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EDITORIAL
December 2020
1
People of the experiment
A graduate of the Instute of Archaeology
NCU and a long-term member of the Society
for Prehistoric Archaeology. She specializes
in Stone Age hunng techniques, especially
in the int arrowheads and geometric inserts
of the projecle weapons. She was a parci-
pant and organizer of several dozen educa-
onal events in the eld of experimental
archaeology that took place throughout Po-
land between 2000 and 2005.
Osipowicz, Nowak, 2017. Complexity of use-wear
traces formed on int projecle points : a voice in
discussion, Cuad. Prehist. Arqueol. Univ. Granada,
No. 27, 83-109.
Number 12 (2020/4)
D
ear Readers, conducng research in the eld of
experimental archaeology is extremely dicult
during the Covid pandemic, and in the case of
our centre, most of the projects in this area
have been temporarily stopped. Therefore, in this issue, we
present only our past works, with the hope that the next issue of our Newsleer that is
planned to be published in spring 2021 will bring the possibility to present the results of
some fresh research. The rst arcle in this number is about one of the oldest experi-
ments carried out in our centre, i.e. about Kazimierz Żurowski's research on methods of
soening osseous raw materials. In the second text, we present the experimental works
carried out during the two-week camp organised in 2004 by the members of Society for
Prehistoric Experimental Archaeology. The last arcle presents recently conducted expe-
riments with casng bronze axes. On behalf of the Editorial Board, I wish you a pleasant
reading and all the best in the New Year!
--
dr hab. Grzegorz Osipowicz, prof. NCU
e-mail: grezegor@umk.pl
dr Justyna Orłowska
MA Justyna Kuriga
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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900700
Acid or water? The history of the first studies on methods of softening of the
osseous raw materials carried out at the Institute of Archaeology NCU
2
B
one and antler are one of the basic raw materials
used by man throughout history. For a long me, the
studies on methods of soening these raw materials
have been an important part of the experimental
work carried out in the Instute of Archaeology, NCU in Toruń.
The rst researcher in our centre to take up this topic was Prof.
Kazimierz Żurowski (Fig. 1), who in the years 1953-1976 was the
head of the Department of Archaeology of the Polish Lands at
the NCU. The starng point for his research were numerous
nds of bone and antler products, as well as semi-nished pro-
ducts and producon wastes discovered at the medieval sites,
such as a rich collecon of antler and bone artefacts with nume-
rous traces of processing from Gniezno (Fig. 2).
The idea for the experiment was born in Żurowski's mind as a
result of an accidental observaon of the soening of a spoon
made of antler which was le for a long me in mustard, which
contained vinegar. In the rst experiment carried out in 1951 in
Ostrów Lednicki (Żurowski 1953), natural plant acid was used for
soening. Among the acid-containing plants, hogweed
(Heracleum Sphondylium) and sorrel (Rumex Crispus and Rumex
acetosella) can be menoned. The seeds of these species were
discovered in the layers of medieval sites such as Gniezno, Po-
znań or Santok.
In the described experiment, fresh sorrel leaves were used,
which were chopped into a pulp. Then, an aempt to cut a frag-
ment of the non-soened deer antler with a knife was made -
without any eect. The next step was to place the same piece of
antler in the sorrel pulp. Aer a week, another aempt of
cung was made, this me successful. It was soened to a
depth of about 3 mm.
Fig. 1. Prof. Kazimierz Żurowski.
EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN NCU Number 12 (2020/4)
Fig. 2. Few examples of fragments of antler with knife cuts from Gniezno
(photo by K. Żurowski).
The antler was placed back in the sorrel for a further ve weeks,
aer which complete soening of the material was observed
allowing for easy treatment (Fig. 3). Two days aer taking it out
of the sorrel, the antler slowly began to harden, and on the fo-
urth day, it completely regained its original hardness.
For Żurowski, the successful course of the rst experiment
proved that the soening of osseous raw materials with plant
acids could be used in the Middle Ages. As he emphasized, this
process was simple, it did not require any special equipment,
only soaking the raw material unl the item was nished. In his
opinion, the raw material could be pre-cut or broken into smaller
fragments to accelerate soening, because the internal porosity
of the antler facilitates the absorpon of acid. He considered
numerous nds such as features with deposits of antler frag-
ments as indirect evidence for the use of such treatments.
