southern doorsteps, respectively, are rare finds. However, similar “home sacrifices” or symbols are also known from the contemporary Roman Empire.
The manure chute in the stable tells us a lot about the times in the now smaller three-ship Iron Age houses, compared to the earlier, long one- or two-ship “Bronze Age collective” farms. Due to the wetter and colder climate and times of conflict, it became important to collect dung to improve soil quality in the smaller but more intensively cultivated fields, while keeping your livestock safe under the family unit’s private roof.
FiskerhusetFiskerhuset
Information about the Fisherman’s House: Lethra’s exclusive commercial home
Unlike the other principle model houses that collect data from different excavation sites of the same date, the Fisherman’s House was built in 1968 as an exact reconstruction of a specific house site. House no.8 belongs to the next generation after the Farmer’s House (house no.2), which took into account the functionality of the house in terms of room division and associated material. The floor plan is reconstructed exactly from house plot no. X found at the site Grøntoft, West Jutland, ending the first phase (300-200 BC), i.e. dated from around 200 BC. The house differs significantly from the other Iron Age houses in that it has no stable and has a different functional room division. As an exception, the living room faces east, while the western room could probably be interpreted as a workshop with associated weaving looms, pointing to textile production.
The roof of the fisherman’s house has been patched many times since 1968. In 2008, the peat doubling was removed from the house’s woodwork, which was tarred, giving the house more air and scent… and fewer mice and rats. Otherwise, the annual winter storm damage to the ridge since 2000 has convinced us to use peat sheets as the most stable ridge method, rather than wet oat straw that flies away easily and crow trees that really belong to the Middle Ages. In 2014, the fisherman’s house was finally re-roofed.
What makes the Fisherman’s House special is its incredible longevity, with only two full roofs since 1968, in relation to its location and roof construction. With no opening in the roof and despite its lakeside location, the house retains a certain amount of humidity, which, although it weakens the tiled walls and attracts rodents, actually benefits textile production and the durability of the roof structure: neither original rafters nor battens were replaced during the last roofing in 2014.
In essence, the Fisherman’s House is a very difficult and unique functional building to interpret in context, as it originally stood secluded or outside Grøntoft’s village fence and gate, with more bed space than for a childless or senior couple. Whether the house was a functional residence for the village guard or a “youth home” with occasionally enjoyable visitors, we will never know, but the building had its purpose.
Fiskerhusets inventarFiskerhusets inventar
The whitewashed walls of the workshop room are not just a modern attempt. Painted pieces of clay linen have been known as far back as the Bronze Age. In some of the so-called city mounds in northern Jutland – Iron Age villages that were built in the same place for several centuries – wall and even floor whitewashing has been found. Lime paint probably had three advantages: to decorate and protect the walls from wind and weather, to illuminate the dark and windowless interiors, and perhaps to limit parasite infestation from e.g. bedbugs.
The upholstery weave and circular weave made it possible to produce fine colored wool textiles with very sophisticated tipping patterns, such as those preserved on moselig.
BondehusetBondehuset
Information about the Fisherman’s House: Lethra’s exclusive commercial home
Of the first six Iron Age houses built here in the summers of 1964 and 1965, only one has been preserved to this day: the farmhouse was reconstructed as a so-called model house that compiles data from different excavation sites of the same date. The floor plan is from the West Jutland Iron Age site of Grøntofte from around 100 AD. But its paved stable is reconstructed after Sjælborg near Esbjerg and Skørbæk Hede in Northwest Jutland.
The long life of the farmhouse is due to the fact that it has been covered several times. After the first archaic “Spaghetti roofing technique” with hay immediately straightened (because it was leaking) with hay roofing with rafters, the farmhouse was then bundle roofed in 1968 (picture) & batten roofed in 1978. A few roof-bearing posts were replaced at the entrance and new stalls were installed in the barn in 1994. The east and west gable cladding was reinforced in 2005 & 2015 respectively, and in 2020 the south side of the roof will finally be re-roofed.
