(re)construction

Introduction

Creating reconstructions of the past has occupied a central position within the archaeological discipline from its early days (Clark, 2010, p.64). Reconstructions are often considered essential for visualizing the past and for translating abstract archaeological remains into more comprehensible narratives for the larger audience. Such visualisations, in the broad range of the word, can be more easily and readily understood than a complicated textual description.

Project incipience

The link established between EXARC and the Scientific Research Laboratory "Thracology" (Moldova State University) inspired the initiation of the first major project in the field of experimental archeology for the Republic of Moldova. The purpose of this project was to organize an experimental archeological open-air park in Saharna-Ţiglău (Nicic, 2009). 

Under Starters Orders: An introduction to the experiment

Horses and equitation are often associated with Ireland; coins of the pre-Euro modern period displayed Irish hunters, and florid Victorian art imagined the heroes of the Táin (the early medieval Irish saga of gods, bulls and heroes) in chariots drawn by fiery steeds. That image has persisted despite archaeological evidence, or lack thereof. There is a considerable lack of understanding of the prehistoric use of the horse, and even the types of animals present.

The experimental work directly related to the archaeological evidence turned out to be essential to the investigation, but much of it was too technical for the original publication. Experimental archaeology is its proper context, and I presented the posters this article is based on at the EXARC conference in Leiden in April 2017 (Kruseman, 2017a) and at the KEME symposium in Copenhagen in August 2017 (Kruseman 2017b). Thank you to the organizers and participants!