In a farming community, pigs, cattle, sheep and goats were among the most valuable possessions. However, as the herds were rarely kept in the village but rather in the woods or on pastures, shepherds were stationed there day and night to protect them from wild animals and cattle thieves, equipped with bows and arrows, spears, slings and throwing sticks. Shepherd dogs were their constant companions, and the signal whistle was always within reach. The shepherds’ daily tasks also included milking the cows, sheep and goats. They processed the milk, adding rennet from goat stomachs, to make quark and cheese. Salted and flavoured with fresh herbs, the finished cheese products served the shepherds not only as food but also as a medium of exchange for other foodstuffs. In addition to milk, the animals provided the raw materials for clothing such as shirts, jackets, weatherproof shepherd’s coats, shoes and caps through their wool and hides. Baskets were woven from willow.

Houses similar to the shepherd’s hut were also inhabited by the families of fishermen, hunters, potters, woodworkers and weavers. The first trades emerged during the Bronze Age. But life here was not all work. Once the day’s work was done, there was still time to make music with shepherd’s flutes made from elderwood, cow horns or drums.

 

House type:

Single-room Bronze Age house (c. 1050 BC). Walls made of woven, clay-plastered twigs.

Reconstructed:

1931/1977, based on excavations at the „Wasserburg Buchau“, Federsee moor, 1921–1937.

 

Cheese is made from milk

In the Bronze Age, cows, sheep and goats lived almost all year round in the forest or on pasture. Shepherds protected the herds from wild animals such as bears or wolves, but also from cattle thieves. They turned the animals’ milk into delicious cheese. In special clay pots with large holes, they pressed out the excess liquid and shaped the cheese. The children accompanied the shepherds and helped out.

Have you spotted the sieve pots yet?