https://exarc.net/meetings/eac13
DARC presentations
Of interest
Of interest, but outside reasonable hours
Of interest to others?
Times given from Poland / converted to EST
9:10 |
Opening: Experimental Archaeology In Poland –
History, Science and Education |
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10:00 |
Session
1.A |
Session
1.B |
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Paper 1.A.1: Disentangling the
Complexity of the Gönnersdorf Plaquette Engravings: manual and
robotic Experiments |
Paper 1.B.1: Iron
Age Combustion Structures in the Western Mediterranean: an
Approach from the Experimental Archaeology |
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Paper 1.A.2: Experimental Reproduction
of Traces Documented on Middle Palaeolithic Bone Retouchers from
the Ciemna Cave |
Paper 1.B.2: Experimental Cremations in
Different burning Environments: Open versus semi-close Pyre in
Crete, Greece |
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Paper 1.A.3: What Did Neanderthals Wear
on Their Feet? An Experimental Archaeological Investigation of
Neanderthal Footwear |
Paper 1.B.3: Reconstructing the
Pyrotechnological Development of The Harappans Using Ethnographic
Parallels in The Region of Ghaggar, India |
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Paper 1.A.4: Late Palaeolithic
Ornamentation in Experiments: A Case of an Ornamented Artefact
from Birów Mountain in South Poland |
Poster 1.B.4: Bone Tubes from
Corded Ware Culture as Sound Generators/Musical Instruments.
Reconstructing Manufacture and Usage |
10:50 |
Coffee Break |
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11:15 |
Session
2.A |
Session
2.B |
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Sponsor time |
Sponsor time |
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Paper 2.A.1: Turning Roman Columns on
the Lathe: Experimental Approach and Archaeological Analysis of
Artefacts from North-Eastern Gaul |
Paper 2.B.1: Phytoliths Reference
Collection from the Experimental Perspective |
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Paper 2.A.2: Reconstructing
the Workshop from Viborg Søndersø: New Insights into Viking
Wooden Building Construction |
Paper 2.B.2: Was It Always Leather? |
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Paper 2.A.3: All You Need is Mud: How
Open-Air Museums can Champion Sustainability in the Built
Environment |
Paper 2.B.3: Traceology on Prehistoric
Wooden Artefacts, is it Possible? |
6:00 EST |
Paper 2.A.4: Experimental Archeology as
a Tool for Understanding the Cultural Changes of Bone Artifacts
from four Brazilian Early Holocene Sites |
Paper 2.B.4: Prehispanic Woodcrafts in
the Canary Islands: technical Processes and experimental
Program |
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Poster 2.A.5: The Saka Barrow Building
Technology: Experimenting with Turf and Logs |
Paper 2.B.5: Smash and Burn: Apple Seed
Damage Characteristics for the Identification of Actions and
Processes Performed on Apples |
Poster 2.A.6: Identification of Plants
in Mud Building Materials. An Experimental Archaeology Project |
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12:30 6:30 EST |
Question & Answer Session 1.A and 2.A |
Question & Answer Session 1.B and 2.B |
13:15 |
Lunch |
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14:30 8:30 EST |
Session 3.A |
Session 3.B |
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Sponsor time |
Sponsor time |
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Paper 3.A.1: The
late Viking Age Warship, Skuldelev 5: exploring old
Interpretations with a new Reconstruction |
Paper 3.B.1: Archaeological Experiments
in the Study of the Textile Economy of the Wielbark Culture |
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Paper 3.A.2: What
can be Difficult in Building the Boat? The Experiments Released
During the First International Camp of Experimental Archaeology,
Toruń 2021 |
Paper 3.B.2: Teeth, Fibre-Crafts, and
Health: What Experimental Archaeology can tell us about the
Textile Workers of the Ancient World |
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Paper 3.A.3: The
Gislinge Boat Open Source Project: from Experimental Archaeology
to Outreach |
Paper 3.B.3: Z
for warp, S for weft. Investigating Choices of Yarn in English
Medieval Textiles |
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Paper 3.A.4: The Bronze Age Chariot of
the Sintashta-Petrovka Period |
Paper 3.B.4: How
Warped the Loom. An Examination of Loom Traces on Woven Cloth |
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Paper 3.A.5: Experimental Archaeological
Observation on the Base of Chinese Terracotta Xiao Flute Player
Figurine (202 BC-220 AD) |
Paper 3.B.5: Tarquinia’s
Tablets: A Reconstruction of Tablet Weaving Patterns found on the
Tomb of the Triclinium’s Left Wall |
15:55 9:55 EST |
Question & Answer Session 3.A |
Question & Answer Session 3.B |
16:15 |
Coffee Break |
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16:30 10:30 EST |
Session 4 |
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Sponsor time |
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Round Table SUN including Presentations and
Discussion |
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18:00 |
Free Time |
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19:00 |
