* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Archaeolink

Blobrana · L

Living in the Past, Iron age reality

Living in the Past was a fly on the wall documentary programme aired by the BBC in 1978 which followed a group of 15 young volunteers recreating an Iron Age settlement, where they sustained themselves for a year, equipped only with the tools, crops and livestock that would have been available in Britain in the 2nd Century BC.
Produced at BBC Bristol by John Percival for BBC Two it consisted of twelve fifty minute episodes airing from 23 February to 11 May 1978.
A follow-up programme aired in the same year Living in the Present discovered what the participants had thought of the experiment and how they were adjusting back to modern day living.

Blobrana · L

The glow of a giant burning wickerwork figure lit up the sky last night as a fire festival took place in the Aberdeenshire countryside.
More than 1,000 spectators turn out each year to watch the burning of the 40ft effigy at the Archaeolink prehistory park as dusk falls across Oyne.
Read more

Blobrana · L

Archaeolink Prehistory Park

Blobrana · L

RE: Archaeolink

Blobrana · L

A Quiet corner of Aberdeenshire will be the scene of fierce hand-to-hand warfare this weekend, as a top tourist attraction hosts its annual battle re-enactment event.
Costumed warriors dressed as Romans, Picts, Vikings and mediaeval knights will clash swords and smash shields as part of the crowd-puller.
Visitors will also be able to take part in activities and craft demonstrations at the site which features recreations of a Bronze Age smithy and Iron Age farm.
During September, Archaeolink will be helping to mark Scottish Archaeology Month with a series of weekend experiments and activities with archaeologists.

Blobrana · L

Hands-on history will be on offer to visitors at Aberdeenshire's prehistory park throughout next week as part of National Archaeology Week.

"We will be offering people of all ages the opportunity to try out ancient crafts, and get a real feel for history" - Jason Hunt, head of interpretation at the Archaeolink centre at Oyne.

From tomorrow, costumed guides and ancient crafts experts will launch a week of activities focussing on the Bronze Age.
Archaeolink's recreated ancient huts and artefacts will provide the atmospheric backdrop to everything from sessions in pottery making to metal craft, using early techniques.

Visitors will be able to watch demonstrations and also try their skills in creating everything from beakers to jewellery.

"The highlight of the week will come next weekend when a group of volunteers will be joining workshops from 10am to 5pm in making bronze cutting axes" - Jason Hunt.

The teams will be smelting the bronze at a replica Bronze Age smith on the hillside site, then moulding and tempering axe heads to authentic patterns.
Visitors will be able to watch the entire process, from casting the molten metal through to the cold forging and annealing process.

"It will be a real archaeological experiment, and fascinating experience for axe makers and audience alike" - Jason Hunt.

Source: The Press and Journal

Blobrana · L

Archaeolink, a prehistory park in northeast Scotland hope to launch a replica stone age boat to test whether theories on ancient design hold water. A 20ft craft, similar to those used by Neolithic people to arrive and settle in the area and sail on lochs, is taking shape at the Archaeolink Prehistory Park, near Oyne. The big test for the boat-building crew will come in July when the vessel faces sea trials at the Portsoy Boat Festival in Aberdeenshire.

"We will be taking it out of the harbour, powering it with simple pole oars. We may add on shoulder-bones from cattle to provide a blade and better propulsion. There would have been no cloth for sails, so it will all be based on what was available in prehistoric times." - Mark Keighley, Archaeolink's deputy interpretations manager.

The boat-builders have no precise archaeological evidence to use in the reconstruction. Their design is a larger and simpler version of the traditional coracle. Once the willow frame is finished, five cow hides will be sewn over it. Birch tar will then provide a completely waterproof coating and seal the stitching. The result will be a robust craft that will take about three-quarters of a tonne of ballast and a crew of about a dozen. Expert coracle-maker Peter Faulkner, from Shropshire, is supervising the project.
Another replica - this time of a building - is also under construction at the park. Work has started on a Mesolithic hut, based on 8,000-year-old remains excavated from sites across the UK, including Moray. The wigwam-shaped structure is being created from logs and support timbers, roofed with turf and heated by a central open fire. Archaeolink will be hosting a series of events, from combat displays to hands-on ancient cookery and pottery, over the coming months.
The centre is just off the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road, north of Inverurie. It is open from 10am-5pm daily.

Source: The Press and Journal