Making a Medieval Bee Hive out of Straw | Anglo-Saxon Skep Coiled Basket Weaving
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- čas přidán 12. 06. 2024
- The Anglo-Saxons kept bees, most likely in skeps or willow hives. A skep is a coiled straw basket, which is still used today to catch swarms.
Honey was a valuable resource in the Early Medieval period, along with beeswax. Bees were kept in apiaries of many skep hives. The skeps were kept small to encourage swarming, and increase the number of hives in the apiary.
To make a skep requires dry straw or durable grass, and some form of cordage. Many cordages can be used, from waxed linen to willow bark. Young bramble vines were used to lash this skep.
Bramble vines were pulled and gathered, kept as long as possible, and stripped of their leaves and thorns. Threshed, but uncombed, thatching straw was used.
The skep is started by tying an overhand knot into a flexible bramble vine. Three straws are then laid alongside this knot. The bramble vine is wrapped around the straws and pushed through the centre of the knot. This wrapping continues until the straw is wrapped one length round the knot.
Then begins the adding of extra straws to build up the diameter of the straw coil. Only one or two straws are added per wrap at this stage, as the bramble vine continues to wrap around the coil.
Once the coil is large enough, the bramble wrapping is pushed through the previous coil to and sewn tight secure it. The holes are made with the help of an awl.
As the coil gradually increases in diameter, a small cord is tied around it as a guide for the final diameter of the straw coil. This diameter is up to the skeppist, but varies between one and two inches and can be made to suit use, climate, durability and so on.
Once the coil reaches its full diameter as it is wrapped and sewn to form the skep, extra straws are added at around two to four per wrap, to maintain the thickness of the skep walls.
Skeps can be flat topped, or domed. This skep is domed, with an inner diameter of about 14 inches, which reduces slightly towards the bottom of the skep to 13 inches, to add extra strength to the comb within.
When a length of bramble vine runs out, it is secured by wrapping it back on itself and tucking the end in. The new length of bramble vine is wrapped around the previous wrapping before continuing as normal.
Skeps are usually 14-15 inches tall. Just before the required height is reached, the coil diameter is reduced by reducing the number of straws added, until no more straws are added, and the tapering end of the coil is carefully wrapped to create a flat base.
Straw skeps can be left as they are or daubed with a thin layer of animal dung as a showerproof, insulating layer. Either way, skeps need to be protected from wind and rain with either a straw hackle or a bee bole.
A temporary straw cone hackle was made to protect this skep, until a proper bee bole can be made. The skep was placed upon a simple wooden stand with a carved entrance, and baited with lemon balm to encourage a wild swarm.
With thanks to:
Herknungr, Musician, playing 'Spekð'
Grzegorz Kulig, Silversmith, for making the pattern-welded knife.
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Hi all! You can check the subtitles and description for much more detail. Thanks for watching, and many thanks to Herknungr for the music 'Spekð'! If you like what I do and want to support me further, consider becoming a patron: www.patreon.com/gesithasgewissa/
i allways remember the subtitles after ive seen the video, could you perhapse put a reminder in the video at the begining please and thanks for the content, allways educational and entertaining
Hi Alec, I stumbled upon a video from an outfit named Time Team documenting a reconstruction of the Sutton Hoo ship. I was at first surprised when you showed up in it for a minute or two, but then came to my senses that of course you'd be involved in such a project given your demonstrated interests on your personal channel. You were born 1400 years too late. Carry on and best wishes.
Hi! Yes, I worked as a shipwright on the Sutton Hoo reconstruction for a year before starting this project. It was a great job! But I had more Anglo-Saxon 'living' to do, so I started making these videos 😃Best wishes to you.
If i were a bee, I'd live in there.
Haha, glad to hear it! Thank you
This is hands down one of my favourite CZcams channels.
Glad to hear it!
You have no idea how long Ive waited for someone to give a simple video of making a skepp! Finally!
Haha 😄 glad I could help!
It was interesting to see your work with the Sutton Hoo boat reconstruction. There were some very talented people doing some very remarkable things in years past.
Thank you.
Thank you. I worked there as a shipwright for a year before starting this project.
I adore videos like this. People frequently seem to equate Britain's dark ages with famine, war and death yet seemingly forget many people still just lived their lives and did what they needed to survive.