The results of the rst experiment and its posive recepon from
the archaeological community encouraged Żurowski to conduct
further research in this eld (Żurowski 1974). In the following
years, he tested substances such as sauerkraut, sour milk and
sour buermilk. In their case, he noced that the raw material
was soened 2-3 days aer immersion, and in his opinion, sour
milk gave the best results. He also made aempts to soen the
antler by boiling it in water for many hours (7-11 hours), which,
as he emphasized, had a paral eect, as the raw material qu-
ickly hardened as it cooled. The next experiments concerned
soening the bones and giving them a specic shape. The basis
for these works were the nds of Neolithic arm bracelets made
of bone (Fig. 4A). In his experiment, he used a plate made of ox
rib, which he soened by soaking in sour milk. Then the soened
plate was slowly bent to the desired form. The next step was to
e it to secure the shape and let it dry. As Żurowski noted, the
arm bracelet that he made hardened and retained its shape (Fig.
4B), and the aempt to straighten it dry failed.
The pioneering works of Kazimierz Żurowski have been connued
in our Instute to this day. An example of this is, among others, a
book "Methods of soening bone and antler in the Stone Age in
the light of archaeological experiments and use-wear analysis"
wrien by Grzegorz Osipowicz (Osipowicz 2005), as well as nu-
merous experiments in this area, including new research on so-
ening techniques and their idencaon on historic materials,
the results of which we hope to present soon.
Metody rozmiękczania kości i poroża w epoce ka-
mienia w świetle doświadczeń archeologicznych oraz analiz traseologicz-
nych, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń.
Uwagi na temat obróbki rogu w okresie wczesnośre-
dniowiecznym, Przegląd Archeologiczny, t. IX, s. 395-401.
Zmiękczanie poroża i kości stosowane przez wytwór-
ców w Starożytności i we wczesnym średniowieczu, Acta Universitas
Nicolai Copernici, Archeologia, z. 4, s. 3-23.
Fig. 3. Cung the soened fragments of deer antler with a knife
(photo by K. Żurowski)
3
EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN NCU Number 12 (2020/4)
Fig. 4. A - Neolithic arm bracelets from Brześć Kujawski, district Wło-
cławek (by K. Jażdzewski) B - arm bracelet made of ox rib bone, so-
ened in sour milk (photo by K. Żurowski)
EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN NCU EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN NCU
4
Number 12 (2020/4)
So recently and at the same time so long ago...
The second two-weeks experimental archaeology camp of the
Society for Prehistoric Experimental Archaeology. Spring 2004.
5
2
004 was an evenul year for members of the Society
for Prehistoric Experimental Archaeology. There was a
generaonal change in Society, which meant lots of
new ideas and new energy, but also extra work for
the old members teaching the new "fry" how to sciencally
conduct experimental research. At the Instute of Archaeology
NCU, it was slowly planned to formally establish the Laboratory
of Traceology, which needed many experimental tools from va-
rious raw materials used for various acvies for its research.
Thanks to them, a database of products of this type was to be
created, being a comparave material used during microscopic
analysis of artefacts. All these factors contributed to the shape
of the experiment program, which was planned and carried out
during a two-week experimental camp organized in spring of
this year at the Ethnographic Museum in Toruń. 10 members of
the Society for Prehistoric Experimental Archaeology aended.
One of the most important experiments performed successfully
during the event was the producon of birch tar without the use
of ceramic vessels. (Fig. 1). The goal was to develop a method
which uses in the Stone Age would have le no clear traces po-
ssible to idenfy in the archaeological materials today.
The designed kiln was built directly on to the ground. For its
construcon, small stones were used, that were sealed with a
mixture of sand, grass and a lile bit of clay. When dry, this
“cover" formed a solid and compact shell, resilient to cracks that
form during the drying or ring of the kiln. Aer the kiln walls
were nally sealed, their thickness was about 8-10 cm. The kiln
had the shape of a dome, it was about 40 cm in diameter and
had a similar height. It was le to dry for about 16 hours. Then,
it was lled up with the fresh birch bark ripped into narrow
strips, covered with a big stone, nally sealed and red. The
ring took about 3-4 hours and was preceded with the process
of preheang, which means keeping a re at the beginning in
some distance from the kiln for about 1,5 hour. When the ring
was nished, the remnants of burned wood and ashes were
removed and the kiln was le for about 3 hours to cool down.
Then, it was opened. The wood tar made with this method is
strongly contaminated with charcoal and the remnants of birch
bark. The detailed descripon of this experiment can be found
here - Osipowicz 2005a).
EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN NCU
Fig. 1. Experimental producon of birch tar without the use of ceramic vessels.
Number 12 (2020/4)
6
The aim of the second important experimental project carried out
during the camp was to reconstruct the method of making holes in
the stone axes known from Europe since the Neolithic. The work
was carried out with the use of reconstructed drilling machine and
drill bits made of long bones of mammals (Fig. 2). The experiment
required the use of a sand bed as drilling material. The work was
successful. As a result, a fairly regular hole was drilled in the stone
axe made of porphyry, 2.9-2.3 cm wide and 2.5 cm deep. A detailed
descripon of these studies can be found in an arcle published
elsewhere (Osipowicz 2005b). Work in this eld was connued by
the members of the SEPA. However, in subsequent experiments,
wooden drills were used.
