Archaeo-Tech: Spring 2022

Archaeo-Tech: Spring 2022 (19-24 April)

The partnership that the UCL Institute of Archaeology and Archaeology South-East have established with Butser Ancient Farm offers a valuable opportunity for students to get involved with Experimental Archaeology and Public Engagement at a popular heritage site.  This was our chance to provide current 1st and 2nd year undergraduates with an alternative opportunity to go to Butser after two years of our usual induction week activities in the Autumn term being disrupted due to COVID.  

Matthew Pope co-ordinated a dedicated group to provide an engaging week of activities. Thirty-five students attended, and they benefited from good weather!  

A very warm welcome was received from the Butser staff, including Institute of Archaeology alumna Therese Kearns, who has taken up the post of Archaeologist at Butser.  Clare Wood managed all the cooking providing breakfast, lunch and supper to two student groups that each stayed for three days and two nights.  A range of different activities were run including landscape walks provided by Matthew Pope, Palaeolithic rock painting and carving organised by Letty Ingrey, copper smelting and casting with Michael Charlton, and hut construction and daubing with Therese Kearns.

Alice Dowsett, Paul Wordsworth and Bill Sillar co-ordinated the construction of Roman Kiln – based on an early 2nd century kiln from the Medway Estuary originally excavated in 1975 by Ian Jackson.  This was financed by a grant from the SHS Dean’s Strategic fund which allowed us to work with Archaeology South-East staff, Louise Rayner and Anna Doherty, to study the pottery assemblage and kiln furniture from the original excavation and also to work with a potter, Alison Sandeman, using a Roman style kick wheel to begin to make some pottery to fill the kiln. 

• Read more about the building of the Roman kiln here

We will be returning to Butser from 29 September to 2 October 2022 with our ‘normal’ Archaeo-Tech for all our new 1st year undergraduate students when we will be firing up the new kiln. September 2022 will mark the 40th year of this course, originally organised by Peter Drewett in 1982. 

Read more

• Introducing Archaeo-Tech