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In Italy, chocolate (Theobroma cacao L.) was introduced during the Columbian exchange, and it quickly became both an important and accessible part of the Italian culinary tradition. Today, Italy is Europe’s second-largest chocolate producer. This project explored the potential of a new methodological approach to investigate the history of chocolate by combining experimental archaeology with micromorphological and chemical analysis of dental calculus from the skeletal remains of a post-medieval monastic community (Saluzzo, Italy) known from historical documents to have consumed chocolate products. Although the results obtained showed no traces of chocolate in the analyzed dental calculus from the nuns of Saluzzo, through experimental work, we were able to identify markers diagnostic for T. cacao both in the experimental chocolate recipes, which we recreated, and in modern dental calculus, showing the potential for the application of these methodologies.

Twah Longwar is an abandoned settlement located in the State of Meghalaya in North-East India. It is located enroute to one of the world's rainiest places on earth – Mawsynram. Twah Longwar is an abandoned settlement with remnants of over twenty old houses, an ancient market, and a burial site. In a place where rainfall is a concern but also a major tourist attraction, and where lost architectural styles are only documented in photographs and oral traditions, an archaeological open-air museum built from traditional 'earth friendly' materials will contribute immensely to showcasing the region's life-sized cultural history. This article will explain how a drone, LiDAR, GIS-based technologies and archaeological methodologies are used to create a digital reproduction of the settlement which is made available to everyone. This will allow those who are unable to travel to learn about Twah longwar's long-lost traditions. The procedure for physically reconstructing the settlement will also be demonstrated. The focus is also to take the museum outside the four walls of a building where generations to come will physically envision the legacy of indigenous architecture and social life, at the same time as safeguarding the environment in and around the site.

Unusual or rare gems have been valued for as long as there have been humans to appreciate them. The making of beads and ornaments provides some of the earliest examples of the manipulation of materials solely for aesthetic reasons. Throughout history, we have refined the processes and constructed dedicated machinery to further enhance the desirable qualities of certain stones. The gems themselves acquire legends and stories that enhance their value both as objects of beauty and wonder. Despite this rich history, few practical studies have been done on the history of gem cutting. Contemporary accounts have been written about the materials and equipment used for ancient and historical lapidary work, but few people working in experimental archaeology have undertaken to perform a program of experiments to undertake comparative analyses of lapidary work. The experiments carried out here explore the equipment used in the 18th Century as well as the various materials used for grinding gems and polishing them. And as in all field-based experimental archaeology, there is a strong experiential component. This project was funded as a fellowship by Colonial Williamsburg in conjunction with EXARC. The author wishes to thank the staff of Colonial Williamsburg who support the exploration of craft industries and the recreation of lifeways during the 18th Century in Colonial America, and to EXARC for its overall support of experimental archaeology and for the promotion of this project.

Kapa (Hawaiian barkcloth) was the ubiquitous fabric of historic Hawaiʻi, used for everything from clothing to bedding, from swaddling newborns to enshrouding the deceased, and all things in between. This textile is crafted from the bast (inner bark) of several plant species, most notably wauke (paper mulberry tree, Broussonetia papyrifera). The laborious process involves harvesting an adequate number of trees, scraping off the outer bark, stripping the bast from the heartwood, and retting the bast in both salt water and fresh water for several days. Once the bast is adequately softened, it is beaten on a large, flat kua pōhaku (rock) using a rounded wooden beater called a hohoa to make moʻomoʻo, which is a precursor to kapa. Several sheets of moʻomoʻo are laid on top one another on a kua lāʻau (wood anvil) and felted together by beating with an iʻe kuku (grooved wooden beater). Once the resulting fabric is deemed completed, it is dried, smoothed, and finally decorated with plant dyes and earth pigments.

Spinning is a vital step in the production of textiles, whereby fibres are drawn out (drafted) and twisted together to make thread. In the present day, several culturally unique types of spinning are recognised, such as the thigh-rolling technique of traditional Navajo spinners who use unusually large spindles in a supported style (Wolf Creek, 2009). However, the default way of spinning with a spindle, particularly to Westerners, is usually considered to be “drop spinning”. Both modern recreationists and academics carrying out experimental archaeology typically either a) simply practice “drop spinning” without critically appraising their technique or b) consider the type(s) of spindle spinning practiced in Europe historically to be variant(s) of “drop spinning”. Additionally, they typically consider the distaff to be a flax-specific tool and often assert that wool was spun without a distaff. In contrast, we feel strongly that imagery showing European spindle spinning between circa 1100 and 1800 AD does not support these assertions. Additionally, we find that reproduction historical European spindles and whorls are poorly adapted for use with the “drop spinning” technique. These points led us to explore an alternative interpretation of the pictorial evidence and assess the practicality of this interpretation.

