An article in the Daily Mail (UK) describes the experiment of 24-year old Pavel Sapozhnikov living in a wilderness farm in Russia as a medieval hermit, meaning that he uses only the technology of the tenth century. The eight-month experiment will end in May. Here are some details of the project:
At the start of the project, Pavel Sapozhnikov was given the chance to document a day in the life using a camera and notepad, and this was posted on the project’s blog. According to this blog, Sapozhnikov spends the morning milking his goats and eating breakfast. He then chops wood for the fire and collects water from the well. The rest of the day is spent either hunting for food, or carrying out manual labour on the farm. This includes insulating the house with manure, maintaining his house and outbuildings, and other tasks around the farm. To prepare for the mission, Sapozhnikov spent months learning how to prepare animals, including chickens. He also became skilled in using the ancient tools and familiarised himself with ancient fire-building and washing techniques. He is only allowed to leave the farm to find food, and is forbidden from any form of communication.
The theory behind the experiment is “to trace the social and psychological changes in personality and learn how important the support of others is to modern humans.” With help from expert archaeologist, Alexander Fetisov, the farm was built using only materials and techniques that would have been used by ancient Russians. Sapozhnikov must also furnish his home in the same way. This includes fire lights that burn on linseed oil, wooden beds, animal fur clothes and bedding and a calendar scratched into the wall of the house. Construction on the farm began at the start of 2012, and Sapozhnikov moved in at the start of September 2013; the project is expected to run until May. During this time, temperatures in the region can drop as low as minus 30°C and this time period was deliberately chosen to highlight exactly how difficult Russian ancestors would have found living and hunting in the conditions.
Earlier URLs: http://rbth.ru/society/2013/09/28/volunteer_will_spend_winter_in_the_medieval_era_30061.html
http://en.ria.ru/analysis/20130923/183672406.html