On September 12th and 13th, several EXARC board members and volunteers met in the outskirts of Hannover (Germany) to drink tea and coffee, eat biscuits and sandwiches, exchange boxes of papers, and stare out in horror at the pouring rain. Most importantly, we were also there to discuss some exciting plans for the future of EXARC.

The most important question of all to start the discussion is of course: What is EXARC? On the surface, we are an international archaeological society, focusing on experimental archaeology, open-air museums, ancient technology, and interpretation. But if you go deeper, we are at heart a community of people who have created a network of support, who aim to develop the professionalism of the field, who share resources and experience, and who provide a platform for those first steps into scientific research. From all these things, those of us at the meeting agreed that something that sets EXARC apart is its focus on personal contact, and we therefore want to ensure that EXARC remains a professional but approachable community.

There were several ideas discussed on how we can achieve this aim going forward, for example which funding programmes we can apply to that will most benefit our members, as well as revamping the website to make it more user-friendly. All very exciting, and we’ll be sharing more details soon – watch this space!