What a pleasure it was when this book landed on my coffee table! The book is bilingual Vietnamese – English, well designed and covers over 200 pages with hundreds of full-colour images. The book is a joint project by several Vietnamese from around the world who wished to add to the awareness of Vietnamese identities around the world. Viet Nam is so much more than what people remember of the Vietnam War. Even a quick peek into Wikipedia highlights the long standing culture of the country and its people.

Bronze cauldrons from the late Middle Ages, and the 16th and 17th century are hardly ever discovered during archaeological excavations but are usually unearthed by detectorists having discovered the find of their life. Many of these vessels happen to be damaged. Sometimes one or two legs are lost, or a piece of the rim is missing, more often they exhibit one or more dents. We know that in prehistory the ritual destruction of objects was common practice (Chapman, 2000; Verbaas and Van Gijn, 2007; Gerloff 2010; Knight, 2017; 2019). Could this practice also have been performed on bronze cooking ware in a Christian setting in The Netherlands in the Medieval and Postmedieval periods? Considering the robustness of the bronze cauldrons, there are suspicions that many of the dents were not caused by someone accidentally dropping the vessel, but by a deliberate blow, for example with an axe. Experimental research is required to verify this hypothesis.

The transformation of grain into malt, malt sugars and ale is a three step process. First, the controlled germination (malting), then ‘mashing in’ and collecting a sweet liquid known as wort and finally, the fermentation by pitching the yeast which converts the sugary wort into an alcoholic beverage. Each step requires different conditions for the process to work. They cannot be combined. Understanding these processes enables us to interpret the archaeological evidence for ale and beer brewing. This article considers how malt sugars are made and discusses a range of ‘mashing in’ techniques from a practical, technical, and scientific point of view. The process of ‘mashing in’ is done in a vessel called a mash tun. This is where the crushed malt and hot water are mixed together at about 65 – 67°C. The mixture is left for about an hour or an hour and a half, keeping a constant temperature throughout, to allow the conversion of grain starch into malt sugars by enzymes in the germinated grain. In some parts of Lithuania, Estonia, and Russia the completed mash is then baked in an oven to condition it (see figures 39, 40, 41). The high temperatures cause the sugars, amino acids and proteins to combine to create rich flavours, a process called the Maillard reaction. It is perhaps similar to ancient Egyptian or Sumerian techniques of making ‘beer bread’ in an oven. Keptinis could be a rare survival of this ancientmashing technique and might explain the wide variety of ancient Egyptian beers.

Throwing sticks and boomerangs are present in the collections of many French and international museums. Collected mainly in the 19th and 20th centuries by travelers, they were mainly analyzed from a stylistic point of view, to relate them to their region of origin. Some of these objects were made by the indigenous populations especially to be exchanged with Europeans and only bear macro-traces of manufacture. However, many others can have additional various traces of use and repair which reflect a real function and which are often less studied. Indeed, these traces can shed light on the functionality of the object in relation to their physical characteristics, which determine their aerodynamic properties. However, these throwing weapons were not only used as projectiles. In some cases, a major modification of the object may have taken place to adjust it for a new use.

How is it possible that if you go into an arts museum, the ceramics you see may be made yesterday and may be a valued and legitimate part of the museum collection, while in open-air museums, a similar object may be produced by a master craftsperson yesterday, yet is not called authentic? Are we blinded by historical-archaeological authenticity? Is the key to documented objects, their stories and their provenance – which gives them their authenticity - not right? Well-structured documentation of stories with objects and people is, per se, an important step towards being regarded as open-air museums. This is an important part of our current EXARC EU Project, www.retold.eu.

My fascination with Scandinavian yeast rings let me to meet Lars Marius Garshol, online, several years ago. It was refreshing to meet someone, even if only online, who, just like I, enjoys the practical aspects of enjoying and brewing a good home brew as well as being deeply fascinated with its traditions and history. We shared research, compared notes, and had lively discussions, even though one of us lived in the US and the other in Norway. His logical way of thinking guided by fact and not assumption made for a very valuable discussion partner.

