Bronze Age
Let’s Do the Tine Warp Again: Reconstructing a Late Bronze Age Bridle from Moynagh Lough, County Meath, Ireland
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Both before and after the Irish Late Iron Age (AD 50 - 400) there is an exceptional paucity of knowledge regarding equitation in Ireland. We know that equids are present during prehistory, but basically nothing about their use. This paper documents the reconstruction and use of an organic bridle, based on a possible Late Bronze Age cheek-piece found at Moynagh Lough, Co. Meath.
Event Review: Third Annual Bronze Casting Festival, Uelsen (DE)
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The third annual Bronze Casting Festival at the Bronzezeithof in Uelsen continued its theme of metalworking and experimental archaeology in a Bronze Age setting. The event drew participants from around Europe and the US to combine their knowledge and share experiences...
CRAFTER: An Experimental Approach to Fire-Induced Alteration of Pottery Fabrics
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In doing an inventory of ceramic materials from archaeological excavations, it is a common practice to indicate their observable atmosphere of firing. This parameter refers to the presence of gases, especially oxygen, during the firing and cooling of pottery: if oxygen circulates freely, the procedure is said to be oxidising; if, on the contrary, the atmosphere of firing lacks free air, it is called reducing...
Book Review: Experimental Archaeology: from Research to Society, by Isabel Cáceres et al.
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“Experimental Archaeology: from research to society” is a transcript of the proceedings of the Vth International Congress of Experimental Archaeology in Tarragona, Spain, on the 25-27th October 2017. The conference, organized by Experimenta (Asociación Española de Arqueología Experimental), the Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES)...
CRAFTER: Re-creating Vatin Pottery 2: an Examination of Clay Quality and its Behaviour
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The Bronze Age Vatin culture has been known in archaeology as a cultural phenomenon distinguished by a specific material culture which existed between c. 2200 to 1600 B.C. in the region of the southern part of the Pannonian Plain, and the area along the lower Sava river and south of the Danube river. The Vatin culture followed on from the Early Bronze Age cultures in the region, indicating stabilization in this area after the disintegration of the Aeneolithic Vučedol culture by tribes from the Russian steppe (Garašanin 1979, p. 504; cf.
Event Review: CRAFTER: Back to Bronze Age Craftsmanship: International Meeting of Potters and Archaeologists
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At the end of October 2018, nearly 30 experts – potters and archaeologists – met in the city of Mula (Murcia, Spain) to study Europe’s Bronze Age pottery-making techniques. The event was the initiation stage of the CRAFTER project (Crafting Europe in the Bronze Age and Today), implemented in the framework of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 and the Creative Europe Program...
Book Review: Crafting in the World, Materiality in the Making by Burke and Spencer-Wood
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Archaeologists dream of books with comprehensive coverage that address specific gaps in knowledge and at the same time address theoretical issues and newer concerns about the nature of craft in a direct method. Editors Burke and Spencer-Wood fulfil this by discussing the world of craft...
Event Review: EXARC at the Times and Epochs Festival, Moscow, Russia
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In August 2018, members of EXARC participated in Moscow’s Times and Epochs Festival for the third year . The annual festival is held on park boulevards that surround the inner city, providing an ideal green space for reenactors to recreate various periods of Russia’s history. The main sites were located in Tverskaya Square, Nikitsky, Passion and Tver Boulevards, on Kamergersky Lane and Profsoyuznaya Street...
The Variation of Elastic Modulus and Changes of Structures and Mineral Phases in Rocks as Parameters for the Identification of Fire-Setting in Ancient Mines
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The article is focused on the creation of a protocol for the analytical characterization of fire-setting in different types of rock. A set of experiments of heating and cooling have been carried out on different kind of rocks under various conditions and durations in order to record changes in the structures and composition of the samples. This study was set to support the solution of issues in the case of...
CRAFTER: Potting Techniques of the Bronze Age
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Throughout its history, experimental archaeology has fulfilled a valuable role in archaeological research, allowing craftspeople and scholars alike to deepen an understanding of people and their societies in the past. EXARC’s recent involvement in the CRAFTER project, and the author’s participation in its International Meeting in Mula (Spain), has demonstrated that significant knowledge gaps remain in...