This content is super informative and high-quality, lovely to see.
In spite of the lack of technology and lack of food security I like to believe people of the medieval era may have been happier than we are today. Only needing to concern themselves with their village and their family rather than the whole world with everyone connected all the time.
I very frequently take walks close to a farm near my house just to get away from phones, computers and the like. It's very calm and quiet, just like these videos.
I think along similar lines. There was plenty of happiness to be had back then too, despite a lot of threat and insecurity. Apart from the warring elites, many free villages where people were simply working the land might have been quite peaceful a lot of the time. Thanks for sharing!
...so that's where the symbol for beehive comes from!
Fingers crossed you do get bees this summer, and that you can keep the hive viable over the winter. Thank you!
I hope so, I'll keep you all updated! Thanks for watching
The problem with this ancient type of skep is that you couldn't really get the honey without severely damaging or destroying the hive. In the middle ages the entire colony was sometimes drowned and sometimes "sulphured".
The development of the box hive was in part done to overcome that wastefulness.
But I gather that expert beekeepers are adept with straw skeps and kill bees.
@@DanBeech-ht7sw Skeps and their hives don't need to be destroyed to harvest honey. There are multiple ways to harvest, including cutting away a small amount of honey and comb, adding a super (mini skep) on top, or coaxing the bees into a new skep before harvesting. If I do get a wild swarm, I will prefer the first two methods which focus on taking a small amount of honey, leaving enough for the bees to overwinter, and not over-exploiting the hive.
Medieval beekeepers kept skeps small to encourage swarming, so that they could catch swarms in new skeps and grow their apiary. I would also like to encourage swarming without catching them to boost wild bee populations in the area.
It's worth remembering that modern beekeeping methods on a large scale often include overexploitation and sugar feeding which damages the bees internally and their immune systems. But we can learn to take the best things from all the different methods.
I had never seen a medieval beehive before, and it was only from watching this take shape as you crafted it that I realised that the mental image most of us have of a beehive (the yellow rounded stepped type ones we most often see in kids books or computer games) are clearly based on this design. It’s pretty much become a racial memory lasting thousands of years at this point.
It's probably because the modern style of bee box, was only invented in the 1850's.
It's a lovely image ☺
What's a "racial memory"?
@@isaaca6445 It's another name for Genetic Memory;
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_memory_(psychology)
@@Slye_Fox it’s closer to collective memory or memetics than genetic memory, passed down through social communication such as oral or artistic tradition rather than through DNA.
Genetic memory would be something like the inate fear/anxiety of being in the dark, a genetically inherited reaction that’s a throwback to when our pre-human ancestors were prey animals. 😊
It was delightful to see the Skep taking shape and the interesting use of available materials. A good job you had stout gloves for the bramble harvest! Even in my lifetime, the height of wheat and barley straw has been reduced to a fraction - the older varieties would be good for thatching and for this work. I had four ash chairs made in 2003 with rush seating - still in perfect order. It was fascinating to watch them change colour as they dried. The use of grasses for the weaving of basket structure crosses cultures. as i type at this table, a woven grass fruit basket is in daily use - it was bought home by my father in 1959 from Samoa. As good as new! It was good to see you and you skills on the Sutton Hoo boat film recently posted!
Thanks Ian. It's such a beautiful craft, and baskets are so damn useful! I'd like to try growing some tall heritage wheat myself soon. Yes, I worked on the project for a year as a shipwright, before I started making these videos! All the best to you.
This is cool. I hope to see updates on the hive (like if it actually attracts bees naturally or if you had to move a swarm, and how harvesting from it works). Thanks for the video!
In those days they harvested the honey by killing the hive. That is why modern day hives are the norm. You can harvest withoit killibg the hive.
I will keep you updated. I'm hoping for a natural swarm, but may try catching one too!
@leviathanmdk This isn't necessarily true, there is plenty of evidence for cutting small amounts of comb, adding supers, or encouraging bees into a new skep before harvesting. None of these kill the hive. Modern day hives are far easier to extract from, but this encourages exploitation in my opinion.
Even if that is true, The problem still is in much of the world it is illegal to use.
