Post by jadedsage on Sept 15, 2004 15:35:04 GMT -5
Planners have been given an artist's impression of the village.
An archaeologist plans to offer tourists the chance to experience life as an Iron Age villager.
Jasper Blake aims to transform farmland in the Forest of Dean into a working Iron Age settlement.
Paying visitors will be able to live at the village for a week, wearing authentic costumes, foraging for food or learning to weave.
Mr Blake also hopes to attract day trippers and schools. His idea is being presented to planners on Tuesday.
If he receives permission from the Forest of Dean District Council, the settlement, named Cinderbury, could be up and running by March 2005.
He will run the village with co-director Sheila Taylor.
The co-directors hope to inspire interest in archaeology
Up to 20 people could stay at the village at one time, where they would cook their own food, sleep in the Celtic-style round homes and do traditional crafts such as pottery.
They would also have to survive on a pre-Roman diet that rules out chocolate, coffee and potatoes.
"They will live, sleep, eat and take part in activities that would have been typical of Iron Age settlements," said Mr Blake.
"Nobody knows what it was like in the Iron Age but these are the activities that they might have had.
"I hope it will inspire others in terms of the archaeology," he said.
Mr Blake's chosen site already has traces of scowes - open workings unique to the Forest of Dean that were used to source iron.
He said the historic and archaeological links to the region made it an ideal location for a replica Iron Age village
Mr Blake is aiming to attract history lovers and adventurous holidaymakers who can afford the £750 a week cost. Day visitors will be charged £10.
"I think it will attract the kind of people who have done trekking across India and now want something different," he said.