Bronze axe casting at West Stow Anglo Saxon village - 14th March 2020 10am - 4pm
Cast your own replica Bronze Age axe in the surroundings of West Stow Anglo Saxon village, home of the famous Isleham Bronze Age hoard! This workshop is led by experimental archaeologist and PhD student James Dilley from the University of Southampton.
Following a safety briefing, workshop attendees will prepare their own mould, before working the leather bellows on the charcoal fuelled furnace to melt copper and tin. They will then cast the liquid metal into their prepared moulds to produce a replica early bronze age axe head to take home at the end of the day. Students can then begin decorating the axe, filing off the casting flash and start cleaning the surfaces of the axe.
There will be short talk over lunch about the life and times of Bronze Age people in Europe. It will cover our current understanding of technology in the Bronze Age and how it is reflected in archaeology. It will be an informal talk with lots of scope for open discussion.
Entry to the village is included in the workshop ticket price. More information about West Stow can be found here: https://www.weststow.org/
Guidance will be on-hand at all times. Appropriate clothing must be worn for manual work (fully covered shoes and trousers etc).
Refreshments can be purchased from the visitor centre, Workshop attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch. .
Attendees must be over 16.
Please note, this workshop is not held at Berrycroft Hub (SN6 8LX). The workshop location is Icklingham Rd, Bury Saint Edmunds IP28 6HG