Dinner (Optional - at own expense - 30 EUR, need
to register & pay in advance) |
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20:00 14:00 EST |
Session 5 ONLINE ONLY |
20:00 |
Sponsor time |
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Paper 5.1: Searching for ‘the true
Colors’ of the Eastern European Chalcolithic painting
Techniques, through experimental and archaeometrical Approaches |
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Paper 5.2: Not just for Food:
processing Unio sp. Shells at the Gumelnița
Communities (mill. V BC) |
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Paper 5.3: Experimental
Beadmaking with Roman Glass |
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Paper 5.4: Rediscovering the Process of
Making Type 2 & Type 3 Aiglets |
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Paper 5.5: Experimental Tattooing and
Analysis of Preserved Skin Markings on Human Mummies |
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Paper 5.6: Exploring Rock Art
Application Techniques: An Experimental Approach To Study Rock
Paintings from La Candelaria (Catamarca, Argentina) |
21:30 |
Question & Answer Session 5 |
Day 2 - Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Location: Collegium Humanisticum at Nicolaus Copernicus
University in Toruń, ul. Bojarskiego 1, 87-100 Toruń
(location
google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/dmcTdekSJ87nCfTE9
)
All presentations are on the spot and online, except
evening session 10, which is online only. Please click
here for abstracts.
8:00 |
Registration |
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9:00 |
Session 6 |
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Sponsor time |
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Paper 6.1: Impact of High Temperatures on
Macroscopic Features of Prehistoric Pottery |
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Paper 6.2: The Contribution of different
Generations of Experiments on understanding the Function of past
Human Technologies and the Character of early Hominin
Decision-making Processes |
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Paper 6.3: Manual Vs. Mechanised
Experiments – Evaluating the Effect of Human Variability on Tool
Performance and Use-Wear Formation |
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Paper 6.4:
Perspectives
on the Importance of prior Understanding for an Experimental
Archaeological Project |
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Poster 6.5: Technotypes Definition and
Cultural Transmission |
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Poster 6.6: NFDI4Objects – TRAIL3.3: A
Workflow Tool for archaeological Experiments and Analytics |
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Poster 6.7: PCI Registered Reports for
Experimental Archaeology: how to improve Experimental Design
before it is too late |
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10:25 |
Question & Answer Session 6 |
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11:00 |
Coffee Break |
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11:15 |
Session 7A |
Session 7B |
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Sponsor time |
Sponsor time |
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Paper 7.A.1: The Sound of Success in the
Early Palaeolithic; Better Knapping is Brighter, Clearer and More
Attention Grabbing |
Paper 7.B.1: Vounous Symposium: Present
and Future Plans |
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Paper 7.A.2: Size Matters? Evaluating
Correlation between Wide to Thickness Ratio and Breakage Patterns
during Cinegetic Activities of Upper Solutrean Hunter-Gatherers.
The Winged and Stemmed Points Case |
Paper 7.B.2: Baltic Experimental
Archaeology and Ancient Technology Summer School Between Science,
Education, And Tourism: Conclusions after first 10 Years |
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Paper 7.A.3: Is it Worth Curating?
Production, Use and Maintenance of the Neolithic Metabasite-Made
Macrolithic Tools |
Paper 7.B.3: Putting Life into a Stone
Age Dwelling Construction: A Joint Experimental Venture of
Volunteers and Academics |
6:00 EST |
Paper 7.A.4: Investigating Flint Awl
Snapping in the British Mesolithic Using Integrated Methods |
Paper 7.B.4: Nurture
Visitor Experience Through Experimentation: in Search of Antique
Clothing |
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Paper 7.A.5: From Mould to Earth:
Experimental and Traceological Study of Lusatian Socketed Axes |
Paper 7.B.5: Hands-On
History: Teaching Experimental Archaeology in a School Setting |
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Poster 7.B.6: Youth Science. NCU Students’
Achievements |
12:40 |
Question & Answer Session 7.A |
Question & Answer Session 7.B |
13:15 |
Lunch |
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14:30 8:30 EST |
Session 8A |
Session 8B |
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Sponsor time |
Sponsor time |
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Paper 8.A.1: Experimental Study of
Grinding Installation |
Paper 8.B.1: A Multitude of
Microorganisms: Mediating Historical Drink Recreation |
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Paper 8.A.2: Grinding or Polishing?
