Denmark

The salt mines of Hallstatt, Upper Austria, bear some of the most significant evidence for our understanding of textile culture in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age in Central Europe due to the exceptional preservation of these finds. Following recent excavations, a new textile, HallTex 390, from the Late Bronze Age “Tuschwerk” mine has revealed multiple previously unknown features, techniques, and a peculiar design: two typical Bronze Age fabrics connected with an unusual ribbon with a ribbed structure, combining twisted and tabby-structured threads of different diameters. While comparisons for similar techniques from Denmark are discussed, this technique is quite unique for Bronze Age Central Europe. Only through experiments were we able to fully understand the textile, which seems to have consisted of tablet weaving with tablets threaded with either two or four threads while simultaneously using the weft as a sewing thread to connect the ribbon to the other textiles. This produced results comparable to the original while also revealing how efficient these Bronze Age craftspeople’s design choices were.

This book is the result of a seminar with the same title, hosted in Sagnlandet Lejre. It contains a repository of articles focussed on hands-on experiments and experiences covering a range of periods from the Neolithic to the modern era. In addition to this some articles address timeless subjects, dealing with more theoretical frameworks and cooperation such as the second article by Lucas Garbrecht Overvad, and high-tech solutions such as the fourth article by Sofie Louise Andersen. A rough summary and commentary are presented below...

The fifth annual meeting of Experimental Archaeology in Denmark (EAD) took place from 7 to 9 November 2025. This event followed previous meetings held at Ribe Vikingecenter, Middelaldercenteret, Bork Vikingehavn, and Vikingeborgen Trelleborg. The meeting serves as an opportunity for researchers, students, craftspeople, and others interested in experimental archaeology to meet and exchange ideas...

From the 8th to the 10th of November 2024, the Viking fortress Trelleborg welcomed researchers, students, and craftspeople for three days of celebrating experimental archaeology. This was the fourth annual meeting of “Eksperimentel Arkæologi i Danmark”(EAD) [Experimental Archaeology in Denmark], following the success of meetings at Ribe Vikingecenter...

After 28 years in the director's chair, Bloch Ravn tells vividly and in detail about the many years of work in running and developing the museum Den Gamle By (or in English: The Old Town) towards becoming the great flagship for culture and tourism in East Jutland, Denmark...

On 13 March 2024, Lejre Land of Legends and the SAXO Institute at the University of Copenhagen organised a seminar: The Future of Experimentation – from experiment to new archaeological knowledge.

Traditionally, studies on Viking Age pigmentation have focused on the minerals used to produce colours. The research conducted in this article concerns other factors, that might have influenced painted wood such as surface treatments, outlines, and paint components...

The third annual meeting for Experimental Archaeology in Denmark 2023 (Eksperimentelarkæologi i Danmark) was held between the 3rd and 5th of November 2023 at Bork Viking Harbor (Bork Vikingehavn) in Denmark...

Den Gamle By is the largest open-air museum in Denmark. Since 2004, the museum has run special programmes for elderly people with dementia, and these programmes have been shown to strengthen the elderly people’s memories, as well as improving their well-being...

Very few experiments have been conducted on drawing wires of iron made from bog ore. One of them, however, was carried out at the forge at Lejre Land of Legends in Denmark. The iron used for the experiments was obtained from three different sites in Denmark where well-documented experiments in the extraction of bog iron ore took place...