The vertical crushing mill turns the olives into pulp by combining the rotational and rolling motion of a heavy upright stone wheel that moves with continuous contact along a circular horizontal trajectory on a stationary base which forms the system's frame of reference. It was devised during the Hellenistic period and served as one of the most important and impressive means of production in the pre-industrial olive mills of Crete and the Mediterranean in general, until more advanced mill types gradually started replacing it from the mid-19th century onwards. Although there is a rich bibliography historically and from a technical point of view, there seems to be a relative knowledge gap from the aspect of the physical quantities that regulate its movement and affect its productive capacity. The paper examines this type of mill from the aspect of a complete machine, according to the ideas of F. Rouleaux (1875), whose approach is still regarded to be fundamental in the field of kinematic analysis and machine theory in general. The use of animal power is considered indifferent to this theory. A generic kinematic diagram for this specific mill type was composed, according to the rules of modern mechanical analysis. The diagram describes the kinematic pairs and defines its degrees of kinematic freedom. On the other hand, by examining the mill's actual function, the specific forms of energy involved in its operation were determined. The energy balance and mechanical efficiency of the mill were expressed as a factor of these energy forms. Also, by making use of a few but essential data, there was an attempt to estimate roughly the productive capacity of this type of mill. Although it can only be tested by experiment, it is suggested that this subtype of mola olearia was a machine with relatively high mechanical efficiency but very low productive capacity per time unit, mainly because of its underdeveloped feed mechanism.

Replication of archaeological and ethnographic Māori textiles, under the direction of customary knowledge and previous practical experience, can provide a more nuanced understanding of the manufacture of taonga (treasures) made from fibre materials. A case study is presented here from the unique perspective of a weaver who is also an archaeologist, and familiar with the essential components of replication work. This paper introduces tāniko, a Māori weft-twining technique, and the replication of a unique tāniko pattern on the hem border of an ethnographic kākahu (cloak), known as ‘the Stockholm cloak’. The project follows experimental archaeology standards and customary Māori practices and protocols for all processes and steps involved. A variation of the known tāniko technique was identified, alongside an appreciation of the enormous skill involved not only in the weaving technique but in the fibre preparation and processing. Further, a renewed awareness was acquired for the importance of skilled mentors willing to share their fibre working expertise. This type of study provides empirical data to the archaeological discipline, while supporting, and contributing to, the continuity of customary knowledge systems.

This year’s Association of European Open Air Museums (AEOM) Biannual Conference 2019 took place at multiple sites in Poland, over four days in late August. Its two key themes were ‘How Open Air Museums represent different cultural identities’, and ‘Representing the past - technical solutions for reconstruction and archaeological interpretation’. I was invited to participate in order to discuss how EXARC and AEOM can best partner up, and also how to share best practices from my workplace Colonial Williamsburg. The four-day conference was split into half days, consisting of discussions and site visits. This was the first time I had been to a conference like this and I was eager to see how it worked.

What did ale and beer taste like in the past? How was it made? What sort of equipment did they use and what were the ingredients? The answers to all of these questions, and more, can be found in this book. Archaeologists, experimental archaeologists, brewing historians and anyone interested in ancient technologies will find this book invaluable as an easily accessible study and explanation of pre-industrial beer brewing techniques.

This paper stems from a keynote talk I was invited to give at the Archaeology for the People: Exhibition, Experience and Performance conference, in Kernave, Lithuania, in September of 2018. When I began investigating this conference I was unclear as to how well EXARC’s focus on experimental archaeology would blend with International Museum Theatre Alliance (Imtal)’s approach of museum theatre and interpretation. They seem after all, two very different disciplines. It could be said that experimental archaeology is about hard science, or at least scientific method–theory, experiment and conclusion, whereas Imtal’s work in museum theatre is concerned with a different set of skills and methodologies–performance, cultivating emotional connection, and interpretation. In the following I suggest they may have more in common than might initially be thought.

Throwing sticks, including boomerangs as a subclass, are prehistoric objects as old as humanity. They have endured on many continents in different forms, uses, and traditions of manufacture. Numerous different approaches have been used to study them. Many studies of throwing sticks are dominated by morphological determination and focused on Australian objects which have been classified by the origin of their cultural area on this continent (Davidson, 1936; Jones, 1996). However, few authors give importance to a fairly complete record of Australian Aboriginal throwing stick and boomerang features (Turck, 1952; Callahan, 1999).

