Roman Era

In the summer of 2009 I was engaged in the preliminary preparations for extensive experiments to manufacture fish sauces for my MA dissertation in Archaeology at Reading University. In my previous research into Roman food, it was clear that it was not going to be possible to truly understand ancient cuisine without...

Nestled among the rolling hills of the South Downs National Park, Butser Ancient Farm in Chalton has been an archaeological research site since 1972. The farm was originally set up on Little Butser, a spur of Butser Hill. It was established with support from the Council for British Archaeology...

It may appear odd or redundant to reprint a book that was published in 1979. The subject will have moved on, more will have been discovered, new techniques will have been developed. But this is partly the point: Experimental Archaeology by John Coles is a foundation text for the subject as a whole...

A wide range of conferences on experimental archaeology and open air museums took place in 2010 and 2011, both in Europe and the Americas. This brief summary is based on the conference reviews from our contributors which can all be accessed freely on EXARC JOURNAL website from early 2012 on...

In November 2009, the idea for launching a network on adult education in EXARC was picked up. The first step was a preparation meeting in Oerlinghausen, Germany where we met with about 20 EXARC members from almost all corners of Europe. By mid 2010, 15 organisations, including EXARC itself joined in two so called Grundtvig Learning Partnerships, funded by the European Union...

Building and operating a small bloomery iron furnace is certainly a wonderful public demonstration for any museum or living history site. It is however a complex technical process, with many individual factors combining for success. Over the last decade in North America, small teams of blacksmiths have developed predictable working methods through trial and much error. This direct practical experience can provide some insights into questions that even the best researched theories may not be able to solve.