@@ConnorMainwold That part, In Florida you have to have removable frames in a hive so they can be inspected for it to be legal
Once again, I'm fascinated by watching you work. I didn’t imagine twisted grasses for a skep - I saw them in my mind as plank-built, like a box. The meadow grasses are much more available, aren't they, and possibly not even more time-intensive.Thank you for the great description and identifying the materials - I know the writing takes a lot of time.
I hope you can show us all how you get the honey out of there, too!
❤❤❤❤❤❤
Thank you, and I'm glad you enjoyed the description. Here's hoping some happy bees move in and I can show them to you all!
This is why I live this channel
Glad to hear it!
Other beekeepers recommend using a small phial of lemongrass oil in / on the hive to attract a swarm. Apparently they find it very attractive.
I have used lemon balm, which is native to Europe and has a similar effect ☺
As if I didn't already dig the shit out of you🌻😆!
As a Permaculturist/Extreme Gardener🌻, THANK YOU for recognizing how valuable and important our little pollinator friends are🐝🐞!!
this was lovely to watch, I had so much fun and really liked seeing this style of traditional hive done! Good job btw😉it's beautiful!
May you have many blossoms and much honey and wax in your Future, friend!
Haha thank you 😆 great to hear you are interested in permaculture. I'm always having to appreciate our pollinators. Medieval folklore casts them as faeries which I feel is quite fitting! Thank you for the kind words, blessings to you too.
As someone who has bees, this is really cool!
Thank you, hopefully I'll have some too soon!
@@gesithasgewissa forsooth! I hope you have some way of talking out the honey without being stung because that's not fun lol
@@DragonsAndDragons777 what if you lit a small bit of straw bundled up tight and then used the smoke from that?
Maybe too much of a risk of setting the hive on fire haha.
It was just beautiful to watch this come together.
Thank you!
Absolutely fantastic! Thank you so much for preserving such an important skill!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching
Absolutely amazing work and how you took the time to weave it all together in such detail is most definitely 💯 special guaranteed!
Keep up the great work brother!
Thank you very much!
I'd love to see a crossover with the Saving The Beeeeeeeeeees lady
That would be cool!
Love the work this channel does, also interesting to know the weird shit i did as a kid could have a practical application
Always experimenting! Thanks for watching
A moment of calm in a mad world.
Rest here a while traveller ☺
Another fantastic episode my friend. You are truly talented, and are reviving ancient skills to future generations.
Thank you very much!
I had no idea, why beehives often drawn like this, and now I know how to make this thing! Remarkable. I wonder, what bees have to say (well, dance) about this little shelter. I hope, they will find such a nice place acceptable.
In case you're collecting questions for a Q&A video/post about the build, what was totally unexpectable in your project? What worked as intended, and what didn't worked as you thought it should? What was the most inspired and the most depressing in the project?
Hopefully, they'll like it enough to move in, we shall see! Thanks for the questions, I'll think about a sharing a Q&A at some point ☺
Absolutely mesmerizing video!! I love learning medieval history and how people lived then! Also, please tell me you’ll update us if bees do move in
Thank you, it's truly fascinating! I definitely will do an update when there is one.
Thank you, really clear info for an item of great appeal to many, and that stand is perfect. Here in the Sonoran Desert I can find very similar materials. I imagine it was women who first made skeps.
Glad it was helpful!
Just like a pine needle basket!
Yes! I haven't tried those yet
@@gesithasgewissa they look amazing when finished but honestly they take way too long compared to other methods and are more fragile so I haven't made many. The true artists in the craft have made some amazing examples though
Nice work son 👍
I'm really enjoying this channel
Glad to hear it!
I never got notification you'd put out a new video, but thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thanks for watching!
That was neat! Hopefully it works! It is a beautiful creation!
Thank you Ian!
In this types of hives the swarm has to be killed in order to extract honey. In order not to do that, the hive can be made in to two parts, the upper third as a dome that is sepperate from the lower two thirds, that have a cylindrical shape. The two parts can be held together with pegs.
You have made a great hive, now you can just coat it in cow dung to give it an extra layer to protect the straw from the sun and to seal any gaps.
