review

Conference Review: European Textile Forum 2016

Heather Hopkins (UK)
EXARC Journal Issue 2017/3
Mixed Matters
The annual European Textile Forum took place from 7-13 November 2016. This year the focus was ‘mistakes’, the unintended consequences in textile manufacture or preservation that reveal more about the artefact, the techniques used and its makers than a ‘perfect’ piece could do. The programme was rich in practical experiments..

Event Review: Academic Workshop on Re-enactment, Replication & Reconstruction

Roeland Paardekooper (NL)
EXARC Journal Issue 2017/3
Mixed Matters
In early June 2017, an academic workshop took place in Leiden, the Netherlands, to stimulate research bridging the natural sciences with the humanities and social sciences. Forty-five international scientists joined from the fields of art history, archaeology, conservation, musicology and anthropology...

Book Review: The Arte Militaire. The Application of 17th Century Military Manuals to Conflict Archaeology by Warwick Louth

Thit Birk Petersen (DK)
EXARC Journal Issue 2017/3
Mixed Matters
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...

Book Review: Forensic Archaeology: the Application of Comparative Excavation Methods and Recording Systems by Laura Evis

Ceilidh Lerwick (USA)
EXARC Journal Issue 2017/3
Mixed Matters
This book is a rewrite of Evis’ PhD thesis compiled between October 2010 and March 2014 at Bournemouth University (University of Exeter 2017). The study was an evaluation of the archaeological excavation methods and recording systems used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australasia and North America...

Conference Review: Fields of Dreams - the EAC10 Conference, Leiden 2017

Rena Maguire (UK)
EXARC Journal Issue 2017/2
Mixed Matters

The 10th Experimental Archaeology Conference of EXARC took place in Leiden, Netherlands, over three days; 20th to the 22nd April 2017, in Leiden University’s Archaeology department. The first two days hosted a diverse range of presentations from all over the globe, while the final day consisted of a visit to Vlaardingen prehistoric house-building project and Eindhoven Museum.

Book Review: Representation of the Past in Public Spheres. Experiencing the Past: the Reconstruction and Recreation of History at Colonial Williamsburg by Martine Teunissen

Evelyn Fidler (CA)
EXARC Journal Issue 2017/2
Mixed Matters
When I read the title, I particularly looked forward to reading this book and I was not disappointed. I am glad I was allowed to review it. Colonial Williamsburg has been held up to me as an example to follow when interpreting in living history and open air museums and also criticised when they don’t get it right...

Book Review: The Movement - Comments on the Booklet How to Organize a Historical Event involving Reenactment Groups

Ingrid Galadriel Aune Nilsen (NO)
EXARC Journal Issue 2017/2
Mixed Matters

What defines re-enactment and living history?

As I believe that a clarification of terms and the contextualisation of matters is a good starting point for any investigation, this question marks the beginning of my guide (Aune Nilsen 2015:6-7). Talking to organisers, museum workers and re-enactors in Scandinavia, I have noted that they all have different answers to this question.

Book Review: the Lifecycle of Structures in Experimental Archaeology – An Object Biography Approach by L. Hurcombe and P. Cunningham

Peter Bye-Jensen (UK)
EXARC Journal Issue 2017/1
Mixed Matters
This book is made up of 16 papers that are a collection of results from a European Culture Project (OpenArch) that ran from 2010-2015. It was edited by Linda Hurcombe and Penny Cunningham. This work is dedicated to the late shipwright Brian Cumby, who was deeply involved with making replicas of several prehistoric boats...

Book Review: das "jungsteinzeitliche" Langhaus in Asparn an der Zaya by E. Lauermann (ed)

Wulf Hein (DE)
EXARC Journal Issue 2017/1
Mixed Matters
In 1970, the Archaeological State Museum of Lower Austria, founded by F. Hampl in the town of Asparn an der Zaya, Austria, some 60 km north from Vienna, was officially declared open. The finds excavated from the region were put on display in the castle of Asparn, whilst the living conditions of prehistoric people were...

Book Review: Management of Open-Air Museums. Workpackage 2: “Improvement of Museum Management” by Jakobsen, B & Burrow, S (eds).

Paul Edward Montgomery (UK)
EXARC Journal Issue 2017/1
Mixed Matters
The five year OpenArch project concluded in 2015. It was an effort to create a permanent partnership between Archaeological Open-Air Museums (or, AOAMs) in Europe. The project saw eleven participating organisations come together to – among other objectives – produce work packages that would be accessible to people with an interest in the workings of AOAMs...