Cave Dwellers Stonehenge Takes The Biscuit

Creating a mini Stonehenge from biscuits is a tasty way to build an ancient monument and discover more about its construction.

That’s what young ‘builders’ at Ramsgate Arts primary did as they investigated the world-famous standing stones and the meaning behind their layout and positioning on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.

It was all part of the Year 3 group’s start to the topic From Stone to Iron that delves deep into the prehistoric times during the transition of civilisation from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.

To get into the mood of the period girls and boys came to school dressed as cave dwellers in a fun day of learning activities.

Teachers Alice Rees-Boughton and Kiki Amin explained: “Our pupils will be delving deep into history to develop a chronological understanding of how life changed between the two periods, and they will be encouraged to compare life through the ages to how it is today.

“Creating Stonehenge was fabulous inter-active start and our children were really engaged with the whole process of what the henge looked like and how it was laid out, particularly when they were cementing the biscuit building blocks into place using icing.

“They also learnt all about flint-knapping and how Stone Age people used this process to sharpen flint and create their weapons.

“To really understand how the process worked (and how hard it would have been), they tried their hand at napping using soap bars – it was tricky but great fun and they all went home with their soap flints.

“They also created cave paintings and found out more about the Stone Age tools with visitor Katie Blythe, a parent skilled in bush craft.”

Stonehenge Facts – it is perhaps the world's most famous prehistoric monument. It was built in several stages: the first monument was an early henge monument, built about 5,000 years ago, and the unique stone circle was erected in the late Neolithic period about 2500 BC.

It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around 13 feet high, seven feet wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connecting horizontal lintel stones.

Ramsgate Arts Primary School is part of the Viking Academy Trust with Upton Junior School and Chilton Primary School.

*For more information, contact Head of School Nick Budge on 01843 582847