Skeps and their hives don't need to be destroyed to harvest honey. There are multiple ways to harvest, including cutting away a small amount of honey and comb, adding a super (mini skep) on top as you suggested, or coaxing the bees into a new skep before harvesting. If I do get a wild swarm, I will prefer the first two methods which focus on taking small a amount of honey, leaving enough for the bees to overwinter, and not over-exploiting the hive.
The straw hackle is doing the job of the cow dung for now, but I will probably do so when I make a bee bole to set the skep into. Thanks for sharing!
Been following your channel for awhile…I feel like this is going to be the video that goes megaviral for you 👍
Thank you very much, I appreciate the support 😃
This was fascinating! When I watch your videos it always comes to mind how most of us modern people look at a field or patch of wilderness and just see pretty scenery, but our ancestors saw bedding, roof material, a beehive, home building materials, etc. I think we’ve really lost something in having lost that appreciation for and utility of nature. How would you get the honey without destroying the bees/hive? Please keep us updated ❤
It's true, and fascinating to think about how ancient people viewed their landscape. I know when I was working on the Sutton Hoo ship, I suddenly started seeing prows, keels and frames in every curve and crook of an oak tree, haha. They would certainly have been 'embedded' in the landscape, knowing how best to work with the land.
Skeps and their hives don't need to be destroyed to harvest honey. There are multiple ways to harvest, including cutting away a small amount of honey and comb, adding a super (mini skep) on top, or coaxing the bees into a new skep before harvesting. If I do get a wild swarm, I will prefer the first two methods which focus on taking small a amount of honey, leaving enough for the bees to overwinter, and not over-exploiting the hive.
Medieval beekeepers kept skeps small to encourage swarming, so that they could catch swarms in new skeps and grow their apiary. I would also like to encourage swarming without catching them to boost wild bee populations in the area.
I will, and thanks for the great questions!
This is mind boggling! Obviously we know they had honey in ancient Britain, but somehow the concept of medieval beekeepers was just never something that occurred to me. How on earth did they collect the honey without protective suits while the bees were probably angrily trying to sting them to death? And so much work goes into that! How did you even learn how to do that? (I'm assuming it's mostly historically accurate.)
Now to once again test my Cicely Mary Barker based flower knowledge: I can only think that the purple flowers at the beginning are harebells (I can't imagine bluebells being that wide or that purple.) The pink flowers must be stitchwort (I didn't even know they COULD be pink, and gorgeous shot with the closeup of the flowers with you in the background), and I think the white flowers next to the beehive in the end would be elder flowers? There are a lot of flowers that look similar to those but that one's my best guess
That's still for us to find out I suppose, gonna be some risky archaeology 😁 that said, there are many modern beekeepers who don't wear suits. But medieval equipment could have been heavy wool gowns, wicker face guards and smoking leaves. Take a look at medieval beekeeper suits on google, it's quite something!
They are bluebells, just a close up shot, and these native ones are beautiful purply-blue. You're right on the elder and the pink flowers are red campion ☺
@@gesithasgewissa Dang, so close! 2 out of 3 isn't bad though lol. Cicely has a Red Campion fairy but it doesn't show up very much in the books that her estate has published, so I'm gonna try and forgive myself for that one
@@fallonfireblade4404 I'm still very impressed with your plant identification, especially over a screen which is hard 😃
@@gesithasgewissa Thank you! It's a lot easier to remember plants when you've grown up with images of them with their flower fairies in your mind 🧚♀️
That's so cool. You can fine tune the size of the entrance with that sloping cut in the base so wasps etc can't fit through! Such a clever old design. I'd bet the hives increased the harvest of crops too.
I see you, elasticated leather gloves :) Seriously though, you can strip thorns from vines by passing the vine around a handy tree and sawing back and forth. If you're careful, you don't need gloves at all
It's pretty ingenious! The gloves are simply sewn from leather and linen, no elastic :) ooh that's a nice idea though, and it makes them flexible at the same time, thanks!
Always look forward to these videos 👌
Thanks Evan!
