Featured in the EXARC Journal

Ancient Technology

Roman Gold Washing as Described by Pliny the Elder

Author(s)
Brigitte Cech
Heimo Urban
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2021/3
#EAC12 World Tour 2021
***As part of a four-year interdisciplinary research project of a Roman gold mine in the landscape known as the "Karth" to the south of Vienna, Austria, a reconstruction of gold washing took place as described by Pliny the Elder in book 33 of his Natural History. So far, the "Karth" is the only proven Roman gold mine known in the Eastern Alps...

Recreating Historic European Spindle Spinning

Author(s)
Mary Ann Megan Cleaton 1 ✉,
Alice Rose Evans 1,
Jane Hunt 1,
Cathelina di Alessandri 1
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2021/2
Spinning is a vital step in the production of textiles, whereby fibres are drawn out (drafted) and twisted together to make thread. In the present day, several culturally unique types of spinning are recognised, such as the thigh-rolling technique of traditional Navajo spinners who use unusually large spindles in a supported style (Wolf Creek, 2009)...

Fresco Mixtures with Dried Lime Plaster: Cameron’s Experiments Revisited

Author(s)
Αntonis Vlavogilakis 1 ✉
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2021/2

During the Bronze Age, craftspeople of the eastern Mediterranean reused fragments of mortars as aggregates in lime mixtures. In the 1970s, Mark Cameron experimented with the techniques of Minoan fresco preparing and painting. His experiments showed that it is possible to create mortar by mixing lime plaster with dried powdered lime plaster, and by mixing dried powdered lime plaster with water...