Featured in the EXARC Journal

Ancient Technology

Experimental Weaving and Twining with Ceramic Crescents from the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic in Southwestern Iberia

Author(s)
Victoria Priola
Publication Date
Ceramic crescents are a common find at Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in southwestern Iberia (late fourth – third millennium BC). These objects, which often weigh less than 100 g and are perforated on each end, are typically referred to as loom weights and thought to be associated with textile production, although their function remains uncertain...

Anglo-Saxon Beads: Redefining The “Traffic Lights”

Author(s)
Sue Heaser
Publication Date
Many thousands of glass beads have been excavated from Early British cemeteries of the fifth and sixth centuries AD. Amongst these beads is a type that was particularly common: decorated polychrome beads in red, yellow, and green glass in a variety of styles and combinations. Birte Brugmann, in her 2004 analysis of Saxon-period glass beads (Brugmann, 2004), named these beads “Traffic Light” (TL) beads...

“Cuts Stones of all Sorts, In the Best Manner…”: Experiments in 18th Century lapidary work in America

Author(s)
Giovanna Fregni
Publication Date
Unusual or rare gems have been valued for as long as there have been humans to appreciate them. The making of beads and ornaments provides some of the earliest examples of the manipulation of materials solely for aesthetic reasons. Throughout history, we have refined the processes and constructed dedicated machinery to further enhance the desirable qualities of certain stones. The gems themselves...