Where I live there are invasive Himalayan blackberries, somewhat larger than English brambles. Weaving like willow baskets I've made about six laundry baskets out of them. They make great gifts. I've noticed something odd though: while women make baskets of all sizes, all over the world men's baskets all seem to go to the same size and shape, no matter what technique they use, cylindrical, and as tall as their knees and as wide as their shoulders. I can try to make a different shape and they come out that size anyway as if its embedded in male DNA. Your bee skepp is no exception. You've got a little practice hive, but your real one is close to the shape of a washer tub or dryer tub. (So washers and dryers were designed by men?)
I've tried but I can't make a coiled basket. There are French videos out about how to make a bee skepp, did you use rye straw like the French do or is that some other straw?
ı spend 90 days to building cooking and survival on the
Great use of invasive species! This is wheat straw, left over from thatching the house.
How did they get such amazingly clear footage from nearly 1400 years ago!
It's a mystery!
Absolutely love this channel it never disappoints!
Glad to hear it!!
Always happy when you release a new video. Great work, keep it up mate
Glad to hear it, thank you!
It's so interesting to me how certain very specific crafting techniques seem to exist throughout so many different cultures, but in various incarnations.
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The way you weaved those beehives looks surprisingly similar to how certain individuals of African background weave their hair into continuous braids that stick to their scalp.
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It is also very much like rope-making, or an inverted basket, or even, heck. Moses's crib floating down the river!
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It's like a happy little reminder (Bob Ross lol) that in the end, we are all One. 🙂
Agreed, so much shared development of crafts and technologies across cultures!
Fascinating stuff and incredible work. Super cool channel
Thank you!
Fantastic!
Thank you!
10:26 Totally plausible except for the lemongrass which wouldn't have been available to Saxon's in Brittain in the Early Medieval period. Instead they would have used a piece of old black brood comb and some propolis. Nice job, well done!
Lemon balm, rather than the asian lemongrass. Lemon balm is native to the Mediterranean and may well have been introduced to Britain by the Romans as they used it for hives and a sacred herb in the worship of the cult of Diana. I would definitely have liked to have used brood comb, but didn't want to risk spreading disease as I read that can be an issue. Hopefully I can find some propolis though. Thanks!
Geuinly enjoyed watching that. I really hope you manage to attract a hive, it'd be amazing to see what type of bees it attracts.
Keep up the great work mate.
Thank you friend! I'm hoping for some native dark bees, we'll see...
Excellent work! I’d love to see a follow-up video when the bees start producing.
Thank you. That'll definitely be coming if a swarm moves in!
Getting Ostriv vibes. :)
😄😄😄
This my friend inspired me, or I will say my clan, we have a population of honey bees here in the backyard and we'll seeing how bees are key to our lives and they do make a great product (honey) like to give them a safe and productive home.
Glad to hear it, I hope your bees are thriving!
That's super cool!
Thank you!
Wer! That is really good. I suspect you have not made many of these which would make this even more impressive. Multi-talented and skilled my Wer.
Thank you, and yes, this is my first one!
Wow...! Job nicely done. I hope we can also see the bees at work and the results of their job.
Thanks, I hope so too! I'll post any updates, for sure.
Never realized that this is why the symbolic beehive looks like it does. No luck on the actual bees?
No bees have moved in so far, but there's still plenty of swarming season left!
Another great video. I've managed to get some long straw and will attempt to have a go myself.
Fantastic, best of luck with your skep!
Awesome, just awesome...
Thank you Dan!
Your settlement is awesome.
tell me, do you live this life day in day out?
What peace and tranquility you must find there.
It is such a peaceful spot! I stay there while filming my videos yes, it's beautiful.
fantastic craftsmenship as ever, it will be fantastic if you can attract a swarm, perhaps a local beekeeper could be of assistance
Thank you. Yes I have a few lovely natural beekeepers in the area I need to get in touch with ☺
I think I made a “rag rug” once using a similar weaving style except the straw was braided bits of fabric kind of all braided together to form a long strip and the bramble was thread. It had that same wrapping around and sewing into previous coil pattern except it ended up flat.
Was it hard to hold all the pieces together at the very start of the project? It looked like that might have been tough trying to keep the straw and briar and coil all held together as the first few passes were woven. I’ve had crafting projects like that where I felt like I needed about four more hands. The end product looks just exquisite! I hope very productive bees make a good home in it. 🐝
That's cool, I've been thinking of making some straw mats with a similar technique. It is really fiddly at the beginning yes, but after two or three coils it starts to hold itself together. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome video, so simple and beautiful. For a few minutes we are transported into the mists of our history. Please follow up and let us know how the hive works and what the honey was used for. Hint some honey mead would sure be tasty.
