Four thousand years after it disappeared, a Bronze Age house is being reconstructed by English Heritage volunteers at Beeston Castle in Cheshire, using authentic tools and archaeological evidence.

This archaeological experiment is informed by the recent discoveries at the Bronze Age settlement at Must Farm in Cambridgeshire as well as earlier discoveries at Beeston Castle itself. People had lived on the Cheshire rocky crag long before the existing medieval castle was built and the site – a short drive from modern-day Liverpool and Manchester – was a particularly important defended settlement and metalworking centre from the late Bronze Age.

Although little visible evidence remains of this early hive of activity, in the 1970s and 80s, archaeologists discovered traces of post-holes for what was called House Six, a thatched Bronze Age roundhouse with walls of wattle-and-daub – a mixture of twigs, earth and clay. Bronze Age objects such as axes and knives were also uncovered.

Now, a team of more than 60 volunteers including a former dentist, a farmer and a nuclear physicist have started to recreate the roundhouse. Already the fifteen vertical posts of the roundhouse have been erected, with the horizontal wall plates lifted to form the framework of the house. House Six’s postholes are providing valuable archaeological evidence for the reconstruction, such as the size and layout of the roundhouse, the material used to make the floor and the size of the posts.

The Bronze Age houses at Must Farm – dubbed Britain's Pompeii – are providing valuable evidence. Archaeologists usually find only the post holes to prehistoric houses, but at Must Farm the roof timbers, arranged like spokes in a wheel, survived as they collapsed into water. The volunteers are making use of authentic tools, recording axe strikes and post-hole depths to help increase our understanding of the Bronze Age and its construction methods.

English Heritage curator, Win Scutt, said: "Beeston is one of the most important Bronze Age sites in the North West of England and research over the past few decades paints a fascinating picture of a community who lived and worked there. What this project aims to do is bring that research to life – our reconstructed house will give visitors a vivid sense of the Bronze Age at Beeston."

Luke Winter, the experimental archaeologist leading the project on behalf of English Heritage, said: "It is so rare to have a chance to recreate a Bronze Age building on a site where it once stood, and thanks to our inspiring team of volunteers we are making great progress. And by using authentic tools and recording axe strikes and post depths, they are helping to increase our understanding of Bronze Age construction methods."

John Proudlove, a member of English Heritage’s volunteer team, said: "It is an amazing experience to be part of this project, a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn about Bronze Age building techniques. It is so great to be part of such a fantastic team, all of us working to a common goal. We are building a lasting legacy."

Due for completion in October 2019, the Bronze Age house at Beeston Castle will help visitors appreciate the lives of those who inhabited the site around 4,000 years ago. It will also provide an immersive learning experience for education groups from Cheshire, Manchester, Liverpool and across the North West of England. The house will be of particular appeal to primary schools as prehistory was added to the National Curriculum in 2014 – prior to that it had never formally been taught at primary level.

Ahead of completion, visitors to Beeston can follow the progress of the Bronze Age roundhouse. Volunteers will be on hand throughout the build, talking to visitors and illuminating Beeston's Bronze Age past.