• • ex A group of studentswithapassionfor European history found a way to travel back in time to the Middle Ages during the fall of 2010. This journey back in time, however, did not take them very far. Students in Dr. Julie Harris's Medieval European History class, Phi Alpha Theta members and others traveled to Lead Hill, Ark., to see the Ozark Medieval Fortress in order to learn more about architecture and lifestyles during the Middle Ages. Afterfinding out aboutthe castle, which was undergoing a 20-year construction process, Harris, her husband and assistant professor of history Dr. Jared Dockery took a scouting trip to Lead Hill to find out more about it. After surveying the site, they decided the castle was worth a field trip in spite of the 3.5 hour drive. The website for the Ozark Medieval Fortress described the entire process as "an outdoor laboratory, a living history book." • c1ng history Talking to the workers was a special part of the experience, especially for junior Max Bertini. He said he loved hearing about how the workers had to start with a poor excuse of a tool and use it to make a better one in order to do their jobs. Bertini also enjoyed talking to many of the workers, including the potter making bricks, the carpenter making tools, the rope maker designing the rope and the laborers who were "grateful to have a job for the next 20 years." The building project took place year-round, except when the weather conditions were too cold and the mortar would not set. It was otherwise open to the public to show anyone interested how such a construction site in the Middle Ages would have worked. "It is very much an educational process," Harris said. "They have models of the different levels of development." According to Harris, those on site were working to recreate an entire fortress from the ground up using only medieval methods as "a generational project." Most workers hired were local craftsmen, but afew experts from France came to show proper techniques as needed. From blacksmiths to carpenters to weavers, this unique scene gave an authentic feeling of medieval Europe and helped people relive the culture. Sophomore John Seal and Junior Dovid Cameron lift chain links weighing 20 pounds each on the Oct. 30 Civil War field trip. History students also visited the homes of Presidents Ulysses Grant and Abraham Lincoln and a history museum. Courtesy of Dr. Haynie On the way to the castle, Harris had students draw from options in a bowl, determining what their fates would most likely have been when living in the Middle Ages. Only two in the group would have survived their 20th year. "It's fun and sobering all atthe same time," Harris said. Such an activity made students ·realize that conditions as simple as a b~ken leg during that time period couJ'cJ have been fatal. :1· rn.fascinated with medieval Europe There were also on-site stone carvers, rope makers and potters making tiles and shingles. Senior Jane Messina participated in the stone carving, which she described as one of her favorite parts of the trip. "It was interesting to see the tools and techniques people from the Medieval Europe used in building," Messina said. "Let's just say, I'm very thankful that someone else built my house, and it didn't take 40 years to build." 180 academics becjuse their world was so different from ours," Bertini said. "It keeps life in perspect ive when I sit in class and think how awesome it is to live in 21st century America instead of having been born just some nameless peasant who amounted to just a hill of beans." In the end, students realized they only had to travel down the road in order to discover a newfound appreciation for life in the 21st century. Gabrielle Pruitt
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