Thank you, I'm glad this feels immersive in that way. I'll definitely be doing follow up videos when there's anything to show! Ooo mead....tempting...
Nice.
Thanks!
The real question: are the bees happy?
The most important question! This is why I would like to try and entice a wild swarm - if it's suitable, they'll move in and hopefully be happy!
Fascinating! Why an awl, though, and not a bone or wood needle for the vine? It seems like that might be less fiddly, but in fairness I've never tried to make a skep.
As the bramble is stiff enough to poke through, it is its own needle! I think you might struggle more with a needle as putting the bramble through the eye creates double the thickness to pull through. It would probably fray and break a lot.
Damn I've seen you building Anglo Saxon house and subscribed. Move on, frēond
Welcome, and thank you!
I love it when you post a new video, and this one definitely shows just how versatile your skills are. I suppose living at this point in time, you would have to turn your hand to making or mending anything. I notice you used modern gloves to strip the bramble vines, I assume that’s what they were? What would our ancestors have used do you think? Thank you for sharing your video with us.
Yes indeed, most people living on the land had to rely on a variety of different crafts! The gloves aren't really modern, they are tanned leather stitched with linen thread, which could easily have been made back then. The earliest evidence we have for leather gloves in Medieval times is in iconography of falconers. Similar leather hedge-layer's mitts and gloves have been used up until recent times. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for explaining this, that’s very interesting and gives a real insight and perspective into past lives.
did people ever make hives out of wood or pottery? both seem like theyd be a lot easier to make. Do the bees just not like them? Do they keep in too much heat? would this type of hive need to be destroyed to get the honey?
Edit: I really enjoyed the video and the final product looks great!
Yes I believe there were baked clay beehives used by ancient Mediterranean, Egyptian and Middle Eastern cultures! This is just a guess, but they may not provide enough insulation to have been used in Northern Europe.
Log and tree hives have also been used extensively across Eastern Europe and may have been used in the west as well. Logs are hollowed out or notches cut into living trees to house the bees and their comb. Log hives are great insulators and arguably the most 'natural' managed hive.
Skeps and their hives don't need to be destroyed to harvest honey. There are multiple ways to harvest, including cutting away a small amount of honey and comb, adding a super (mini skep) on top, or coaxing the bees into a new skep before harvesting. If I do get a wild swarm, I will prefer the first two methods which focus on taking small a amount of honey, leaving enough for the bees to overwinter, and not over-exploiting the hive.
Medieval beekeepers kept skeps small to encourage swarming, so that they could catch swarms in new skeps and grow their apiary. I would also like to encourage swarming without catching them to boost wild bee populations in the area.
Thanks for the great questions!
Awesome addition to the farm how are crops looking? Also how long did it take you to build the hive in real time.
The crops are getting there, despite apocalyptic slug numbers 😅 i'll post an update soon. The skep took about ten hours in total.
@gesithasgewissa awesome I'll keep my eyes peeled. Yea it's been the perfect weather for them, fingers crossed you get a half decent yield. Wow that's impressive.
Impressive work!
How long did it take you to build it? I would like to see a hat in that style :D
Thank you. About 10 hours, and I was thinking that as I made it, I'd love a skep hat!
Am I correct in remembering you were one of the volunteers working on the Sutton Hoo ship reconstruction on the Time Team episode they released recently?
Yes that was me. I worked there full time as a shipwright for a year. That was a couple of years ago now, before starting this project. A great experience!
Very interesting. Have you kept bees before in a skep? If so, does it keep the bees dry in heavy rains and how do you anchor them for gale force winds?
I haven't no, but people in my local area do. The straw hackle keeps the skep dry in summer, and may build a bee bole (a little thatched hut) to place the skep into for winter. This can be stuffed with insulation and will provide warmth and shelter for the hive.
I was watching Time Team video on the building of the replica of the Sutton Hoo ship and I thought I saw you there, was I correct? I really enjoy your videos, I really love hands on history!
Indeed, I worked as shipwright on the ship for a year before starting this project. Thank you, me too!
