EXARC Journal - Latest Articles

An Experimental Exploration of the Earliest Soapmaking

Author(s)
Sally Pointer 1
Publication Date
Soap is a substance now taken for granted, but there is uncertainty, myth and misinformation about its development, and little scholarly attention has been paid to the likely circumstances surrounding its discovery. As part of a MSc in Experimental Archaeology, a project collated the earliest mentions of proto-soaps...

For the Grater, Good: The Value of Informal Experiments for Understanding Bipolar Flaking and Manioc Grater Teeth

Author(s)
John C. Whittaker 1 ✉,
Mary Jane Berman 2
Publication Date
Informal experiential experimentation is often helpful for understanding a technology and raising interpretive questions and testable hypotheses. Here, a simple experiment in manufacturing microlithic flakes by bipolar percussion and using them as teeth in a wooden grater, helped us understand archaeological evidence of such teeth and the ‘manioc complex’ on San Salvador, Bahamas...

Is it Possible to Weave 8.end Satin with 5 Rods on a Warp-weighted Loom?

Author(s)
Antoinette M. Olsen 1
Publication Date
Back in 2020, I wrote an article entitled The Shroud of Turin and the Extra Sheds of Warping Threads (Olsen, 2020). When I was studying the weaving theory, I realised that it might be possible to weave 8-end satin with five rods on the warp-weighted loom. To date, I have not encountered any historical find showing satin woven on a warp-weighted loom...

Approaching Pottery Burnishing through Experimental Firings

Author(s)
Georgia Kordatzaki 1
Publication Date
This study assesses the impact of firing on burnished ceramic surfaces. For this task, two main factors related to burnishing were examined and evaluated, the reflection of the ceramics and pottery surface sheen. Macroscopic observations on the burnished surface were made with the naked eye...

Conference Review: EXARC at the EAA, Belfast, September 2023

Author(s)
E. Giovanna Fregni 1
Publication Date

The purpose of the session, co-chaired by Brendan O’Neill and Rena Maguire (UCD) and Giovanna Fregni, was to bring together researchers working in different fields who engage in experimental archaeology as part of their work. Its aim was to fuse experimental and experiential archaeology with reconstructing past narratives. The session was well-attended, and not only because of the bespoke EXARC biscuits! The papers were divided into the categories of organic materials, pyrotechnic processes, and educational and cultural significance.

Nesshenge: an Experimental Neolithic Henge with 15 Years of Exposure

Author(s)
John Hill 1
Publication Date
Our understanding of the planning processes involved before any Neolithic structure was physically built, from the moment when it was conceived in a person’s mind up to the point of its construction requires further investigation for which experimental archaeology can provide some direction...

RETOLD: Unlocking the potential of archaeological house reconstructions by standardizing documentation in open-air museums – experiences from the Museumsdorf Düppel in Berlin, Germany

Author(s)
Julia Heeb 1 ✉,
Svea Röbke 1
Publication Date
The Museumsdorf Düppel – a medieval archaeological open-air museum in Berlin – is a good example a bottom-up museum project from the 1970’s. The idea to create an open-air museum was born after the excavation of a medieval settlement had brought to light several house features, wells and objects ranging from pottery sherds to iron artefacts, in south-western Berlin...

Book Review: Experimentelle Archäologie in Europa, Jahrbuch 2023

Author(s)
Svenja Fabian 1
Publication Date
Annual Proceedings of the EXAR Tagung
***The periodical is published by Gunter Schöbel and the European Association for the Advancement of Archaeology by Experiment e. V. (Europäische Vereinigung zur Förderung der Experimentellen Archäologie) in collaboration with the Pfahlbaummuseum Unterhuldingen...