Stone Age Deer butchery Experience weekend

Name: Stone Age Deer butchery Experience weekend
Start: 2025-10-11T09:30:00+01:00
End: 2025-10-12T16:00:00+01:00
Location: Ancient Technology Centre

Schedule

Sat, 11 Oct, 2025 at 09:30 am to Sun, 12 Oct, 2025 at 04:00 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

Ancient Technology Centre | Verwood, EN

Join Castle Hill Heritage Skills CIC at the Ancient Technology Centre, Cranborne, Dorset BH21 5RP for a whole weekend of Deer butchery and using the whole animal.
Our experts are:
- Sarah Day and associates: Memma the Cave Woman and Prehistoric Experiences Stone Age school visits.
You will have 4 sessions over the mornings and afternoons of both Saturday 11th October and Sunday 12th October 2025. These will involve using Stone Age tools and methods to butcher a deer. You will tan skins and use parts of the animal for cordage and tools. You will also cook and preserve parts of the deer in Stone Age methods and recipes.
Weekend structure:
- Skinning and butchery. You will work on a deer to learn how to butcher for meat, skins and tools.
- Basic tanning. Using skins in various stages of the tanning process you will learn how to preserve a skin and turn it into leathers.
- Bones and antlers and tendons. Using parts of the animal to create tools and cordage.
- Stone Age cooking. Using a fire pit over and some foraged plants you will create a range of dishes to enjoy with your fellow attendees.
Tickets are £215.00 for the weekend tutoring and evening talk. You will have around 2 and a half hours with each skill and tutor to learn the history and have a go yourself. On the Saturday evening we will gather for a communal meal (additional fee TBC) and an evening talk led by our expert tutors.
Tutors will also have items for sale on Saturday evening.
We are working on providing an evening meal on Saturday 11th October 2025 for a small extra fee to extend your day and the community we will be created. We are still in negotiation with caterers so will email out a link to the meal at a later date. All dietary requirements will be catered for.
Please bring your own lunch for both Saturday and Sunday.
There is limited accommodation on site. There are 14 places available for guests to sleep in the communal Viking Longhall. All bedding plus mattress must be brought with you if you select this option. This is for an additional £25 fee and can be selected when you purchase your main weekend ticket. There is also space for 5 campervans which can be selected when you purchase your main weekend ticket at a fee of £20 per campervan.
Once the options for staying in the Viking Longhall or having a campervan have run out at the ticket sales page there are no additional spaces.
There are options through this ticket selling platform to pay in instalments and we hope that makes the courses accessible to all.
We have had enquires about whether guests can wear replica costume items they have made, and the answer is the more the merrier! We are all going to be at the event to celebrate heritage methods and archaeological finds so please do share yours.
You will have to arrange your own transport to and from the venue including overnight accommodation if necessary. Please note it is only possible to stay overnight at the Ancient Technology Centre on Saturday 11th October 2025. There are numerous camp sites, B&B's and Air BnB's available local to Cranbourne with a quick online search.
We are an inclusive not-for-profit company and want all of our attendees to have the same accessibility for the weekend of workshops. If you require anything to make your weekend more accessible please let our directors know at [email protected] and we will endeavour to work with the venue and tutors to meet your requirements.
All profit from the sales of these tickets goes straight back into the ongoing maintenance and building projects at the Ancient Technology Centre. Once you have visited you will realise what a special place this is and how we have to work to conserve it for the future generations of visitors.