Thats An awesome video. And great job with the skep. I am curious to know of archaological or iconpgraphic Sources for beekeeping from that time period. I agree with you that they must had, and so the viking a bit later. But here in Denmark and scandinavia to my knowledge we have No finds to back it up. Keep up the great work
Thanks Ramuni! The earliest iconographic evidence is in Medieval manuscripts, and I suppose they would not survive archaeologically. Although the term 'skep' derives from the Old Norse word for basket. Perhaps log hives may also have been used in Northern Europe and Scandinavia?
The awl is probably better called a fid or marlinespike, but I don't know what a historical term would be.
Pokey-stick? 😄
😂
That looks hard work on the hands 😮 what kind of protection would they use to protect the body from stings? Or were yhey just toughies in those days 😂
Did I see you working on the Sutton Hoo ship? Excellent axe skills.. 👌
I've seen images of Medieval beekeepers in long woollen habits and basket face guards, quite fascinating! You can see pictures on Google.
You did indeed! I worked as a shipwright there for a year before starting this project.
I LOVE this channel! What kind of straw is "thatching straw"? It looks quite coarse, like reeds. Is it possible to build another, smalle skep on top, with a queen excluder, so the honey and wax can be harvested, leaving a base for the bees? I allso live your clothes. Do you have any vids on how you made them? What kind of fabric is the tunic made from? Did you weave it yourself?
Thatching straw is really any old heritage breed that grows tall enough to be used as thatching; at least 70cm. This is Maris Wigeon wheat, uncombed so it still has all the leaf and weed in it.
It is absolutely possible to make a small skep super to place on top for easy comb harvesting. This works best with flat topped skeps so the super sits firmly on top.
Thank you, I have one video on making my trousers, and plan to make more on the tunics. The tunic is wool, I have various weaves; plain, twill and diamond twill. I didn't weave it myself but that's definitely something I'd love to do!
This is fantastic! Are you at the point where you could live on your property there like for a sustained period of time?
Thank you. I stay there quite often when I am filming videos on the land!
Beautiful, but I worry that the bottom board is going to collect water under the hive when it rains.
Thank you. It hasn't done so far, even in heavy rain. The straw hackle sheds most of the water away from the boards, and the slight gap between the two boards lets any water drain. I also angled the entrance downward so water runs out, if that makes sense.
Absolutely wonderful. Until about what time we're these hives used? I remember seeing these depicted on Jars.
Relatively recently in historical terms- someone above commented that the modern bee box was only invented in the 1850s, and the shift towards those as standard only seemed to happen around the turn of the century.
That's about right, yes!
@@ellaisplotting thank you.
@@terryteed1903 no problem! 😊
@@ellaisplotting Skeps were still being used commercially as late as the 1960's in some parts of Europe. Fell out of use due to not being as easy to manage pests and diseases or as productive as Layens and Langstroth type hives. Skeps are illegal in many countries these days due to the difficulty of proper hive inspections.
Were you on Time Team doing the Sutton Hoo boat?
I was indeed. I worked there as a shipwright for a year before starting this project!
That'd be a way to make some killer baskets, too! =^[.]^=
Indeed, the smaller one I made at 10:01 I gave as a gift; a little foraging basket!
Finishing my dissertation of the divine and supernatural presence within the Staffordshire hoard and Sutton Hoo burials, this will make for a fine break watch
What an awesome dissertation! Good luck to you.
Обожнюю кожне ваше відео
Thank you!
Fascinating handcraft, the skep looks wonderful. Here's a bit of Anglo Saxon beekeeping advice. Not sure what we call veneria these days.
Wið ðæt beón æt ne fleón genim ðás ylcan wyrte ðe wé veneriam nemdon and gehóh tó ðære hýfe ðonne beóþ hý wungynde.
(that bees may not fly away, take this same plant that we called veneria and hang it to the hive, then will they be stationary)
Herb. 7, 2; Lchdm. i. 98, 1 (Herbarium in Vol. I. of Saxon Leechdoms)
Thank you! That's fascinating, I wonder if 'veneria' can be identified and if it's something similar to lemon balm? Also, the reference is hugely appreciated thanks 😄
@@gesithasgewissa I've checked online and it may be cleavers, sweet woodruff or possibly madder.
