Wow! I got back from the 6th Experimental Archaeology Conference on Sunday evening, and it's taken a few days for me to collect my thoughts. I was presenting a paper on 'Teaching and learning in Experimental Archaeology' (abstract here), which is one of the reasons I have been quiet recently. Along with proof-reading and chapter-writing… Continue reading 6th Experimental Archaeology Conference, York, 2012
Category: Archaeology Experimental
Teaching and learning styles in Experimental Archaeology
A couple of weeks ago I was very pleased to find out that my paper had been accepted at the 6th Experimental Archaeology Conference in York, 6th-7th January 2012. Teaching and learning practices are something I've become really interested in, after studying for the HEA qualification earlier this year. During this summer's experimental work I… Continue reading Teaching and learning styles in Experimental Archaeology
6th Experimental Archaeology Conference – abstract
Below is the abstract I submitted for the 6th Experimental Archaeology Conference. Learning and teaching in experimental archaeology The ways in which past peoples communicated knowledge is of considerable importance to studies of technological processes, and is an area in which experimental archaeology could prove highly informative. Whilst some teaching of experimental work takes place… Continue reading 6th Experimental Archaeology Conference – abstract
UCL Primtech 2011 – running the metalworking sessions
At the very beginning of term the Institute of Archaeology, UCL, runs an experimental archaeology course colloquially referred to as 'PrimTech'. It's been running since 1982, when I am reliably informed Peter Drewitt was in charge, and takes all of the first year undergraduates away camping for a long weekend at a small scout camp… Continue reading UCL Primtech 2011 – running the metalworking sessions
Smithing course!
As part of this summer's efforts to get out of the lab, away from uni and learn new things (my version of going on excavation) I have just returned from an extremely intensive and exhausting three days learning the basic smithing techniques required to make a sword in an Iron Age style. That's right people… Continue reading Smithing course!
Quick Update: Furnace Building and Teaching Thoughts
I'm just back from a week in Cornwall doing some 'hobby foundry' work. The aim of the week was to build a functional charcoal-fuelled furnace and cast some small objects in brass. Calling it 'experimental archaeology' would be a bit false, considering we used a iron tuyure pipe, a brick-built furnace and a hoover, but… Continue reading Quick Update: Furnace Building and Teaching Thoughts
David A. Scott’s Metallography and Microstructure of Ancient Metals
I can't remember if I've posted about this before or not, however in case I haven't I wanted to mention it here. David A. Scott, who is chairing one of the sessions at the HMS Research in Progress meeting I am helping to organise, has made his seminal book Metallography and Microstructure of Ancient and… Continue reading David A. Scott’s Metallography and Microstructure of Ancient Metals
Nature of Technology issue of Cambridge Journal of Economics
How did I miss this? The Cambridge Journal of Economics has a whole issue on the Nature of Technology! For those of you with access (sorry, it's not open access), it's volume 34, issue 1, 2010. I'm not sure exactly why it's this journal that's acting as a venue for this stuff (maybe I'm missing… Continue reading Nature of Technology issue of Cambridge Journal of Economics
Iron ore reduction in a bloomery furnace – part 2
I've spent a lot of hours over the last couple of days trying to express every variable of bloomery iron smelting and their complex and dependent relations. At the moment, I can't seem to do it in any way that doesn't look like a spider covered in multi-coloured ink had a seizure on my page.… Continue reading Iron ore reduction in a bloomery furnace – part 2
Iron ore reduction in a bloomery furnace – part 1
At the moment I'm trying to produce the first draft of my literature review. This involves reading a lot of rather dull and repetitive articles, as well as wading through the kilos of paper I have photocopied in the last six months because I thought it looked 'useful'. Hmm. Probably should have read those as… Continue reading Iron ore reduction in a bloomery furnace – part 1
Ruth Fillery-Travis 