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KS2 Saxons and VikingsMedieval London gallery

Notes for teachers and supporting adultsThese activities will help KS2 pupils explore the first section of the Medieval London gallery and develop historical enquiry skills related to invasion and settlement by the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings.

These activities are offered in Microsoft Word format so that teachers can adapt them to cater for their pupils’ needs if they wish.

Please support your pupils by: reading and discussing text panels discussing the chronology of the medieval period and the layout of the gallery, as

explained in introductory AV table at beginning of gallery discussing whether the artefacts on display are complete or broken and how they

would have looked when they were new discussing the uses of the artefacts on display and whether we use similar things

today asking pupils to consider why we only have limited archaeological evidence from

this period, and what kind of artefacts have not survived (i.e. buildings made of wood)

expanding on the questions within the activity sheets.

Please do also enjoy exploring the rest of the gallery and learning about the later Medieval Period.

We suggest you split the class into groups and allocate each group a different starting point, so that pupils are spread across the gallery.

Please remember to photocopy activity sheets before your visit.

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This gallery plan will help you and your pupils to find your way around.

Please supervise your pupils at all times.

KS2 Saxons and VikingsMedieval London gallery

Listening -post.

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Invaders and settlers.Look at the Decline and Fall display at the end of the Roman London gallery and discuss what the ruined city of Londinium would have been like and why people stopped living there after the Romans left Britain.

Find the timeline. Make a note about what happened around these key dates.

AD 410 AD 842 AD 886 AD 1066

Watch the introductory AV table (in the centre at the start of the gallery) to find out about the invasion and settlement of different people, and how the London area changed during the medieval period.

Draw the river and the two settlements of Lundenburg and Lundenwic.

Read the Lundenwic information panel (opposite the AV table). Now underline ‘true’ or ‘false’ for each of the following statements:

a) The Anglo-Saxons built the town of Lundenwic inside the walls of the old Roman city.

TRUE/FALSE

b) The name ‘Lundenwic’ means ‘London-port‘. TRUE/FALSE

c) Lundenwic was eventually abandoned because of raids by the Normans.

TRUE/FALSE

KS2 Saxons and VikingsMedieval London gallery

AD 410 Romans stop ruling Britain. Londinium falls into ruins.

AD 842 AD 886 AD 1066

Read carefully! The answers may not be as easy as they seem.

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Saxon artefactsLook at the displays at the beginning of the gallery.

Tick when you have found the following 3 objects and write a description of each one.

Complete the missing letters to fill in the name of the job of people who find objects like these for the museum.

A _ c _ a e o _ _ g _ _ _

These are mostly ‘grave goods’. Why would someone be buried with such objects?

Saxon artefacts

KS2 Saxons and VikingsMedieval London gallery

Describe what material/s each object is made from. One of them is a broken piece from a larger object. Describe what is missing.

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Tick when you have found something for each of the following uses:

To fight a battle with To fasten your cloak

To drink wine out of To tidy your hair

Draw some of your favourite Saxon objects on display. Make notes about each object you have chosen, including if you think they belonged to a man or a woman. Include one of the weapons used by an Anglo-Saxon warrior.

What is this broken object and can you guess what material it is made from?

River and port

KS2 Saxons and VikingsMedieval London gallery

If you choose a broken piece of something, you could draw what you think it was like as a complete object.

Think about the skill of the person who made each object.

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Tick when you have found the following (in the big glass display case with a picture of the river.)Ships timbers 1260

Timber revetment 1220

Holding back the tide: carpenters tools

Look at how the ships timbers are fastened together. Can you find the oar hole?

Why did they build retaining walls (a revetment) along the river bank)? (Clue: Think about ships at a Dockside, does the water need to be deep?)

Draw a Viking dragon ship arriving in the port of Lundenwic in the box below.

Changing beliefsWhen the Vikings first raided Britain they prayed to Norse Gods such as Odin and Thor. By 1000 AD many of the people from the North had become Christian, like the Saxons.

Find the model of old St Paul’s cathedral.

What date was this building built? __________

The Saxons had built a cathedral in AD 604. What happened to that building?

_______________________________________

KS2 Saxons and VikingsMedieval London gallery

Although these remains are from a slightly later date, they would have been made in the same way by both Saxon and Viking people coming to London.

During medieval times churches and Christianity became central to the lives of Londoners.

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King Alfred the Great Find the New Foundations panel and Back inside the walls display cases (just outside the Saxon house).

What could you buy with 3 pence in Saxon times? (Find the answer next to the coin.)

Read and then circle the correct answer to complete each sentence:

1. Alfred and the leader of the Vikings agreed that:

they would rule England together

Alfred would rule the whole of England

they would divide England and each rule one half

2. King Alfred established the town of:

Lundenburg

Lundenham

Lundenwic

The replica Saxon house is based on archaeological remains found near the museum.

Pick up a ‘How was the Saxon house built’ sheet.

What is wattle and daub?

What would it be like to live in this house like this?

KS2 Saxons and VikingsMedieval London gallery

Find this silver penny with the words 'ÆLFRED REX' ('King Alfred') on it. It was made in about AD 880.

On the other side it says 'LVNDONIA' (medieval Latin for London).

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Viking invadersFind the Viking raids (700s and 800s AD) display case (by gallery entrance). Read the information panel to help you choose the correct words from the box below to complete this paragraph.

The Vikings came from Norway and ____________. They first attacked ______________

in AD 842 by sailing up the River ___________. The Vikings were fearless ____________

and fought with swords and ________. In AD ______ the Great Army invaded England.

Lindisfarne axes warriors Denmark Spain Nile Thames 872 Lundenwic

Find the Londoners at war (994 – 1013AD) display case.

Draw some of the weapons on display.

Can you find this object? What was it used for?

KS2 Saxons and VikingsMedieval London gallery

Can you find out why these weapons may have ended up in the Thames near London Bridge?

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Stories, sagas and legends Find the listening post further into the medieval gallery (opposite the Black Death area). Many different languages were spoken in medieval London.

Note which language was spoken by the Saxons and which by the Vikings .

Old English

Old Norse

Latin

Make up your own story based in Saxon times. Use the gallery to help you plan your ideas and find objects that will be part of your story. Make some notes of your ideas below.

Describe your main character/s. (eg a warrior, King Alfred or his queen, a young girl, a Saxon farmer’s family attacked by Vikings.)

Describe what objects your character could use. (e.g. a sword, coins, a loom for weaving a beautiful dress, a precious comb or jewellery.) Describe the main setting for your story.(eg Lundenwic, at sea, the deserted Roman city, a forest in a Danelaw area ruled by the Vikings.)

KS2 Saxons and VikingsMedieval London gallery

The English we speak today has evolved from many past languages.Listen to the old languages on the listening post and see if you can guess what they are talking about (there is a translation at the end of each recording and on a printed sheet next to the display). Are they similar to any modern languages you know?

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Write your own story Now find a quiet space in the gallery where you can sit down and write the beginning of your story. Remember to make it exciting so that the reader will want to read on!

You could also illustrate it. Try using the style of Saxon and Viking artworks.

KS2 Saxons and VikingsMedieval London gallery

Find this tomb stone. Look carefully and imagine it is a picture from a story. What is happening? Animals (including monsters) often appear in Saxon stories.