Replicating grinding and polishing Traces found on Neolithic flint
Axes |
Paper 8.B.2: Experiments to Elucidate
Cooking Methods Using Reconstructed Pottery |
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Paper 8.A.3: Physics of Bipolar
Reduction: Quantitative Approach to the bipolar Mechanic through
Video Motion Analysis |
Paper 8.B.3: Comparative
Cheesemaking: Roman and Neolithic Cheese and the Ceramic Vessels
Used to Produce them |
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Paper 8.A.4: “Slugs” of the
Itaparica Tradition, an experimental Approach of the GO-JA-01
Collection |
Paper 8.B.4: Stypsis, Wine and Resin –
Technology of Scented Oil Production from Bronze Age Aegean and
Beyond |
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Paper 8.A.5: Set In Stone –
Ornamentation of Stone Battle-Axes from the Experimental
Perspective |
Paper 8.B.5: Lithics From the Neolithic
Shell-Bead Workshops from The Near East - an Experimental
Approach |
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Poster 8.A.6: Unconventional Use of
Axes: Creating a Reference Collection of Polished Stone Tools Used
for Grinding Ochre |
Poster 8.B.6: First View on Functions of
Bronze Age Pottery Vessels from Southwest Poland |
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Poster 8.A.7: The Importance of
Flintknapping Demonstrations and Workshops in Order to Further
Develop Experimental Archaeology in Brazil |
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Poster 8.A.8: The Use of Charcoal in the
Production of Rock Art from Patagonia (Southern South America). An
Experimental Perspective |
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16:00 |
Coffee Break |
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16:15 10:30 EST |
Session 9A |
Session 9B |
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Sponsor time |
Sponsor time |
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Paper 9.A.1: The Origin and Evolution of
cultural Transmission in Hominins as observed in Experimental and
Experiential Archaeology |
Paper 9.B.1: “Look
at the Bones!” - Adding Bone in a Bloomery Iron Smelt. A Case
Study of a practical experimental Test |
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Paper 9.A.2: Working Vegetal Materials
with Obsidian, Basalt and other Volcanic Rocks. Exploring
Similarities and Differences through Use-Wear Analysis |
Paper 9.B.2: Experimental
Archaeology and Assumptions about the Products from Prehistoric
Ancient Iron Smelting Sites of Northern Thailand |
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Paper 9.A.3: Oxygen and Temperature may
be the Driving Factors in Deciding the Types of Necrobiome in a
Wrapped Microenvironment |
Paper 9.B.3: Breaking
Through the Copper Curtain: Archaeological Experiment of Copper
Ore Beneficiation and Smelting in Chalcolithic Technology |
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Poster 9.A.4: Mining or Ore-Processing
Bone Tools? A Case Study from Eastern Ukraine |
Paper 9.B.4: Does Corrosion Matter?
Experimental Study of the Influence of Patination on Use-Wear
Traces on the Copper Alloy Metalwork |
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Poster 9.A.5: Can we identify Handedness
on the Gönnersdorf Plaquettes? An experimental Approach on the
Lateralisation of Upper Palaeolithic Engravers |
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17:15 11;15 EST |
Question & Answer Session 8.A and 9.A |
Question & Answer Session 8.B and 9.B |
18:00 |
Closing Notes |
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20:00 14:00 EST |
Session 10 ONLINE ONLY |
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Sponsor time |
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Paper 10.1: Circle of Life: Trevisker
Ware |
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Paper 10.2: The Investigation of Recent
Reconstruction of Black and Red Figure Lekythoi for Restoration
Purposes Through X-Ray and X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy.
