Experimental Archaeology

Introduction

In China, ancient hair colours can be categorised into herbal and mineral hair colours. Since the Jin Dynasty (265-420 AD), the recipes for herbal and mineral hair colours have been clearly documented in ancient books, such as Zhou Hou Bei Ji Fang (The Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies), compiled in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 AD), who recorded ‘ran faxu, bailingheifang’ [a prescription for colouring white hair and beards black] (Ge, p.146), a hair colour using vinegar and beans as raw materials to colour grey hair to turn it black.

These three artefacts suggested that some kind of metal working had most probably been carried out in the cave: Radmilli first described the mould as “a clay mould for casting… containing a piece of copper” (Radmilli, 1956, pp.

Chain mail

It is well known that in the Iron Age wire was made from gold, silver, and copper – but it is a relatively new realization in Northern Europe that wire was also extracted from bog iron ore. Metallurgical insight into how rings in chain mail are made, opened up the possibility of experimental archaeological experiments to learn how the process of making wire, as well as bending and welding it, was carried out in the Iron Age.

Introduction

This experimental project aimed to reproduce the Hellenistic (fourth-third century BC) Greek pottery production process. The project was conducted by the authors, Francesca Tomei, PhD graduate in Archaeology at the University of Liverpool, and Juan Ignacio Jimenez Rivero, a ceramist specializing in replicating ancient pottery technology, who frequently collaborates with the Department of Classics, Ancient History, Archaeology and Egyptology, University of Manchester, on ceramic experimental archaeology projects and activities.