This year's final issue of the EXARC Journal includes eight reviewed articles and six unreviewed mixed matters articles. The research topics range from ethnographic approaches to studying Iron Age bread ovens, reconstructions of Victorian clothing, and Neanderthal fire technology. 

In this special extended episode of EXARC Extracts, Matilda Siebrecht reads through the articles in issue 2024/4 of the journal, sharing her insights and reactions to the incredible range of research shared within.

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Blingy, fashionable or personal. Jewellery has been an integral element of identity for thousands of years. Despite this, historic and archaeological examples of these items of adornment have often been understudied and misunderstood. This month we are joined by two guests who are intent on changing this, aiming to highlight the true beauty of jewellery in a wider context. Listen in to hear all about the similarities and differences between studying historic and archaeological jewellery and how to start moving towards seeing these objects as craft items which can tell us their own fascinating stories.

Tess Machling is an archaeologist and independent researcher looking at Prehistoric and Iron Age gold from a craft perspective. Tess is now at the forefront of a project called The Big Book of Torcs, which aims to explore the techniques, manufacture and craft required to create British Iron Age Torcs. The project involves a number of people from a variety of backgrounds, including goldsmiths, silversmiths, jewellers, archaeologists and heritage specialists.

Sigrid van Roode is an archaeologist and jewellery historian. Originally trained as an Egyptologist, her PhD research examined 19 th Century Egyptian jewellery. With 30 years of experience in jewellery research, Sigrid’s goal is now to preserve and share the information associated with items of adornment from North Africa and the Middle East. She also works as a jewellery consultant and runs the website Bedouin Silver, which contains blogs, e-books and online courses.

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When we talk about documentation, digitalisation and restoration we usually assume that the sites where this takes place are accessible and safe, like in an open-air museum. However, there is a category of conservation specialists who, on a daily basis, are dealing with a range of challenges when they work in remote and/or dangerous areas. In this episode two heritage preservation experts talk about what drives them and how they address the perils their teams face in places like Iraq, Mozambique or Angola. 

Stefano Campana is Professor of Landscape Archaeology at the University of Siena, specialising in documentation and remote sensing. He is the co-founder of Archeo Tech & Survey, a spin-off company from the University of Siena, which specialises in archaeology, remote sensing and geomatics. Giovanni Fontana Antonelli is an architect and landscape planner who devoted two decades of his work to the safeguarding of cultural heritage in the Arab world. He is the co-founder of Archi.Media Trust, a non profit organisation focussing on cultural heritage preservation and cultural development.

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The 2024/3 EXARC Journal brings you five reviewed and five mixed matter articles. All the articles are open access to allow for free exchange of information and further development of our knowledge of the past.

This time two of the reviewed articles come from the UK and one a piece from Greece, Norway and the United States. Each of the articles tackles a different topic. John Whittaker and Mary Jane Berman used microlithic flakes as teeth in a wooden grater to better understand the archaeological evidence of such teeth and also the processing of manioc. Sally Pointer’s project looked into the earliest soapmaking. Georgia Kordatzaki’s study assessed the impact of firing on burnished ceramic surfaces. Andrew Fitches and Ben Elliott’s article studies Mesolithic drilling methods and is based on a series of experiments, in which different techniques were used to drill holes in red deer antler. Antoinette Olsen tested a possibility of weaving eight end satin with five rods on a warp-weighted loom.

In the mixed matters section John Hill introduces the Nesshenge project, there is a review of Experimentelle Archäologie in Europa, Jahrbuch 2023.reports from the EAA Conference in Belfast in September 2023 and from the seminar: The Future of Experimentation – from experiment to new archaeological knowledge in Lejre Land of Legends in March 2024.An article on the RETOLD project from Museumsdorf Düppel talks about standardizing documentation of archaeological house reconstructions.

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In this month's episode of Finally Friday, Matilda chats with two specialists in nalbinding to find out all the details of the development, origins, and variety of this unique craft. 

Niina-Hannele Nuutinen (Nele) is the co-ordinator of the EXARC textiles working group and a masters student in Crafting Science at the University of Eastern Finland, where she looks at identifying structure vs technique in different kinds of non-woven textiles. Emma Boast is an archaeological small finds specialist with the University of York Department of Archaeology, specialising in early medieval and Viking Age material culture, and is also registered with the UK Guild of Master Craftsmen as a professional nalbinder with her business Nidavellnir.

Together, our guests discuss their experiences and answer those burning questions that I'm sure all of us have had about nalbinding. Where and when did nalbinding start? What is the difference between it and knitting or crochet? How can we know if it's the right craft for us to try out? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this month's episode! 

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Like many things in the modern world, digitalisation has transformed the way we interact with the past and opened opportunities for visualisation, curation and sharing. But how do we actually use these digital tools? How do we use them to engage the public? And how do we ensure our digital data is a fair representation of the past?

Henk Alkemade was originally trained as a physical geographer but went into a career in IT following his studies. In 2007, he joined the Dutch National Heritage Agency as an IT manager. This gave him this opportunity to become involved in Europeana projects such as CARARE and LoCloud, which helped reignite a passion in cultural heritage. Henke now works full time in Cultural Heritage, connecting this heritage with IT through his work as a senior specialist in historical landscapes.