Ethical Restoration Practice or Not? |
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Paper 10.3: Creating
Red: Reproducing Opaque Red Glass from Iron Age Western and
Central Europe |
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Paper 10.4: A Comparison of two
Merovingian Pottery Kilns Found in Belgium. Results of the
Experiment and Tool for Experimental Research |
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Paper 10.5: Belting
Up; Building Technical Literacies in the History of Technology
Through Experimental Archaeology |
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Paper 10.6: Experimenter's Body
Analysis: a Transdisciplinary Approach |
21:40 |
Question & Answer Session 10 and Closing Notes |
https://exarc.net/meetings/eac13/abstracts
Reconstructing the Workshop
from Viborg Søndersø: New Insights into Viking Wooden Building
Construction (paper)
Jim
Glazzard1, Aimée Little1,
Steve Ashby1
1 YEAR Centre,
Department of Archaeology, University of York, UK
This paper will present the methodology and interim findings of a
project that brings together experimental archaeology, artefact
studies, and the social use of space.
The aim is to understand
the daily experience of non-ferrous metalworkers of Viking-age
Britain and Scandinavia using actualistic methods. The first task
involved reconstructing a Viking-age workshop at the YEAR Centre, at
the University of York.
The workshop chosen for
reconstruction was excavated at Viborg Søndersø, Denmark, in 2001.
While this initially seemed to be a straightforward task, with the 3
by 5 metre building being an ideal size for a reconstructed workshop,
the idiosyncrasies of the original building have resulted in new
insights into Viking age wooden building construction.
Lessons
learned from the construction process have provided a better
understanding of the original building: giving insights into the most
likely methods used, including the identification of specific
challenges likely faced by the original builders. These, in turn,
have implications for the interpretation of the building, the methods
used to build it, and the status of the artisans who worked
there.
The result is that this workshop, which has been
characterised as a “primitive hut” from the excavated remains,
emerges as a deliberately sited, carefully built structure, well
suited to the work carried out inside. The idiosyncrasies of the
structure can then be explained in terms of the building methods, and
materials used.
The late Viking Age warship,
Skuldelev 5: exploring old interpretations with a new reconstruction
(paper)
Martin R. Dael1 &
Tríona Sørensen1
1 The
Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark
In 1962, five late Viking Age ships were excavated from Roskilde
Fjord, in Denmark. The form and function of the Skuldelev Ships, as
they came to be known, embodies the diversity and range of seafaring
and shipbuilding in the late Viking Age: vessels for fishing, coastal
and ocean-going trade, and two examples of the most iconic Viking Age
craft of all – the long, narrow and well-rowed warships.
The
Viking Ship Museum’s boatyard completed the first round of
full-scale, experimental archaeological reconstruction of all five
Skuldelev Ships in 2004. Since then, work has focused on the ‘second
generation’ of Skuldelev reconstructions and in July 2022, a
project focused on a new full-scale reconstruction of the 17,6 m long
warship, Skuldelev 5, began.
The construction of Skuldelev
5 is unique when compared with other late Viking Age ship-finds. From
the outset, the ship was built using reused material taken from at
least two other vessels and the hull is also composed of several
different species of wood. These details have led to a degree of
academic discussion regarding the ship’s construction and
use.
This paper will present an introduction to the
framework for the new Skuldelev 5 reconstruction project, seen from
both a boatbuilder’s and an archaeologist’s perspective. The
complexities – and peculiarities – of the original ship’s hull,
and previous interpretations of the ship-find, will be explored,
providing the foundation for a new dialogue concerning the
construction and use of the original ship-find, and the research
programme in development for the forthcoming full-scale
reconstruction.
What can be Difficult in
Building the Boat? The Experiments Released During the First
International Camp of Experimental Archaeology, Toruń
2021 (paper)
Justyna
Orłowska1, Justyna Kuriga1,
Grzegorz Osipowicz1
1 Institute
of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland
This presentation reports two main archaeological experiments that were conducted during the first International Camp of Experimental Archaeology, which took a place in August 2021 in the Golub-Dobrzyń, close to Toruń, Poland. During the two weeks of this event, its participants divided into two groups have undertaken a task to reconstruct and test two archaic boats: a dugout and a leather-covered boat known more from ethnographic contexts as the so-called skin-on-frame canoe. All work carried out was performed exclusively using materials, techniques and tools known in the Stone and Bronze Ages. One of the boats build during these experiments, 4-meter-long skin-on-frame canoe will be exposed during the conference.