The farmhouse as House No. 2 was built after House No. 1, which was actually moved from Hans-Ole Hansen’s parents’ garden, where the reconstruction first stood. The village’s first house was deliberately burned in 1967, as our oldest and most famous attempt in the world (see our book Iron Age Houses in Flames from 2007), and since then House #2 has become the most patinated house in Lethra, without extensive alterations to its original structure and appearance. The other building plots can still be seen as oval mounds in the area, but much has disappeared from the total of 70 buildings and structures reconstructed in the Iron Age area since 1964.
Bondehuset inventarBondehuset inventar
The PODIUM in relation to the low height of the hearth could also be interpreted as such to emphasize the authority of the householder, but could just as well be used as a work table at night or in the winter darkness, with light from a fat lamp, for finer needlework or cooking. Otherwise, we don’t know exactly where ordinary stools and possibly other furniture or wooden boxes and chests were.
The NORTH DOOR in the farmhouse is something very special. It has been reconstructed from the only complete door that has been found from Iron Age Denmark, charred in a fire pit in the Iron Age village at Nørre Fjand, West Jutland. It testifies both to the tool precision of the time and the craftsman’s skill in assembling a solid oak door from two 1.25m long planks with a built-in door handle, including a dovetail key and curved recessed crossbars.
If the doors are so low in the Farmhouse, it is NOT due to the average small height of the Iron Age people. Thanks to their healthy, fresh and varied diet, the Iron Age people were actually the tallest people in Denmark’s history before us, averaging 1.75m and 1.62m for men and women respectively. This makes Bondehuset the warmest house in Lethra, with a good balance between the air flowing in, the smoke pouring out of the single lyre in the west gable, and the warm air staying inside, thanks to the decidedly low doors that the cattle could easily pass on their knees!
Overview of the weekly program
Saturday – Arrival day and time travel
Welcome to Lejre Land of Legends!
Arrival and security
Keys and responsibilities:
One person in the group will be given and be responsible for a set of keys that opens the main gate and links to the Iron Age village. These keys will be handed back to your wizard/woman on the day of departure.
The suits are made of wool and the basic food elements are grain, dairy, meat, fish, peas, apples, mushrooms, nuts and onions and wild herbs. The wild plants are picked by your local Iron Age villagers who know what grows in the area around the village.
NB! It’s important that you don’t arrive too late on the first day, so we have time to get everyone into costume and take care of other chores. If you couldn’t make it due to vacation plans or traffic, please let us know well in advance.
Kl. 09.00 – ankomstKl. 09.00 – ankomst
You will arrive and be met by your wizard/woman at Lejre Land of Legends’ parking lot. This is where your car will be parked for the duration of your stay, so it is important that you empty it completely. Parking is at your own risk.
This is also where you meet the other families for the first time. There’s plenty of time to say hello to everyone and have a cup of coffee or tea while you’re introduced to the time travel, food & activity suggestions, tips and rules. You’ll also be shown the modern storage and shower facilities in the “present”.
Omkring kl. 10.00Omkring kl. 10.00
From around 10:00, families take turns going up to the costume loft to be handed out EARLY AGE costumes. The experienced families get suits first and then head out into the village. You go up to the costume loft one family at a time. You can choose to keep your personal belongings and valuables under lock and key in the present or in your house in the past, at your own risk.
Omkring kl. 12.00Omkring kl. 12.00
From around 12:00 noon, you will then be handed HOUSEHOLD GOODS & FOOD, which you must carry with your luggage to the Iron Age village and your house in baskets and on a trolley. In the village, you can eat your own packed lunch. The packed lunch should fit into the Iron Age environment as far as possible.
Off to the Iron Age..
The rest of the week
The weekly program depends on wind, weather and how many of you there are – therefore there is no fixed program. If you want an idea of what it might look like, check out the section “On vacation in the Iron Age – an example of a weekly program” on this page.
Thursday – Farewell day
This is the day you go back to the future again. During the morning, you’ll spend the day cleaning the houses until it’s time for the last activity of the stay at 14:00.
Mellem kl. 15.00 og 17.00Mellem kl. 15.00 og 17.00
You pack up, change him back into modern clothes and say goodbye for now.
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