Experimental Archaeology

The Reconstruction of the Danubian Neolithic House and the Scientific Importance of Architectural Studies

Author(s)
Anick Coudart 1 ✉
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2013/3

1987 ESF Proceedings
The 1980s was the beginning of a boom in the construction of archaeologically inspired buildings inside and outside archaeological open-air museums.
***"A topic of research both particularly fertile and constraining because it demands the one never - except provisionally - separates the material from...

Copper + Tin + People: Public Co-Smelting Experimentation in Northwestern Iberia

Author(s)
Aaron Lackinger 1 ✉
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2013/3
7th UK EA Conference Cardiff 2013
***In the present paper an experiment made in north-western Iberia for producing bronze using local ores and similar techniques to those perhaps practiced by the ancient prehistoric metallurgists during Bronze Age is described...

Living Conditions and Indoor Air Quality in a Reconstructed Viking House

Author(s)
Jannie Marie Christensen 1 ✉
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2013/3
7th UK EA Conference Cardiff 2013
***During the winter of 2011 and 2012 an archaeological indoor environment experiment was conducted in two reconstructions of the same house from the Viking Age built in Denmark. The purpose of the experiment was to examine the living conditions inside the houses during 15 weeks in wintertime...

Where Were the Viking Brew Houses?

Author(s)
Graham Dineley 1,
Merryn Dineley 1 ✉
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2013/2
7th UK EA Conference Cardiff 2013
***The authors have over 15 years' experience in experimenting with recreating ancient and traditional techniques of making ale from malted grain. Graham is a craft brewer, with 30 years' experience making beer from the grain. Merryn is an archaeologist, with an interest in malting and brewing technologies...

Aspects on Realizing House Reconstructions: a Scandinavian Perspective

Author(s)
Ulf Näsman 1 ✉
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2013/2

1987 ESF Proceedings
The 1980s was the beginning of a boom in the construction of archaeologically inspired buildings inside and outside archaeological open-air museums.
***Experiments are an integrated part of archaeological research, a tool used to analyse and understand archaeological phenomena...

An Experimental Programme for the Collection and Use of Retouching Tools Made on Diaphyseal Bone Splinters

Author(s)
Millán Mozota Holgueras 1 ✉
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2013/2
The present work presents the results of 38 experiments of bone fragmentation and blank collection, together with 177 experiments of retouch. In the first series of experiments, the fragmentation step was executed by massive percussion using macro-lithic tools...

Testing a Reconstruction: A Frosty Week in a Viking Age House

Author(s)
Kristiina Paavel 1 ✉,
Viire Pajuste 1,
R. Rootslane 1
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2013/2
In the summers of 2010 and 2011, an archaeologically inspired Viking Age horizontal log house with a two-layer split plank roof, clay floor and a dry-stone stove without a chimney was built in Rõuge, Estonia. In the winter of 2012 (30 January 2012 - 05 February 2012) a one-week living-experiment was organised to test the building...

The Production of High Carbon Steel Directly in Bloomery Process: Theoretical Bases and Metallographic Analyses of the Experiments Results

Author(s)
Adrian Wrona 1,2 ✉
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2013/2
7th UK EA Conference Cardiff 2013
***The series of experiment on iron smelting conducted by author in 2012 resulted in very good quality high carbon steel produced directly in the bloomery furnace. Bearing in mind the unusual mechanism of carburization in a 'Aristotle furnace', a question arose concerning possibility of...

Fire and Bone: An Experimental Study of Cremation

Author(s)
Christophe Snoeck 1 ✉,
R. J. Schulting 1
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2013/2
7th UK EA Conference Cardiff 2013
***Many bone fragments have been burned in controlled laboratory conditions but few have been burned on outdoor pyres. In order to study and understand cremated bone, it is crucial to conduct experiments in real environmental conditions. In this study several cremations were carried out outdoors...

Let’s Build a Medieval Tile Kiln - Introducing Experimental Archaeology into the University Curriculum

Author(s)
Gaynor Wood 1 ✉
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2013/2
7th UK EA Conference Cardiff 2013
***As a lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) I teach a course on medieval archaeology and run a successful programme in designing exhibitions for local museums and community groups. I also encourage my students to take part in the community archaeology and history projects...