The Gislinge Boat Open
Source Project: from experimental archaeology to outreach
(paper)
Tríona
Sørensen1
1 The Viking Ship
Museum in Roskilde, Denmark
The Gislinge Boat Open Source Project took place at the Viking
Ship Museum from 2015-17. The idea behind the project was an entirely
new one for the Museum, namely, to explore how open source approaches
could be applied to experimental archaeology and boatbuilding.
With
the aim of getting people involved in building their own version of
the Gislinge Boat - a 7.7 m long Danish boat-find dated to ca. 1125
AD - the working drawings for the boat were made available for free
download and a programme of digital dissemination communicated all
aspects of the building process, providing an informal ‘how-to
guide’ to building the boat.
The initial results of the
project were presented at EAC 11 in 2017. This paper will provide an
updated account of what has happened in the interim. It’s now over
seven years since the project was formally concluded at the Museum
boatyard but it continues to have a life of its own online, thanks to
the digital community social media provides.
Selected
case-studies of boats that have been built from as far afield as
Normandy, France and Connecticut, USA, will examine the potential
experimental archaeology has to reach out to, and engage with, a much
wider community than the ‘traditional’ museum-going public, and
how this in turn can generate new interest in experimental
archaeology as a discipline. The impact the project has had on the
Viking Ship Museum’s dissemination practice, and the extent to
which it continues to influence our approaches to the documentation
and communication of maritime experimental archaeology will also be
explored, allowing an opportunity to reflect on the often-overlooked
social aspects of museum outreach.
Z for warp, S for weft.
Investigating Choices of Yarn in English Medieval
Textiles (paper)
Kat
Stasinska1
1 AOC Archaeology, UK
Most Medieval textiles in England (9th to 15th centuries) were
woven in a specific way: with threads of weft and warp twisted into a
different direction (Z-spun yarn in the warp and S-spun yarn in the
weft). It differed meaningfully from the technological choices of the
earlier times (83 to 87% of early Anglo-Saxon textiles were woven
with warp and weft threads twisted in the same direction). The reason
for this change is not clear (with some researchers suggesting
aesthetic choice or a foreign influence).
My research
aimed to discover the reason behind this transformation. I have woven
several samples from the hand-spun fleece of a Shetland sheep (Medium
type fleece, typical for late Anglo-Saxon England). I prepared 3 sets
of samples: woven in 1. tabby, 2. simple twill and 3. broken diamond
twill.
I compared the physical properties of textiles
woven in ZZ and ZS techniques. I focused on comparing:
Strength (measured by applying weight and checking how much weight samples can take)
Elasticity (measured by applying a stretching force and checking for deformation)
I took under consideration an often-suggested possibility that the change in the weaving technology was a purely aesthetic choice. To investigate this option, I compared the difference in visual properties such as visibility of pattern and appearance when dyed (samples were dyed with madder, Rubia tinctorum - a dyestuff popular in Anglo-Saxon England). A poll in person was conducted to collect opinions about the appearance of samples woven in ZZ and ZS, both dyed and not dyed.
How Warped the Loom. An
Examination of Loom Traces on Woven Cloth
(paper)
Jo Duke1
1
Independent Researcher, Ontario, Canada
Sometime between 1000 and 1800 CE, for much of Europe, there was a
transition from weaving cloth on upright warp weighted looms to
horizontal floor looms. This transition includes the addition of a
reed beater as part of the mechanism of the loom and a switch from
the warp being held under tension by loom weights to its supply and
tensioning from a second beam.
One key question is: can
the loom type be determined based on the textile remains, often small
fragments, and, if so, what features are the most useful to look for?
To address this, replicates of selected textile finds
from Europe and the North Atlantic have been woven using each of the
two loom types and the qualities of the replicated fabrics have been
examined for discriminating features. Focus was placed on the amount
of draw in, the spacing of the threads, and the regulation of the
warp tension. The use of a reed reduces draw in and adds
uniformity to the spacing of warp threads. It also removes the
need for a separate beater, and therefore changes how evenly the weft
threads are packed in the cloth. The addition of a second beam may
also reduce draw in and regulates the tension of the warp while
weaving.
