weapon

An Experimental Study of Lesions Observed in Bog Body Funerary Performances

Tiffany Treadway and
Clement Twumasi (UK)
EXARC Journal Issue 2021/3
Experimental Archaeology
The analysis of sharp force trauma has usually been reserved for prehistoric osteological case studies. Bog bodies, on the other hand, due to the excellent preservation of the soft tissues, provide a unique example of visible lesions. This type of preservation of prehistoric soft tissue trauma that would otherwise be predominantly absent from osteological remains allows archaeologists to understand better the ...

Throwing Stick to Spear Thrower - Study of Ethnographic Artefacts and Experimentation

Luc Bordes (FR)
EXARC Journal Issue 2020/2
Ancient Technology

An evolution that might have let some traces in the features of some particular Australian Aboriginal wooden implements.

Background

Short review of the antiquity of the three main types of prehistoric projectile weaponry

The bow, an invention reflecting a new hunting environment

Embossing Technique between III and II Century BC: Experiments and First Results

Andrea Moretti,
Andrea Mariani,
Livio Asta and
Tommaso Gallo (IT)
EXARC Journal Issue 2020/1
Ancient Technology
11th EAC Trento 2019
***The purpose of this paper is to explain our experience with the process of experimental archaeology, involving the reproduction and field testing of embossed decorations, inspired to archaeological finds. As a re-enactment group focused on Celts and Ligurians of III – II century BC we reproduce items and/or ornaments...

“A Mirror for Men” – Reconstructing a Medieval Polishing Bench and Putting it to the Test

Florian Messner (AT)
EXARC Journal Issue 2020/1
Ancient Technology
11th EAC Trento 2019
***In the late 5th century AD, the famous Ostrogoth Theoderic the Great received a truly regal gift from the king of the Warini: he was given highly elaborated swords, richly decorated and able to cut through armour. Their fullers (long grooves along the flat side of the blade to reduce weight and to gain stability...

The Arrowheads of the Squared-Mouthed-Pottery Culture: Reconstruction and Shooting Experiment

Maddalena Sartori (IT)
EXARC Journal Issue 2019/4
Experimental Archaeology
11th EAC Trento 2019
***This international experimental project focused on the production of replicas of different models of flat-retouched flint arrowheads (stemmed, with flat base, and ogives -with rounded base-) in use within the Neolithic Squared-Mouthed-Pottery Culture (SMP) of Northern Italy. The aim was to test their efficiency in order to understand if...

The Iron Age Shepherd Sling

David Jackson (UK)
EXARC Journal Issue 2019/4
Ancient Technology
The purpose of this experiment was to examine the shepherd sling to form an understanding as to why it would appear to be the most dominant missile weapon of Iron Age Britain (Harding, 2012, p.194). The experiment consisted of making and using the sling, testing its range and accuracy to reveal its strengths and limitations. This experiment was also intended to introduce a different interpretation...

Shooting Experiments with Early Medieval Arrowheads

Holger Riesch (DE)
EXARC Journal Issue 2019/3
Mixed Matters
In the Merovingian era (5th-8th century AD) a lot of variously shaped iron arrowheads were used by the Franks, Alemannians and Bavarians, who dwelled in the region known today as Germany, Austria and Switzerland. As archaeological artefacts, two-winged arrowheads with rhombic, willow-leaf or triangular blades represent a standard Germanic type. Iron bodkin and needle-shaped tips are also...

X-Ray Tomography and Infrared Spectrometry for the Analysis of Throwing Sticks & Boomerangs

Luc Bordes (FR)
EXARC Journal Issue 2019/3
Experimental Archaeology

In 2009, confronted to the study of throwing sticks collections from several museums and private collections (including more than three hundreds artefacts) and the need to evaluate their aerodynamic and functions, I developed a throwing stick classification and a methodology to measure their characteristics (Bordes, 2014). This approach is complementary to the gathering of ethnographic or archaeological contextual data to confirm or invalidate hypotheses about theirs functions. 

Skills Shortage: A Critical Evaluation of the Use of Human Participants in Early Spear Experiments

Annemieke Milks (UK)
EXARC Journal Issue 2019/2
Experimental Archaeology
Hand-delivered spears are the earliest clear hunting technology in the archaeological record, with origins from 400,000 years ago, before the evolution of our own species. Experimental archaeological approaches to early weaponry continue to grow, and both controlled and naturalistic experiments are making significant contributions to interpreting such technologies...