An interesng, though unfortunately insuciently veried, an expe-
riment conducted during the Camp were the rst aempts at tur-
ning wooden and bone objects with the use of a reconstructed la-
the and int tools. We have already wrien about these works in
one of the previous issues of the Newsleer (1/2019), so we will not
devote more space to them here. It is worth nong, however, that
despite the preliminary nature of these works, they were quite suc-
cessful, both from the perspecve of the eecveness of the recon-
structed device and the uniqueness of the use-wear traces created
with its use on the products of int.
EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN NCU Number 12 (2020/4)
Fig. 2. Experimental project carried out during the camp conected with the reconstrucon of the method of making holes in the stone axes
known from Europe since the Neolithic.
Fig. 3. First aempts at turning wooden and bone objects with the use of
a reconstructed lathe and int tools.
7
As menoned in the introducon, a large part of the experi-
ments carried out during the camp was aimed at creang a da-
tabase of experimental tools used as comparave material du-
ring the traceological analysis of artefacts. This was also the
purpose of the work conducted with the use of obsidian tools.
Several dozen of this type of experiments were carried out, du-
ring which tools made of this material were used for many ac-
vies within the framework of processing such materials as
leather, wood, bone, shells, so stone and ceramics (Fig. 4).
The experiments with bone products had a similar prole. In
this case, however, not only experiments related to the poten-
al funcon of artefacts were realised, but also works with a
technological prole, aimed at reconstrucng the techniques of
processing bone raw materials in prehistory (Fig. 5).
An important part of the work conducted during the camp was
the experimental processing of various types of plants. In this
eld, both typical woodworking was carried out with the use of
int and bone tools and various supporng processes, such as
burning technique. However, many experiments were also reali-
sed with the bark and bast from various tree species, which
were used to produce ropes and various types of containers,
modelled on archaeological nds and ethnographic analogies.
EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN NCU Number 12 (2020/4)
Fig. 5. Experiments with bone
and antler processing.
Fig. 4. Experiments with using tools for various acvies.
8
EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN NCU Number 12 (2020/4)
Fig. 6. Experimental processing of various types of plants.
The last type of experiments conducted at the camp were works
aimed at reconstrucng the prehistoric techniques of amber pro-
cessing, and above all the methods of drilling holes in this mate-
rial, using tools made of various stone and organic materials (Fig.
7).
In total, during the described camp, members of the Society for
Prehistoric Experimental Archaeology performed about 150
dierent archaeological experiments. Some of them lasted a few
minutes, others even 25 workhours. The results of these studies
have already been used in several scienc arcles, and the
experimental tools used during the Camp are used every day at
the Instute of Archaeology of the Nicolaus Copernicus Universi-
ty during microscopic analyses of prehistoric artefacts and the
educaon of students. We would like to thank all parcipants of
the camp for that!
Fig. 7. Experimental processing of amber.
A method of wood tar produc-
on, without the use of ceramics. EuroREA: (Re)
construcon and Experiment in Archaeology – Euro-
pean Plaorm, 2, pp. 11-17.
Drilling through stone
axes. Experimentelle Archäologie in Europa, 4, pp. 115
-122.
The experimental casting of the model of a bronze mould and
socketed axe from Elgiszewo, Poland, 900–700 BC
9
T
he complete two-part bronze casng mould (Fig. 1)
was discovered by chance in 2013 in the village of
Elgiszewo (Golub-Dobrzyń district, north Poland). The
mould was part of the so-called founder’s hoard de-
posited on the southern borders of the territory occupied by the
Chełmno group of the Lusaan culture between 900 and 700 BC
(Kowalski et al. 2019). The well-preserved negave parts indica-
te that the mould was designed to mulply the looped socketed
axes. A widely held belief in Polish archaeology has been that
metal moulds, due to their low thermal resistance, were used
only for preparing wax or lead models. The aim of the presented
experiment was to check if the mould from Elgiszewo was capa-
ble of ensuring direct casng and was in fact used by the Lusa-
an metalworkers for this purpose.
EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN NCU
Fig. 1. Casng mould from Elgiszewo (Poland; courtesy of the Province Historical Monuments Conservaon Oce in Toruń; aer Kowalski et al. 2019).
Number 12 (2020/4)
Described experiment was performed by Łukasz Kowalski, Aldona Garbacz-Klempka, Jacek Gackowski, Dominik Ścibior,
Małgorzata Perek-Nowak, Kamil Adamczak and Piotr Długosz and was described in the arcle entled: Towards direct
casng: Archaeometallurgical insight into a bronze mould from Elgiszewo, Poland, 900–700 BC., published in 2019 in
the journal Archeologické Rozhledy LXXI (Kowalski et al 2019).