Tarquinia’s
Tablets: A Reconstruction of Tablet Weaving Patterns found on the
Tomb of the Triclinium’s Left Wall
(paper)
Richard Joseph Palmer1
1 University
of Kentucky, USA
The revival of tablet weaving and its study has been primarily focused on Northern European designs from the Iron Age to the medieval period. These designs are very impressive and include opulence such as wide weaves using dozens of tablets, dizzying patterns, and inclusions of gold thread and silk. Iron Age Northern Italian and Mediterranean tablet weaves were used in many of the same applications as their Northern European counterparts, but less archaeology has been done on the tablet weaves originating from these areas. The designs for these patterns primarily survive in the art and architecture of the Mediterranean. This experiment takes the surviving art, depicting clothing from the Tomb of the Triclinium in Tarquinia, and reconstructs both the patterns and the tablets depicted. The few surviving tablet woven fragments from Etruria will help fill in the gaps of knowledge, alongside other textile studies from the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. This starts with spinning thread on spindle whorls, recreating the proper thread width, and ends with finished tablet weaves and published patterns. In reconstructing these few patterns and tablets, the door can be opened for more Etruscan and Classical study and tablet weaving reconstructions to join the well-developed experimental archaeology of Northern European textiles.
Experimental Beadmaking with
Roman Glass (paper)
Sue
Heaser1
1 Glass Bead
Archaeology Studio, Suffolk, UK
My research on Early Medieval glass beads from Britain and Europe
involves replicating ancient monochrome and polychrome beads to
identify the making and decorating techniques. I use only replica
tools and a heat source of similar temperatures to the likely
furnaces used then. This has led to a greater understanding of the
techniques of ancient beadmakers which has fine-tuned bead categories
and identified beads that were probably made by single individuals or
those from one workshop.
I used modern soda-lime
beadmakers’ glass from Murano that has similar chemical
constituents to ancient glasses as shown from XRF and other analyses.
But it was important to be sure that this glass behaved in a similar
way in the flame to the ancient glasses. I needed to study the
physical properties of the ancient glass, its melting point, working
temperature range and behaviour in the flame.
Roman glass
was widely used for beadmaking in early medieval times, so I
approached the Museum of London. They kindly supplied me with a
quantity of Roman cullet (waste glass) to experiment on. My
presentation will show the results of my experiments with videos of
replica beadmaking, and photographs of beads made from Roman glass,
compared with excavated beads of the period. My tests show that Roman
glass behaves almost identically in the flame to the modern soda-lime
glass which proves that the techniques I have discovered are valid. I
will also show the results from colouring Roman glass with the same
metallic oxides found in ancient glass to create colourful polychrome
replica beads.
Perspectives on the
Importance of prior Understanding for an Experimental Archaeological
Project (paper)
Vibeke
Bischoff1
1The Viking Ship Museum
in Roskilde, Denmark
In 2012, a full-scale reconstruction of the Oseberg Ship from 820,
Saga Oseberg, was launched as part of an experimental archaeological
project, designed to investigate the ship’s sailing capabilities.
The initial test-sailing was conducted in line with the principles
for handling traditional West Norwegian square-sailed boats from the
19th and 20th centuries. The ship performed badly, and the
reconstruction was judged to be incorrect. Subsequent test-sailing in
2015 undertaken with a more open and investigative methodology was
conducted, which gave rise to more positive results.
In this
paper, I will present my thoughts on the importance of prior
understanding based on my experiences with the Oseberg Ship, but I
believe that there are parallels to other types of projects too,
whether they are houses built on land or ships at sea. Our prior
understanding and experience have an impact on the questions we ask
of both the archaeological material and the reconstruction – and on
the results we achieve.
Focus on the importance of prior
understanding for both reconstruction and their subsequent testing,
must be addressed. Our bodily approaches as humans have such a
significant impact on all processes that it is a vital, we have an
awareness of it. Prior understanding and experience can be used to
ask relevant questions and conduct investigations, not to find
answers, as reconstructions are an interpretation of an artefact, and
the results will therefore render probabilities rather than present
concrete truths.
We who work with experimental
archaeology, must be conscious, reflective and descriptive in terms
of our prior understanding in relation to the projects we work with,
because we are modern people attempting to interpret the actions of
people from another time.