Elin Tinuviel Torbergsen currently works for the Museum Nord as a curator for the West Lofoten Department. In addition to this, she is also working on her PhD in media and communication. In these roles, she is attempting to identify digital solutions connecting the archaeological objects on display in the museums with their original places of discovery, and their wider cultural landscapes. Part of this work includes creating digital AR simulations of the world in the past.

In this episode we dive into their respective projects, compare the different types of methods they use and discuss how digitalisation will continue to change heritage in the future.

If you’d like to hear more from our speakers after the episode, they will both be presenting their research at our Digitalisation in Open-Air Museums and Reconstructions conference at the Museum Batavialand in September, we’d love to see you there! 

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The 2024/2 EXARC Journal brings you eight reviewed and five mixed matter articles. All the articles are open access to allow for free exchange of information and further development of our knowledge of the past.

The reviewed articles come from far and wide. The majority of the articles come from Europe with two from the United States. Luc Bordes’ article is dedicated to the evolution of throwing sticks. The article by Alexander Whitehead, Anthony Sinclair and Christopher Scott talks about the use of experimental archaeology in research of the pathogenic properties of bifacial butchery tools during the Middle Pleistocene. Marie-Elise Porqueddu, Nuria Castaneda Clemente and Javier Baena Preysler investigate the technical gestures used in mining flint. ‘Hay is for horses’ by Rena Maguire and Robert Johnson tests the hypothesis that post-Iron Age bridles in Ireland could have been made of straw and rushes. Those are only four of the eight articles. The others are dedicated to classification of archaeological open-air museums, Roman baking, Roman metalworking and Etruscan weaving.

The mixed matters section contains an obituary for Andy Kurzweil, the adventures and experiences of three Romanian archaeology students in archaeological open-air museums in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. There is a book review of Experimental Archaeology: Reconstruction of Material Heritage of Lithuania II. Finally there are two articles documenting the RETOLD project.

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In this month's episode of #FinallyFriday, we're discussing how experimental archaeology projects can help in developing well-being!

Megan Russell is a PhD student leading the Experimental Health Project. After working in commercial archaeology, Megan saw the potential of experimental archaeology being used as a tool to increase mental health. She is exploring how other aspects of archaeology such as craft can contribute to mental health as a more accessible option.

Dr Hayden Scott Pratt is curator at the Hengistbury Head Visitor Centre. He is currently running the ‘Living in the Round’ experimental archaeology Wellbeing project, which aims to bring together local people through the medium of community-focused, experimental archaeology.

Between them, the guests present their experiences running different experimental archaeology projects that explore issues related to mental health. They deal with questions of what actually is "well-being"? How can we create more longevity for projects dealing with well-being? What impact does physical setting have on the project? Tune in to find out the answers, and discover some great examples of the positive societal impact of experimental archaeology.

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This episode we're having a bit of fun and looking at an alternative kind of living history with two guests from the Middle Earth Re-enactment society.

Eric Meulemans is based in the USA with an academic background in history and historic preservation. He has worked at various open-air museums, predominantly using his crafting skills in wood and metal, which he has honed through his company, Meuleurgy.

Steve Mijatovic based in Australia and has a background interest in Anglo Saxon history and weapons based martial arts, which led him into the world of Viking Age re-enactment. He is fascinated by all things historic, in particular historic poetry, and pursues this interest through living history as well as performative education.

Join us to hear all about how the society started and what exactly they do in terms of living history, but also to listen in to discussions on the authenticity of re-enactment, maintaining a social group that's scattered around the world, and why the setting of a fantasy world enables a more diverse re-enactment experience. So pop the kettle on, and let's settle down for a listen along with second breakfast!

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So you’ve dug up an object… but how do you know what it was used for? Microwear and use-wear analysis is a growing sub-field within archaeology looking for microscopic traces on artefacts which might give us clues on how they were used in the past – or what might have happened to them once they were abandoned. Join us on this month’s episode of #FinallyFriday for a deep dive into the world of microscopes and experimental reference collections.

Matilda Siebrecht is a professional archaeologist and journalist. Matilda has been a member of EXARC for many years, volunteering in many roles such as being one of the co-hosts on the show, helping organise conferences and events, and since the beginning of 2024, has taken over the role as EXARC’s Director. Outside of her EXARC responsibilities, Matilda is a micro-wear specialist. Whilst her Master’s research focussed on amber and ground-stone analysis, her PhD research at the University of Groningen examined use-wear on ivory and bone tools from the historic arctic populations of Canada.

Éva Halbrucker is a use-wear specialist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Ghent. As part of her PhD, Eva used use-wear and micro-wear analysis on flint to examine the Neolithic-Mesolithic transition of north-west Belgium. Eva is now doing similar research as part of the ROAM: a Regional Outlook on Ancient Migration project, examining the lithic material from the Mesolithic in the Meuse Valley in south Belgium. Additionally, she is also part of an international research project of a Bronze Age tell settlement in Hungary as a stone tool specialist.

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