Easter is an important British festival but how much do you know about the Easter Bunny (the

rabbit and brown hare) or the chickens that lay Easter eggs? Make this Easter decoration,

which can be displayed as a wall hanging or mobile, and learn the stories of the animals that

make Easter celebrations what they are today.

Iron Age

YORYM-DFECD5, c. 2nd Century AD

Copper alloy zoomorphic plate broach in the form of

running hare or rabbit. The remains of blue enamel

decoration survive and was inlaid with five pellets of

copper alloy. Rights owner: York Museums Trust

SFD91D84, c. 2nd - 3rd Century AD

Copper alloy zoomorphic plate brooch of a rabbit

with two young (or perhaps pregnant). Possibly

decorated with enamel or white metal. Rights owner:

Suffolk County Council

SUSS-969FEE, 1st Century BC

Uninscribed bronze unit of ‘Chichester Cock’ type, with a stylised

snake in its mouth. Rights owner: The Portable Antiquity Scheme

SUR-EA49AD, c. 1st Century BC - 1st Century AD

Romano-British copper alloy zoomorphic figure in the form of a

fully modelled hare. Rights owner: Surrey County Council

Roman

Chickens and brown hares are not native to Britain. Both were introduced in the Iron Age (around 400-200 BC). When they first arrived they were not eaten by people. Instead they were seen as very special animals. Chickens were so important they were depicted on Iron Age coins and figurines were made in the shape of hares.

In the Roman period chickens became associated with the god Mercury and people who worshipped Mercury wore brooches in the shape of cockerels. Similar hare-shaped brooches suggest that a hare deity also existed. Rabbits were first introduced to Roman Britain around 100 AD and rabbit-shaped brooches were made too.

Roman

BERK-9FA6D6, c. 2nd - 3rd Century AD

Copper alloy zoomorphic figure or mount of a

cockerel, which may be been a votive offering.

Rights owner: Suffolk County Council

HAMP-FD5C29, c. 2nd - 4th Century AD

Copper alloy zoomorphic figure or mount of a

cockerel, decorated with enamel feathers.

Rights owner: Hampshire Cultural Trust

Saxon When the Romans left Britain, rabbits became extinct and populations of chickens and hares declined. There are not many Anglo-Saxon period artefacts depicting any of these animals, possibly because they were so rare.

DENO-0604D2, c. 9th - 11th Century AD

Cast copper in the shape of a bird, possibly a cockerel.

Rights owner: Derby Museums Trust

LANCUM-696742, c. 9th - 11th Century AD

Cast copper alloy leather strap end with a zoomorphic

depiction of a hare. Rights owner: The Portable

Antiquities Scheme

Medieval and Post-medieval

NCL-779217, c.14th-15th Century AD

Copper alloy seal matrix with a zoomorphic

motif of an engraved cockerel. Rights owner:

The Portable Antiquities Scheme

YORYM-2505B3, c.15th-16th Century AD

Copper alloy barrel tap key in the shape

of a cockerel. Rights owner: Oxfordshire

County Council

LON-C61D25, c.14th-16th Century AD

Cast lead alloy bi-faced secular badge in the

shape of a cockerel. Rights owner: Museum of

London

IHS-AAE653 c.14th-15th Century AD

Copper alloy seal matrix with a zoomorphic depiction

of a rabbit. Rights owner: I. Szymanski

WREX-E474FD, c.16th-19th Century AD

Lead gaming piece of token depicting a rabbit.

Rights owner: National Museum of Wales

LIN-601E0E c.17th-19th Century AD

Silver locket depicting the hunting of a

hare. Rights owner: Lincolnshire County

Council

Around 1000 AD chicken populations began to increase dramatically. Rabbits were reintroduced to Britain in the 13th century AD and they began to replace brown hare populations. Representations of chickens and rabbits are common, on badges, taps, tokens and seals but hare representations are less frequent.

ModernToday’s Easter traditions have existed since the Victorian period when they were imported from Germany (like many of our Christmas traditions). In Germany, the Easter Bunny is a hare, but in Britain hare populations were low in the 19th/20th century so the more common rabbit became Britain’s Easter Bunny.

NLM-9BC2C4, 20th Century AD

Hollow-cast lead alloy naturalistically modelled leaping

hare or rabbit, likely issued between 1925-60 as part of

the Britains Farm Set. Rights owner: North Lincolnshire

Museum

Easter Greeting Cards, 1900

Public Domain

Easter Greeting Cards, c.20th Century AD

Public Domain

Easter Greeting Cards, 1907

Public Domain

Painted Egg Decoration, 21th Century AD

Public Domain

Chocolate Bunny, 21th Century AD

Public Domain

Step 1. You will need:• 5 pieces of wood (e.g. sticks from garden or

collected on walks, or pencils/drinking straws could be taped together) of different lengths: two long (25-30 cm), two small (7-10 cm) and one medium (15-20 cm)

• Scissors • Lengths of any thread: string, wool or cotton. • Sticky tape and/or glue• Blue tack or plasticine (in case you need to

balance your stick by adding weights to the end)

Step 2. Create the framework

• Arrange the sticks as shown (right). The two longest at the top to represent the modern and medieval periods. One of the small sticks goes next, representing the Anglo-Saxon period. This is followed by the medium-sized Roman stick. At the bottom is the second small stick, representing the Iron Age.

• String the sticks together, with a length of 10cm string between each stick.

• Cut 20 smaller (6cm) lengths of string so that there is one for each object.

Step 3. Cut out and thread• Cut out, fold and glue each image so that it is

double sided (below).• Punch hole in the image, tie with a piece of

string and fasten the image to its correct period stick (Iron Age, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, medieval or modern).

• If the sticks are unevenly weighted, add small amounts of bluetack or plasticine to the ends to help them balance.

Instructions