Eddie Wills

Eddie’s first venture into experimental archaeology was at the age of 10 when he attempted a Mesolithic cooking pot. Prehistory continued to fascinate him, and he was further inspired watching ‘Living in the Past’ in 1978. This led in due course to a college placement at Wandlebury Country Park near Cambridge, UK, which fired his interest in the pre-Roman Iron Age. He began a personal study of all aspects of Iron Age daily life from agriculture to religion. During the early Nineties he was instrumental in the building of a Romano-British farmstead at Upton Country Park, Poole, UK. In 1998 he was appointed as warden of the internationally renowned Peat Moors Centre on the Somerset Levels, UK, which represented reconstructions of prehistoric structures buried in the peat, including the Sweet Track and houses from Glastonbury Lake Village. When the Centre was closed in 2009 Eddie moved to Cheddar Gorge and Caves, demonstrating Palaeolithic techniques to the public.
Despite joining the Royal Navy in 2014(!) Eddie continued his interest in ancient technology, instructing the Royal Marines in shelter building in the jungles of Brunei, while closer to home assisted in the construction of a Bronze Age roundhouse at Butser Ancient Farm as an Operation Nightingale project. This led to providing the Farm with details for their next Glastonbury Lake Village build and leading a team of 30 sailors from HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH in the ‘traditional’ movement and raising of a standing stone to celebrate the Farm’s 50th birthday.
Eddie is now eagerly anticipating what his next adventure will be…