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The
Centre is founded on experimental
archaeology, and all visitors are invited to experiment
in a range of activities following the demonstrations by our
Iron Age team. There are at least six activities at any given
time, and many more during our themed special
events. Each of the crafts and technologies is based on
evidence from our underwater excavations in Loch Tay and elsewhere.
In addition to identifying artefacts, archaeologists want
to know how they were made and used.
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Pole Lathe in action
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The
skilled woodworkers from Oakbank
Crannog were able to turn wood on a type of lathe
evidenced by the discovery of a small piece of wood known as
a 'waster' or off-cut from turned wood. Would it have been turned
out on a lathe powered by a bow, or by the more sophisticated
foot-operated pole lathe? |
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perforated, roughly circular or angular thin stones have been
discovered on many crannogs. Some may have served as net or
fishing weights, weights for drop-spinning wool, or other purposes
including jewellery. Close examination of the stones revealed
that some of the holes had been drilled, while others had been
chipped. No drilling machine has been discovered so far, but
our bow-powered example or something similar could have been
used for this purpose. Will you be the one to get through the
stone? |
A
bow drill is used to drill a
hole in a stone. |
A
child uses a rubbing stone against a quernstone to grind grain
into flour |
Loch
Tay's early crannog farmers grew spelt and emmer wheat and barley.
They ground their grain by rubbing a small rounded stone against
a large flatter stone called a saddle quern. (After years of
rubbing, the larger stone inevitably became worn and dipped,
resembling the saddle for a horse). The nutty tasting spelt
wheat flour is still widely available and it is particularly
good for bread. It also has less gluten than other wheat flours,
making it more tolerable for sufferers of wheat allergies. Learn
how the Iron Age cooks baked bread at our annual Celtic
Food & Drink Festival. |
| One
of the methods used to make fire by the early crannog-dwellers
was by wood friction. A burnt-tipped drill
that may have been used for this purpose was recovered
from a 2,000 year old crannog in the Outer Hebrides. An ember
resembling a smoking incense cone is produced by rubbing the
end of a drill stick rapidly against another, flatter piece
of wood. While this may be done by hand, it is easier and faster
to use a bow, especially when faced with inclement Scottish
weather. Feeding the ember with dry tinder and fanning the heat
by blowing generates fire. Will you be successful? |
Diva
Di blows on the ember to
ingite the tinder into fire. |
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