Archaeologists dream of books with comprehensive coverage that address specific gaps in knowledge and at the same time address theoretical issues and newer concerns about the nature of craft in a direct method. Editors Burke and Spencer-Wood fulfil this by discussing the world of craft.

The objective of this series of experimental pottery firings with camel dung fuel was to isolate the function of this fuel type within the context of a simple mode of pottery firing for data applicable to studies of ancient pottery manufacture.

Scientific attempts to understand early prosthesis manufacturing techniques are rare. The academic research of artificial limbs has been limited to the historical analysis of documentary sources. This area still remains a fairly under-researched topic even under the more recent developments of disability studies (Childress, 1985). There may be many reasons for this; the organic materials used in manufacturing limbs such as wood and leather, mean few prostheses survive archaeologically in situ, and disability was until more recent times hidden or not spoken of (Sweet, 2016). Our understanding of the early artificial limb manufacturing industry, has been based primarily on drawings, patent applications and rudimentary manufacturing methodologies. However, that all societies (past and present) follow a single technological trajectory just at different rates of progress would be an inaccurate assumption (Pfaffenberger, 1992). Therefore, the employment of experimental methods can aid the exploration of technological questions surrounding consumer networks, use and discard patterns, craft specialisation and workforce requirements.

Boundaries are always an interesting topic. In the framework of the current heritage buzz word decolonization, boundaries might also represent what is “colonised” in every cultural enterprise, or to be more specific, how and why some form of power obtruded its authority, and to what extent. Like almost all other museums, Colonial Williamsburg deals with the past. The past has its own boundaries that make the framework even more specific, to the period of early American history. Yet, CW’s mission is clear about being a dot in timeline – a bridge between a “chosen” past and future yet to be created. The paper is a result of a month-long research project granted through the fellowship of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and EXARC.

Earth ovens may relate to different ancestral cooking techniques, serving specific needs and functions. In eastern and south-eastern Australia, they were a significant element of a thriving pre-colonial Aboriginal culture. However, today it is extremely rare to find such structures well preserved. Based on archaeological and historical records, we re-created an earth oven with clayey heating elements in Jadawadjali Country, central western Victoria, and cooked a culturally significant Aboriginal staple food: the yam daisy or murnong. The aims of the experiment were to explore the cooking process and investigate the nutritional implications of using this earthen structure for cooking these tuberous roots. Nutritional analyses of fresh and cooked samples of Microseris scapigera (used in place of the traditional M. walteri), reveal that the cooking process does not increase the chemical potential energy, but softens and sweetens the solid matter, perhaps providing a desirable and warm baby food. Detailed carbohydrate analysis revealed that the M. scapigera is a good source of prebiotic inulin-type fructans (2.71 g/100 g wet wt).

Artificially patinated copper alloys are found archaeologically in polychrome artefacts from the 19th century BC Egypt to historical and contemporary Japan. The unusual colour variations observed in these patinas, ranging from black to blue to purple, is due to a minor amount of gold (Au) and silver (Ag) in their copper matrix, whereas accompanying elements such as tin (Sn), iron (Fe), and arsenic (As) might influence workability, hue or shine. Their patina consists of cuprite (Cu2O) however sometimes it may also contain tenorite (CuO). The process in which artificial patination was achieved in prehistory is unknown, however specialized knowledge exists for the production of the modern Japanese irogane alloys. As part of a master’s thesis project (Talma, 2015), the goal was to explore possible patination agents feasible for the Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age, and to investigate observations put forward by Giumlia-Mair and Lehr (1998; 2003). Production of 4 arsenical copper alloys and material analysis (ICP-OES, SEM [ICP-OES: Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectroscopy; SEM: Scanning Electron Microscope.]) was done in laboratories of Deutsches-Bergbau Museum in Bochum (Germany), while 4 arsenic free copper alloys were cast in a goldsmith’s workshop (Birgit Doesborg) in the Netherlands. A polymetallic eutectic was observed in the production of the alloys which raises questions with regard to other experimentally produced samples and production choices in antiquity. Common salt (NaCl) represents one possible patination ingredient to compare with the archaeological material, and corroborates earlier work by other authors. The author is greatly indebted to communication and help from experienced goldsmiths David Loepp (IT), Louis Hankart (NL) and Birgit Doesborg (NL).