@@CharlesKS Awesome, thank you, I'll see if those have any link to beekeeping.
What about wind? feels like it wouldnt take much to knock it over
It's surprisingly sturdy, and in a sheltered location. Hasn't been blown over yet!
Now how do you get the bees in
I'm hoping a wild swarm will move in, attracted by the lemon balm!
wont the wind blow it over?!
It's a lot heavier, and sturdier than it looks, and in a sheltered position. It hasn't toppled yet! Thanks for watching
@@gesithasgewissa Ok, cool! ^_^ Have any bees come to claim it yet? ^_^
@@GreatRetro Not yet, I'll post an update if they do though!
Is the overlayed bird song to mask road noise
There is no overlaid birdsong - all the bird song is recorded by me in situ. I'm very lucky to have such beautiful bird life. I do edit the footage to cut out or reduce traffic noise as much as possible, but its very hard to avoid completely, unfortunately!
@@gesithasgewissa you have some very persistent crows!
@@namename3130 I know 🙄
Do you plan on adding bees?
the subtitles say that it was baited for a wild swarm. I wonder if it will successfully get one, or if they will need to manually add a swarm.
Time will tell! I'm hoping to attract a swarm naturally, but I may try catching one if not.
Are you gonna put a hive in it?
I have baited the skep with lemon balm in the hopes that a wild swarm might move in! If not, I may consider putting bees in it myself next spring.
Cool vid, you can find a wild hive by going to a field with active bees, watch an individual bee and see which way they leave the field, put a container of like maple syrup or sugar water in their "bee line" and pretty soon so many bees will be going between your food and the hive, you'll be able to see it easily. I've put African triangular style board hives near wild hives and they often move in willingly.
Awesome tip, thank you, I'll see if I can have a go!
You are multi talented man, just like me. Great and beautifull job. Will bees live in this hive?
May the Gods bless and protect You.
Thank you, hopefully a wild bee swarm will move in!
Sadly, with this type of skep in order to harvest the honey the colony must be destroyed.😢🐝❤️
Sorry, but no. You can’t use bramble without splitting it; otherwise the pith inside will rot it from within. Trust me, I’ve been making skeps for nearly 30 years
Ok, I’m sorry. This is SO wrong it hurts to watch. There is no shute - a horn ring to gauge the girth of the straw, so it will be too loose - and a ring of string wouldn’t allow the ends to be fed in, so that they didn’t stick out; you need it to be as smooth as possible inside. The final test of a skep is that it has to hold your weight when you stand on it. This will almost certainly collapse as the tension is too low and the bramble will rot (as mentioned above). You also need the wall to be vertical at the bottom, not curve inwards. The only thing done right is not to leave/cut a hole for the bees, as is so often seen; another weakness. The hackle (thatch roof) is really only for the winter and needs to be something more water proof, like reeds or rushes. Finally, if you want bees in a new skep, the trick is to feed a pig grain from the basket, so their spit will line the insides. Then put the spleets - the sticks at 10:11 - in after. Please message me if you want to know how to do this properly
Finally, straw skeps wouldn’t be daubed. That was reserved for willow basket hives, which needed the gaps filled. And straw skeps were very unlikely to be flat topped as it wasn’t structurally sound. They could weigh 100lb or more when full of wax, honey, and bees
Thanks for all the advice, I'll keep it in mind. The skep does hold my weight (at the moment). We'll see what happens with the bramble -- it was thin and flexible enough that I didn't feel the need to split it, but we'll see whether it dries or rots. I made the walls curve inwards on reading advice on old British skeps, apparently this helped support the comb. My hackle has been waterproof in torrential rain so far, but I'm planning to build a proper bee bole for the winter. Cool trick with the pig, I'll have to try that! And skeps appear to have been daubed in Europe along with lots of flat topped varieties for adding supers, even up until recently. I appreciate the advice, as I am a complete beginner but...there is more than one way to skin a cat! I'll keep you all updated on how the skep fares. If you want more people to get involved in heritage crafts, try a bit of encouragement too. You don't want to put people off experimenting and getting into beekeeping.
Where's your video on making a skep?
Was your first skep up to your current standards?