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Yeavering Saxon Royal Palace: Great Hall
The excavations at Yeavering uncovered a sequence of buildings in the centre of
the site, each one replacing an earlier version. Around 627AD this building appears to have had an important
place within the royal centre.
The reconstruction here shows what the Great Hall may have looked like from the outside, and you may view
alternative reconstructions in the site archive, including
Hope-Taylor's own reconstruction of the Great Hall.
All the reconstructions are based on plans produced by Brian Hope-Taylor.
You can view part of the building in plan here or marvel at
the depth of the foundations.
What was the Great Hall used for? When Hope-Taylor published his excavation report he discussed the function of the
Great Hall (which he called building A4 and its predecessor building A2). He drew on the myth of Beowulf in which the
royal hall is a place of feasting and drinking and considered the possibility that platforms along the sides of the
hall were used to carry tables and benches, along which revellers would be rolling in the aisles, convivial horns
refilled and minstrels playing from table to table. More importantly, these arrangements were also suitable for
providing ceremonies, particularly processions and protocol.
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