Ancient Egyptian animal mummies and votive statuettes were often wrapped in linen, concealing the contents and conferring sanctity to the remains. Mummy autopsies were commonplace in 19th century Europe, when ancient mummified bodies were unwrapped to reveal what lay beneath the linen bandages. Similarly, votive statuettes were often unwrapped upon discovery, either by archaeologists or grave-robbers. Modern radiographic techniques allow researchers to better understand the nature of their contents and construction in a completely non-invasive manner. Researchers at the University of Manchester have successfully mummified animal cadavers using techniques witnessed through the radiographic study of ancient mummies, yet how these artefacts were wrapped, often elaborately, remains unknown. In February 2016, combining the expertise of conservators, textile specialists and artists, a modern mummy was ‘re-rolled’ at Manchester Museum in the UK marking the 40th anniversary of the unwrapping of Mummy 1770.

Archaeological time travel, or experiencing the past through re-enactment, virtual reality, popular culture or other means, is presented from multiple perspectives in The Archaeology of Time Travel. Experiencing the Past in the 21st Century, edited by Bodil Petersson and Cornelius Holtorf. The book is freely available in pdf format.

Black powder hand grenades are ubiquitous for several European archaeological sites between 1600 AD and 1900 AD. Unfortunately, many archaeological reports only note the presence of hand grenades in artifact inventories, perhaps denoting some minor measurements. Only one report contains a full assessment of grenades, but this was performed by treasure hunters who excavated the pirate ship Whydah. No known primary historical sources describe grenade production, size regulation, storage, or shipping practices. For this study, a system of measurement was developed to compare three collections. Measurements from those collections were used to replicate hand grenade shells, the focus of this paper. Two types were made, one glass and the other cast iron. These replicas will later be used in controlled detonations on a federal blast range to record the blast in full spectrum. That analysis will be used for a comprehensive medical evaluation to determine the lethality of these types of hand grenades.

The annual conference of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) is an important venue for the presentation of any type of archaeology in Europe. This year, the conference was attended by about 1,800 archaeologists including about ten EXARC members. EXARC was involved in organising two sessions, one on live interpretation, and the other on experimental archaeology. We intend to be present again next year in Barcelona.

The periodical "Experimentelle Archäologie" is issued by Gunter Schöbel and the "Europäische Vereinigung zur Förderung der experimentellen Archäologie", together with Pfahlbaumuseum Unteruhldingen from Germany. Issue no. 15 includes 223 pages of text, with numerous colour photographs. The content of the issue is divided into three main parts: Experiment und Versuch (Experiment and Attempt), Rekonstruierende Archäologie (Reconstruction Archaeology) and Vermittlung und Theorie (Interaction and Theory).

Between the 1st to the 12th of June 2017, a huge festival called "Times and Epochs" (Времена и эпохи - Cобрание) was organized in Moscow. This was the occassion to gather participants not only from Russia, but also from many other countries, and demonstrate the best of reenactment to festival visitors. Two EXARC members, Milica Tapavicki-Ilic (also the EXARC board member) and Arturs Tomsons attended the festival to present and promote EXARC, but also to experience such a significant festival.

In field archaeology, the importance of non-diagnostic sherds is often overlooked. This archaeological experiment suggests that archaeologists should take into greater consideration, contexts where sherds are found grouped together in close proximity. The authors tested a series of experimental drops of modern pots which were treated as substitutions for ancient examples. Dispersion patterns of the pot sherds were analyzed to determine if it was possible to understand how vessels were used, and thus broken and discarded by people in ancient times. Amongst the variables tested were various vessel sizes filled with different contents which were dropped from varying heights. The results produced interesting findings that could indeed prove useful to archaeologists if they were applied in the field and laboratory. Due to budget constraints and the narrow scope of the project, only preliminary findings were addressed. In future, the authors would encourage other scholars to build upon their promising research which could be beneficial to archaeologists around the world.

Good news: The first African Conference on Experimental Archaeology (ACE) will be held in Johannesburg on the 20th to the 22nd of March 2018. Join us for presentations, posters, mini-workshops, demonstrations and round-table discussions of experiments in an African context!

