These KS2 Anglo-Saxon teaching resources give an introduction to archaeology, focusing on the excavations and surveys that have been used by archaeologists to investigate Rendlesham - an Anglo-Saxon royal settlement which was once a residence of the early East Anglian Kings. They will build a solid foundation of archaeological techniques and how they have been used to discover what life might have been like for the people living at Rendlesham between the 5th and 8th centuries.
There are two ready-to-go PowerPoints that are freely available to download. The content is easily editable, allowing it to be adapted to use as much or as little of the content as required.
They have been designed to give great flexibility in your teaching; they can be adapted to suit the amount of time and number of lessons you would like to cover, and although they are aimed at ages 7-11years (KS2) they are made in a way where you can easily adapt to different ages.
The resources interweaves explicit information with scaffolded opportunities to practice and apply learning. It is well suited to an enquiry based curriculum where children's questions about archaeology could be answered through the information available to you.
Any feedback about these resources or further ideas please contact us.
Rendlesham Teaching Resource One
What is archaeology? Archaeological techniques used to discover the royal Anglo-Saxon settlement at Rendlesham.
Download PowerPoint (14MB) »Rendlesham Teaching Resource Two
Exploring artefacts, material types and what survives. What can archaeologists learn about the settlement and people living at Rendlesham?
Download PowerPoint (18MB) »How Has Archaeology Revealed Anglo-Saxon Rendlesham?
This animated video for families, children and young people explains the archaeological techniques involved with discovering the incredible remains of an important Anglo-Saxon royal settlement at Rendlesham. What did this royal settlement look like and who were the people that once lived there?
A copy of this video is included in the downloadable teaching resources above.
Created March 2023 by Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service for the Rendlesham Revealed community project, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Video and animation by Emma Youell. Music by Gemma Parker (@darkbardess). Illustration of the hall by Donna Wreathall.
Royal Residences: Teaching Resource
This KS2 teaching resource contains seven easy-to-follow cross-curricular classroom activities. Each activity focuses on real archaeological sites and practices. (Funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council)
Discover five archaeological sites across Britain to compare and contrast the archaeology and find out how archaeologists know where to look and explore the discoveries. You will use historic texts, place names, aerial photography, buildings, objects
Except for the Royal Residences Network resource, the Rendlesham resources have been created by Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service as part of the Rendlesham Revealed community archaeology project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Anglo-Saxon Life
a video series illustrating Anglo-Saxon life set in West Stow Anglo-Saxon village
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Virtual 360° Exhibition
Rendlesham Revealed: The Heart of a Kingdom interactive exhibition with finds from the site at Rendlesham
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Archaeology Activities
printable activities based on Anglo-Saxon archaeology, including coins, creative writing, wordsearches and colouring
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