Experimental Archaeology

A Proposed New Appearance of the Iron Stand from Sutton Hoo, Based on Existing Material

Author(s)
Rowan Taylor
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2021/4
The Iron Stand from Sutton Hoo, Mound 1 was excavated in 1939. While a first tentative interpretation of its original appearance was made in 1952, this was updated in 1972 following a science-led investigation of the artefact. However, some features of the object were not included in the later representation. The examination of these additional features suggests that the basket element of the iron stand may have been...

Hoes or Adzes? Experimental Reproduction and Uses of Deer Antler Tools from the Bronze Age Terramara of Pragatto (Italy)

Author(s)
Arianna Durante
Sara Maria Stellacci
Alessio Pellegrini
Antonella de Angelis
Federico Scacchetti
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2021/4
#EAC12 World Tour 2021
***This research aimed to evaluate the hypotheses related to the production and possible uses of a class of deer antler tools from the Bronze Age Terramara of Pragatto (Italy). These bevel-ended instruments are traditionally considered handled hoes...

Beeswax an Addition to the Production of European Stone Age Adhesives

Author(s)
Aleksandra Cetwińska
Maciej Sadło
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2021/4
Beeswax is a frequently mentioned binder additive in the literature. Unfortunately, it is not so durable as to be well preserved in archaeological records, although there are faint exceptions. Because of its strengthening capabilities, which is believed to be its role, this research set out to carry out an experiment to verify the effects of adding it to the adhesives potentially used in the European Stone Age...

A Singing Bone from the Mätäjärvi (‘Rotten Lake’) Quarter of Medieval Turku, Finland: Experimental Reconstructions and Contemporary Musical Exploration

Author(s)
Riitta Rainio
Annemies Tamboer
Taina Saarikivi
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2021/4
At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, in the town of Turku (SW Finland), a new quarter was built near a lake that came to be known as Mätäjärvi (‘Rotten Lake’), possibly because it was polluted by the waste from leather tanners, shoemakers, and other artisans. In the excavated remains of a wooden house in this quarter, objects like leather shoes, clippings and scrapings, imported stoneware from Germany...

Bone Pipes with Parallel Tone Holes. Materials from Medieval Poland (until the End of the 12th C)

Author(s)
Dorota Popławska
Anita Kander-Marchewka
Amelia Skibińska
Piotr Zawadzki
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2021/4
Bone and wood pipes are among the medieval aerophones which have been discovered during archaeological excavations in Poland. The ones that interested us are characterized by a parallel arrangement of sound holes. They are short pipes, several centimetres long, with two holes cut in different places of the pipe body, either at one end or in the middle...

Early Medieval Bone Pipes: Understanding the Sounds of These Instruments through Reconstruction

Author(s)
Lucy-Anne Taylor
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2021/4
Bone pipes are the most numerous instrument surviving from Early Medieval England. These instruments are usually classified as ‘flutes’ despite many of the examples missing the defining categorisations. Two examples from the archaeological record of early Medieval England will be used as case studies: one instrument from North-West Essex and the other from York...

An Experimental Study of Lesions Observed in Bog Body Funerary Performances

Author(s)
Tiffany Treadway
Clement Twumasi
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2021/3
The analysis of sharp force trauma has usually been reserved for prehistoric osteological case studies. Bog bodies, on the other hand, due to the excellent preservation of the soft tissues, provide a unique example of visible lesions. This type of preservation of prehistoric soft tissue trauma that would otherwise be predominantly absent from osteological remains allows archaeologists to understand better the ...

More Testing of Mesoamerican Lunate Artifacts as Possible Loom Weights, that also Functioned as Twining Tools

Author(s)
Billie J. A. Follensbee
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2021/3
In previous replication studies and experiments, a lunate jade artifact from the Pre-Classic/Formative period (1500 BC-AD 250) of Mesoamerica was analysed, researched, and tested for its similarities to the crescent weight, a specialized type of loom weight found in ancient Central and Southern Europe. These analyses successfully established that even a form of this artifact made of wood, shell, or other...

Department of Archaeology and Sheffield Archaeomaterials, University of Sheffield (UK)

Member of EXARC
Yes

Experimental archaeology has been a core research and teaching methodology at Sheffield since the early-1990s. Crossing archaeomaterials and environmental archaeology, experimental investigations are a key component of our work and have offered a multifaceted approach to our research. We integrate experimental methodologies and practice into our taught modules to inform interpretation as part of understanding our past. 

Our research covers a vast number of archaeological periods from prehistory to recent history, working closely with modern practitioners to inform our work in a collaborative environment.

Latvijas Arheoklubs (LV)

The society "Latvijas Arheoklubs" unites 20 members with a practical interest in the prehistory of the Baltic region. The group started in 2009 and in 2015 the society (NGO) was officially registered.

The society organizes and its members often are involved in different educational activities (like demonstrations of prehistoric and traditional skills and crafts, lectures about archaeology and experimental archaeology) in collaboration with different museums and municipalities, like Daugava Museum at Dole Island and Āraiši Archaeological Park.