The book consists of the rewritten essay of a master thesis. The author got his master's degree as a battlefield and conflict archaeologist from the Centre of Battlefield Archaeology at University of Glasgow founded by Professor Dr. Tony Pollard in 2006. I myself have studied at the Centre of Battlefield Archaeology back in 2007, and it was a pleasure to dive back into my old field. It was especially a pleasure as this book is very well written and well researched.

This article aims to show the kind of issues South- African archaeologists have, working with public archaeology. A past that was segregated earlier should now be shared, but sharing a common past includes alternative perspectives on history and archaeology, for the archaeologist as well as for the public.

Baskets are among the most ancient of human artefacts. Everyone is familiar with their most common functions as containers for transport and storage. When told that baskets have also served as cooking vessels, most people will be unable to conceive of how this is possible, yet this was a primary function of baskets for many cultures of the past, and some until the present. The surprising key to this method is in the use of hot rocks, which cook the contents of the basket quickly and efficiently without charring or damaging the container. Though baskets are discussed here, the technique is transferable to any organic container, including those made of bark and leather (Nelson 2010).

The eye-catching and colourful cover illustration of the Egyptian creator-God Ptah, fully-equipped with modern toolkit, promises an informative journey into experiential and experimental archaeology in Egyptology. In the introductory chapter to a collection of papers presented at a conference in 2010, Graves-Brown provides a good overview and definitions of the two approaches, clearing up many controversial misconceptions. Succeeding chapters can be broadly categorized into a number of diverse topics covering woodworking, stone preparation, embalming, textiles and painting materials. The overviews of pioneering experimental work provide a sound basis for some of the other chapters.

In the last quarter of the 1900s, John Coles (1979) and Peter Reynolds (1999) introduced the subject of experimental archaeology, which has gained significant momentumin the past few years. The discipline has become essential for reconstructing past technologies, in addition to supporting archaeological theory. For this reason, experimental archaeology has become increasingly popular in academic programmes, with masters and PhDs being offered on the subject at several universities in the United Kingdom, as well as being taught as a study unit within the undergraduate degree programme. These programmes not only provide a hands-on approach for interacting with archaeological material, but also give students grounded knowledge on past technologies.

Volume number 13 of the periodical Experimentelle Archäologie in Europa. Bilanz contains 215 pages with 18 different articles on a wide variety of subjects. The contributions are presented in four sections: Experiment and Test, Reconstruction Archaeology, Theory and Emanation’, and Short reports and Annual reports. Judging from the short introductory words by Professor Dr. Gunter Schöbel, president of the European Association for the Advancement of Archaeology by Experiment (EXAR), this publication is directed to a professional audience as well as to the public. The journal represents the proceedings of the 11th meeting of EXAR held in Linz, Austria in 2013. As such, it is a recent overview of archaeological experiments. Most authors come from Austria and Southern Germany or are affiliated with institutions in these regions. Notable exceptions are one Danish contribution and three from Bulgarian colleagues or with their participation. Although mostly written in German, the journal seemingly tries to appeal to an international readership by heading each article with an English abstract as well as including two articles written in English. These are headed with a German abstract.

The ninth Experimental Archaeology Conference was held over 16-18 January 2015 at University College Dublin (Ireland). A large gathering of nearly 200 delegates from more than 25 countries across the EU and the Americas was hosted by UCD School of Archaeology and the Irish National Heritage Park. Twenty papers and 26 posters were presented, while Professor William Schindler gave the keynote address.

The paper summarizes preliminary findings of a research project on the use of museum theatre in Greek open-air sites, as a part of a PhD thesis. The research focuses on the exploration of the development, use and function of museum theatre in Greek open-air sites based on available secondary resources and primary research, which included site visits, interviews and data analysis. The research summarized here was carried out in 2012 and presented in September 2012, in the OpenArch Conference "Museum interpretation and public engagement: Challenges and opportunities", in Höllviken, Sweden.

According to James Mathieu in 2002, experimental archaeology is “A subfield of archaeological research which employs a number of different methods, techniques, analyses and approaches within the context of a controllable imitative experiment to replicate past phenomena (from objects to systems) in order to generate and test hypotheses to provide or enhance analogies for archaeological interpretation”. This is still a valid definition, though one can see a rise for a “new kind” of experimental archaeology. One where craftspeople combine their knowledge and skills with archaeologists, where there is a more humanistic touch. This allows for finding anomalies which can change our ideas of the past through experience and it also allows for a greater co-operation between academics and open-air centers just as EXARC is doing.