Hands-On History: Teaching
Experimental Archaeology in a School Setting (paper)
Nathalie
Roy1
1 Glasgow Middle
School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
My Roman Technology students recreate the products and processes
of ancient Roman daily life through experimental archaeology. Each
class is a hands-on history lab in which young teens (ages 10-14)
learn about the ancient classical world by experiencing it
first-hand. They have recreated the makeup recipes of Ovid and the
hairstyles of marble statues, cooked biscuits based on the recipes of
Cato the Elder, built brick kilns to fire pottery, crushed oak galls
to make ink, etc. The class is a unique experience, but it doesn’t
happen by magic. Planning and executing each unit of study is a
complicated and time-consuming process.
In this paper session, I
will talk about the specifics of the class and explain how I teach
experimental archaeology to young students in practical terms.
Specifically, I will discuss two large-scale projects to illustrate
my process. In the first, creating a twenty-foot analemmatic mosaic
sundial, students learned to cut stone tesserae and design and lay
out a Roman-style mosaic. In the second, students built a full-scale
Roman road through an open space on our campus. Through a series of
ten steps, I will detail how I researched, planned activities,
organized supplies, delegated work, reached out to experts, and
taught the lessons all while giving the students the best experience
possible.
Comparative Cheesemaking:
Roman and Neolithic Cheese and the Ceramic Vessels Used to Produce
them (paper)
Scott
D Stull1
1 Moffett Center, SUNY
Cortland, USA
Cheesemaking in Europe has a history that goes back to the early Neolithic, roughly 7000 years ago, based on archaeological evidence. We also have good archaeological and documentary evidence of cheesemaking from the Roman period. Through the replication and use of the ceramic vessels from these two distinct periods, we can gain a more complete understanding of how cheese was made in the past. This study examines how the shape of the vessels has a significant impact on the type of cheese possible in these forms. Different approaches to cheese production are tested with these vessels to identify what kind of cheese works with these different vessels, and as a result, how that cheese would have been stored and consumed in these past societies. The Neolithic cheese strainer in particular required extensive experimental testing to determine how cheese could have been produced in this kind of vessel without the use of cloth lining or other elements to strain the curd, and these tests will be described in the paper.
“Look at the Bones!” -
Adding Bone in a Bloomery Iron Smelt. A Case Study of a practical
experimental Test (paper)
Darrell
Markewitz1
1 the Wareham
Forge, Ontario, Canada
Through 2019, much was made in the popular press suggesting that
during the Viking Age, exhumed human bone had been used in the chain
of production from iron ore through to finished swords. Contradicting
this, considerable experience with small scale direct reduction
process bloomery iron smelting furnaces indicated that at least while
creating the iron itself, the effect of adding bone would be minimal,
if any. To establish what kind of physical traces that might remain
if quantities of bone were added during smelting, in June 2020 a full
furnace build and firing was undertaken with a range of animal bones
added, then the resulting debris field recorded.
The
concept, design and implementation of this experiment is discussed,
and how limits on methods, instrumentation and analyzing results
shaped the final conclusions. This discussion suggests how even a
simple experiment, if carefully recorded, can add to the body of
available knowledge, and may prove insightful both educators and
other investigators.
Experimental Archaeology and
Assumptions about the Products from Prehistoric Ancient Iron Smelting
Sites of Northern Thailand (paper)
Yoddanai
Sukkasam1
1 The Fine Arts
Department, Ministry of Culture, Thailand
This paper is aimed to present a results of five years archaeometallurgical research and Experimental archaeology research in the basin of Li District Lamphun Province, Northern Thailand. To present:
The ancient iron-smelting site from archaeological survey and excavation in Li District, Lamphun Province
The findings from the synthesis of knowledge through experimental archaeology
The survey indicates that there are no less than 40 ancient
iron smelting sites in Li District, Lamphun Province. The Ancient
iron smelting sites date around 500 BC - 100 BC. The dating indicated
that the group of iron smelting site in Li District, Lumphun province
is the oldest iron smelting site in northern Thailand nowadays.
The
archaeological excavation and evidence analysis of Li ancient
iron-smelting site in Lamphun Province have revealed that the Direct
Iron Smelting Process operating temperature at roughly 1,150-1,300 °C
by using a shaft furnace with a diameter between 90-100 cm. The
height of the furnace is between 180-200 cm. The furnace was formed
by moulding a cylindrical clay. There are the slots that act as air
ducts as well as observation points. In the lower part of the
furnace, four slag notches that drilled in square shape.
