experimental archaeology

Lying at the extreme northern tip of Newfoundland, L'Anse aux Meadows represents the only widely accepted Viking-Era presence in North America.  Archaeological remains of seven buildings were found at the site, along with a few minor artefacts including a ring-headed pin, glass bead, and drop-spindle whorl.  Evidence of on-site work was also found in the form of iron slag, discarded ship rivets, and axe-hewn wood chips.  Four of the seven buildings were reconstructed by Parks Canada.  Since 1997, these have been staffed by costumed interpreters who blend first- and third

Prologue

Toronto, 2012: There is a session on experimental archaeology at the Society for Africanist Archaeologists’ biannual conference. While waiting to upload our presentations to the conference laptop, my colleague and I pass the time chatting. “I am sure we could fill a whole conference on experimental archaeology in Africa,” my colleague says. I nod, say that someone will probably initiate such a conference soon and turn to tell the student volunteer where to find my presentation on the USB stick.

The 10th Experimental Archaeology Conference of EXARC took place in Leiden, Netherlands, over three days; 20th to the 22nd April 2017, in Leiden University’s Archaeology department. The first two days hosted a diverse range of presentations from all over the globe, while the final day consisted of a visit to Vlaardingen prehistoric house-building project and Eindhoven Museum.