10
The experimental casng was divided into two stages and carried
out in the Metal Color Starachowice foundry. In the rst stage, a
model alloy similar in chemical composion to the mould from
Elgiszewo was used to cast an experimental mould. The mould
was shaped in the sand mass. The melts were carried out in a
graphite crucible and a NABER TERM resistance electric furnace.
An organic coang was applied. The bath was mixed with a cera-
mic body and the temperature was monitored. The pouring was
completed with the use of a thermocouple. The alloy was com-
posed of pure ingredients which were successively introduced.
Aer the chemical composion and temperature were stabilized,
the sand form was poured at the temperature of 1180 °C. The
second stage of the experiment involved casng the socketed
axe which t the reconstructed mould. The hardness (HB) of the
axe model alloy was controlled. The HB tesng was conducted on
samples cut perpendicular-ly to the direcon of casng and mea-
sured with a universal Brinell hardness tester at the temperature
of 20 °C.
In the rst stage, a model alloy consistent with the chemical
composion of the mould from Elgiszewo was used to cast an
experimental mould (g. Fa). The second stage of the experiment
involved casng a socketed axe that would t the reconstructed
mould. The alloy used for the model axe was composed with
reference to other LBA socketed axes (Przedmieście and Czarków
type) recognized in terms of chemistry.
Two parts of the mould were covered with a layer of organic coa-
ng (composed of milled charcoal mixed with animal fat and ash
in a 1:1 rao) to prevent welding with the poured liquid metal.
The coang was mechanically applied on the mould surface and
red in the ame of the burner. Next, both parts were matched
together and pre-heated to the temperature of 130–150 °C (Fig.
2b). The casng temperature was 1150 °C. The alloy solidicaon
proceeded very quickly due to the rapid dissipaon of heat from
the mould which was allowed to cool, and aer 10 minutes, the
casng was knocked out (g. Fc).
An experimental approach proved that the mould from Elgiszewo
could have been successfully employed by the Lusaan metal-
worker for direct casng. If the mass of the mould was adequate-
ly high in comparison to the casng, there was no danger of mel-
ng the mould. However, direct casng required an extremely
short cast me of about 3 s. Otherwise, the nal product would
be incomplete in the edge parts. It is reported that the casng of
een socketed axes in one bronze mould is possible with no
apparent damage to the mould (Baron et al. 2016, 188).
. Bee-
swax remnants, phase and major element chemical composion of the
Bronze Age mould from Gaj Oławski (SW Poland). Archaeological and
Anthropological Sciences 8, 187–196.
- -
Towards direct casng: Ar-
chaeometallurgical insight into a bronze mould from Elgiszewo (900–700
BC, Poland) Archeol. rozh., 71 (1) (2019), 45-66
EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN NCU
Fig. 2. The stages of the experimental casng of the Przedmieście type
axe compable with the casng mould from Elgiszewo: a – casng the
mould; b – pre-heang the mould; c – knocking the casng out of the
mould. (aer Kowalski et al. 2019).
Number 12 (2020/4)
EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN NCU
11
EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN NCU Number 12 (2020/4)
Monday, March 29, 2021 - Thursday, April 1, 2021
The #EAC12 Conference will be an “around the world in 80 experiments” taking place in March 2021 (exact dates to be conrmed). It
will start in New Zealand & Australia, turning towards Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America as the me proceeds. #EAC12
has online lectures as well as presentaons by local hotspots in dierent me zones. With the lectures and hotspots, #EAC12 shows
the diversity of experimental archaeology and the geographic spread. EAC12 is open access, and will include many ways of interac-
on between the parcipants, the speakers and the hotspots...
hps://exarc.net/meengs/eac12/registraon
Our recent publications
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The starng point for the studies described in the arcle were the results of traceological
studies of a collecon of seal craniums discovered during archaeological excavaons at a Subneolithic
site complex in Šventoji, Lithuania. Microscopic analysis revealed repeve technological traces and well
-developed use damages on the surfaces, the characteriscs of which most likely indicate their use du-
ring ritual pracces, possibly in a similar way to that suggested for antler frontlets known from several
Mesolithic sites. This is the rst such discovery in this part of Europe, shedding new light on the symbolic
culture of the hunter-gatherer communies inhabing the south-eastern Balc Sea coast between 3200
and 2700 cal BC, and especially the role of seals and their skulls, what is discussed in the arcle in a wi-
der perspecve. The use-wear traces described in the arcle are also a unique example of damage crea-
ted on the surface of artefacts that are associated with ritual pracces, and can, therefore, provide im-
portant informaon in idenfying and correctly interpreng similar objects of this type elsewhere.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 34 (2020) DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102638