The publication in 1979 of the John Coles’ book Experimental Archaeology can be called the vademecum of the experimental archaeology. Many particular experiments have been published since then, such as A Bibliography of Replicative Experiments in Archaeology (Graham et al. 1972) and Bibliography of Archaeology I: experiments, lithic technology and petrography (Hester and Heizer 1973), among others, but there was a need in the field of experimental archaeology to update and to put together new experiences and new realms of research. This is what Jodi Reeves Flores and Roeland Paardekooper have done in the book Experiments Past published by Sidestone Press in Leiden.

This useful text brings together recent thinking about museum theatre and the performance of heritage, offering a range of international case studies to its readers as evidence of the discipline’s usefulness in interpreting the past for visitors. Described as ‘inspiring and challenging’, the book successfully delivers a wide discourse on the definition and value of performance and heritage and relates them to the ‘new museology’, recognising the role of the audience/visitor in constructing their own meaning.

The 4th Annual Reconstructive and Experimental Archaeology Conference was recently held in Gastonia, NC at the Schiele Museum of Natural History. The conference theme was Education and Reconstructive and Experimental Archaeology.

This paper takes the form of a critical analysis of archaeological experiments using spinning tools. The archaeological experiments regarding whorl weight and wool spinning of the Tools and Textiles – Texts and Contexts project, through the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre for Textile Research, are examined with respect to a number of variables. These variables include the experience of the technicians, the details of the reconstructed spindles and technical aspects of preparation and spinning methods. The variables and their implications are insufficiently addressed in the technical reports of the experiments, and further consideration and elucidation would enhance the interpretation of experimental results. Archaeological experimentation of this type would also benefit from the incorporation of ethnographic observation to provide contextual information and comparative behavioural data. The assumptions inherent in modern approaches to fibre technology and their influence on archaeological experimentation are considered, with a view toward encouraging a more self-conscious approach to the analysis of fibre experiments.

The conference unofficially began in the Royal Blenheim pub at 6 pm on Thursday evening. Conference staff and attendees filtered in throughout the evening eventually filling the back room. The pub had excellent food and a good variety of local ales. Those who managed to brave the flooding introduced themselves and got to know other attendees. It was a nice way to start the conference since I did not know many of the others. Hearing about others’ research whetted my appetite for the upcoming presentations.

Question: What has 40,000 legs, likes to tell stories and pops up all over Europe? Answer: An archaeological open-air museum. OK, not the most brilliant riddle in the world, but the point is that with publication of Dr Paardekooper’s monograph we now, finally, have a secure databank of facts and figures relating to archaeological open-air museums in Europe, including management structures, key financial indicators, visitor profiles and visitor numbers (average of 20,000 visitors a year per site, hence those 40,000 busy little feet).

Report on a Study-visit to Skansen Open-Air Museum,Stockholm / Sweden, Summer 2013. One aim of the five year EU-funded Culture Project OpenArch is to encourage cooperation between archaeological open-air museums in Europe and ethnological open-air museums who have a long history of presenting and handicraft to the public in practical ways. It is not only interesting what and how they present different skills, but also how museums manage and organise the whole educational work.

The Cherokee Indians were a large Southeastern tribe who occupied land in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Virginia. During the Historic Period, the Cherokee were one of the Five Civilized Tribes and even had their own writing system developed by Sequoyah. When gold was discovered in Cherokee occupied lands, the Cherokee were forced to relocate to a reservation in Oklahoma. A group of ‘renegade’ Cherokee under Tsali hid in the mountains of North Carolina and refused to go on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma. Tsali’s death paved the way for the Qualla Boundary or Eastern Cherokee Reservation to be formed in the North Carolina Mountains. The surviving Cherokee from the Trail of Tears set up the Western Cherokee Reservation in Oklahoma. Although I have visited the reservation in Oklahoma, I have spent more time with the Cherokees on the Qualla Boundary in North Carolina (Woodward 1963).

For a BBC program in 1954, Sir Mortimer Wheeler tasted a reconstruction of the Tollund Man’s last supper, which turned out to be a tasteless mush. This led him to announce: "I believe that the poor chap of Tollund committed suicide because he could stand his wife's cooking no longer!" While archaeology-inspired cookery is an important and attractive way of involving the public, it also has some drawbacks. How authentic can we be? What about health and safety? Should we only cook what the public will like?