These
results lead to the study of Experimental Archaeology which indicated
that the type of Li ancient iron smelting caused the turbulent flow
in the furnace and finally produced a Ring-Shaped Iron Bloom. This is
the unique product, and their technique is the highlight of this
ancient iron smelting furnace.
Breaking Through the Copper
Curtain: Archaeological Experiment of Copper Ore Beneficiation and
Smelting in Chalcolithic Technology (paper)
Inbar
Meyerson1, Omri Yagel1,
Erez Ben-Yosef1
1 Tel Aviv
University, Israel
This study presents an experiment that aims to reconstruct
Chalcolithic copper production in the southern Levant region
(4500-3800 BCE) with a particular focus on the importance of the
beneficiation stage. While previous research on ancient copper
smelting has often centered on variables related to furnace design
and operation, it is now recognized that the unique characteristics
of individual ore bodies, including the nature of the host rock, the
quantity and purity of minerals, and trace elements, can affect
multiple stages of the smelting process. The beneficiation stage,
which involves labor-intensive and repetitive tasks such as
collecting, processing, and selecting raw materials, is often
underrepresented in archaeometallurgical research and experiments.
To
address this gap in knowledge, we conducted an experiment in 2020
using ore from the Timna Valley in the southern Levant and focusing
specifically on the beneficiation stage. Our results demonstrate that
this stage is crucial to the success of ancient metal production. The
beneficiation process was carried out at various stages of the
production chain using traditional methods, and we used pXRF analysis
to show the increased copper values in the ore after each stage. In
addition, we documented the experiment in as much detail as possible,
including times, locations, weights, and images, in order to
facilitate comparison with other experiments and enable replication
of our results in the future.
Creating Red: Reproducing
Opaque Red Glass from Iron Age Western and Central Europe
(paper)
Rachel Wood1
1
University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Opaque red glass, a popular inclusion in copper-alloy based military gear of Late Iron Age western and central Europe, required intense practical knowledge to create. Artists needed a great deal of precision, ranging from the choice of ingredients, the quantity of each, the heat of the flames, and the length of time necessary to create a specific red color in a reducing environment. Successful creation of opaque red glass could only be achieved if the artisan had the knowledge and skills necessary to determine which moments of this chaîne opératoire would create the desired effect: a “sealing wax red” final product. In this presentation, I will focus on the skills necessary to create opaque red glass, particularly relating to the reducing atmosphere and time necessary in the fire, from an experiential and experimental standpoint, and explore the opportune moments which artisans needed to be wary of to gain the desired results for the market. I will explain the process behind my experimental reproduction of opaque red glass, which will begin in January 2023. This project is part of my dissertation and began with the initial research from previously published chemical analyses and scholarly articles on glass production in the ancient world. It is my hope that this project and presentation will shed light on the experience and patience necessary for successful production of a popular glass in the ancient world.
Belting Up; Building
Technical Literacies in the History of Technology Through
Experimental Archaeology (paper)
Michael
Roberts1
1 York University,
Toronto, Canada
While graduate history programmes usually require language
literacies, technical literacies are not seen as necessary or
teachable skills, and most programmes lack both facilities and
methods to help researchers develop them. Outside the academy,
however, there are extensive resources for learning the skills,
habits, and sensitivities associated with the technology of the past.
In this paper, I argue that neither archives nor artifactual
remains can be fully interpreted without access to the tacit,
sensory, and procedural knowledge historical actors took for granted,
and that to achieve this access, academic historians must widen their
understanding of how historical research is conducted.
Referencing
the work of William Marshall (1745-1818), as well as more familiar
works on participant observation, I offer one potential strategy for
formalizing knowledge gained through experiential methods. I will
illustrate the benefits of this type of work through my own readings
of rural engineer’s diaries conducted in the context of extensive
experiential work which I began prior to returning to academic study.
Some of this work has been conducted within a continuous
teaching tradition that reaches back to the historical actors I
study, and some is the product of reconstruction; I will present some
preliminary notes on the advantages and draw-backs of these different
methods.
Technical literacies are as important to the study of
the past as language skills, but they have been undervalued within
the academy. This paper contributes to a growing effort to include
and learn from scholars outside the university tradition, and to
recognize that “other” ways of knowing are crucial to a full
understanding of the past.