The EXARC Show
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Top 10 The EXARC Show Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The EXARC Show episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The EXARC Show for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The EXARC Show episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Magnifying the Past
The EXARC Show
02/28/24 • 37 min
So you’ve dug up an object... but how do you know what it was used for? Microwear and use-wear analysis is a growing sub-field within archaeology looking for microscopic traces on artefacts which might give us clues on how they were used in the past – or what might have happened to them once they were abandoned. Join us on this month’s episode of #FinallyFriday for a deep dive into the world of microscopes and experimental reference collections.
Matilda Siebrecht is a professional archaeologist and journalist. Matilda has been a member of EXARC for many years, volunteering in many roles such as being one of the co-hosts on the show, helping organise conferences and events, and since the beginning of 2024, has taken over the role as EXARC’s Director. Outside of her EXARC responsibilities, Matilda is a micro-wear specialist. Whilst her Master’s research focussed on amber and ground-stone analysis, her PhD research at the University of Groningen examined use-wear on ivory and bone tools from the historic arctic populations of Canada.
Éva Halbrucker is a use-wear specialist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Ghent. As part of her PhD, Eva used use-wear and micro-wear analysis on flint to examine the Neolithic-Mesolithic transition of north-west Belgium. Eva is now doing similar research as part of the ROAM: a Regional Outlook on Ancient Migration project, examining the lithic material from the Mesolithic in the Meuse Valley in south Belgium. Additionally, she is also part of an international research project of a Bronze Age tell settlement in Hungary as a stone tool specialist.
Mastering Metals
The EXARC Show
10/31/23 • 43 min
The use of metal has transformed almost every aspect of life, helping us to clothe ourselves, create cars, trains and planes, get to the bottom of the ocean and out into space. On this month’s episode of Finally Friday, we take a look at how experimental archaeology helps us to understand metal in the past, with guests Fergus Milton and Giovanna Fregni. Fergus Milton is a long-standing prehistoric metalworking demonstrator at Butser Ancient Farm in the UK. He works closely with the public, giving frequent demonstrations of his work. Giovanna Fregni is an experienced jeweller and archaeologist with particular interests in non-ferrous metals and replicating ancient metalworking techniques from the Bronze Age to Medieval period. Similarly to Fergus, she now offers demonstration and teaching on these ancient techniques.
Fergus Milton is a long-standing prehistoric metalworking demonstrator at Butser Ancient Farm in the UK. Having been involved in experimental metalworking since the early 2000s, Fergus has developed particular interests in smelting, principally of copper ores (although also delving into other metals such as tin, lead, brass and occasionally, iron). In his demonstrator role at Butser, Fergus works closely with the public, offering demonstrations and occasional teaching, of these fascinating skills.
Giovanna Fregni is an experienced jeweller and archaeologist with particular interests in non-ferrous metals and replicating ancient metalworking techniques from the Bronze Age to Medieval period. She particularly enjoys reconstructing hammers, anvils and other tools to understand metalworking technologies. She has also contributed to research on the preservation and reconstruction of archaeological metal. Currently, Giovanna travels significantly, offering demonstration and teaching on these ancient metalworking techniques.
Future-proofing the Past
The EXARC Show
06/05/24 • 33 min
Like many things in the modern world, digitalisation has transformed the way we interact with the past and opened opportunities for visualisation, curation and sharing. But how do we actually use these digital tools? How do we use them to engage the public? And how do we ensure our digital data is a fair representation of the past?
Henk Alkemade was originally trained as a physical geographer but went into a career in IT following his studies. In 2007, he joined the Dutch National Heritage Agency as an IT manager. This gave him this opportunity to become involved in Europeana projects such as CARARE and LoCloud, which helped reignite a passion in cultural heritage. Henke now works full time in Cultural Heritage, connecting this heritage with IT through his work as a senior specialist in historical landscapes.
Elin Tinuviel Torbergsen currently works for the Museum Nord as a curator for the West Lofoten Department. In addition to this, she is also working on her PhD in media and communication. In these roles, she is attempting to identify digital solutions connecting the archaeological objects on display in the museums with their original places of discovery, and their wider cultural landscapes. Part of this work includes creating digital AR simulations of the world in the past.
In this episode we dive into their respective projects, compare the different types of methods they use and discuss how digitalisation will continue to change heritage in the future.
If you’d like to hear more from our speakers after the episode, they will both be presenting their research at our Digitalisation in Open-Air Museums and Reconstructions conference at the Museum Batavialand in September, we’d love to see you there!
Not just a Pretty Object
The EXARC Show
10/30/24 • 47 min
Blingy, fashionable or personal. Jewellery has been an integral element of identity for thousands of years. Despite this, historic and archaeological examples of these items of adornment have often been understudied and misunderstood. This month we are joined by two guests who are intent on changing this, aiming to highlight the true beauty of jewellery in a wider context. Listen in to hear all about the similarities and differences between studying historic and archaeological jewellery and how to start moving towards seeing these objects as craft items which can tell us their own fascinating stories.
Tess Machling is an archaeologist and independent researcher looking at Prehistoric and Iron Age gold from a craft perspective. Tess is now at the forefront of a project called The Big Book of Torcs, which aims to explore the techniques, manufacture and craft required to create British Iron Age Torcs. The project involves a number of people from a variety of backgrounds, including goldsmiths, silversmiths, jewellers, archaeologists and heritage specialists.
Sigrid van Roode is an archaeologist and jewellery historian. Originally trained as an Egyptologist, her PhD research examined 19 th Century Egyptian jewellery. With 30 years of experience in jewellery research, Sigrid’s goal is now to preserve and share the information associated with items of adornment from North Africa and the Middle East. She also works as a jewellery consultant and runs the website Bedouin Silver, which contains blogs, e-books and online courses.
EXARC Extracts 2024/1
The EXARC Show
02/26/24 • 7 min
The 2024/1 EXARC Journal is bringing you seven reviewed and five mixed matter articles. All the articles are open access to allow for free exchange of information and further development of our knowledge of the past.
The reviewed articles come from far and wide. This time round we have four articles coming from Europe (Estonia, Denmark, Netherlands and UK) while the other two are from China and India. Trevor Creighton from Butser Ancient Farm (UK) discusses the problems and limitations of reconstructing a Neolithic building. Kaari Siemer talks about the use of the ‘time travel’ method in Estonia. The Dutch team tested a hypothesis on use-wear traces on scrapers, the Chinese team carried out an experimental reconstruction of herbal and mineral hair colours. Garima Singh (India) dedicated her study to the evolution of pyrotechnology within Harrapan culture. David Sim (UK) discusses the production of Roman metal pen nibs. Finally, the Danish team carried out experiments with painting Viking Age woodwork.
The mixed matters section contains reports from various events: A meeting of heritage sector’s professional and volunteer contributors in the Netherlands, an international internet dialogue on museums celebrating International Museum Day, the Ancient shipping and shipbuilding seminar in Ukraine and others.
The Meaning of Cleaning
The EXARC Show
01/31/24 • 46 min
Lather, rinse, and repeat – an insight into early chemistry. In this month’s episode of #FinallyFriday we dive into the history of soap, debunking soap origin myths and breaking down the science of making soap. From sourcing specific wood ash to hunting down ancient recipes, our two experts explore all the factors that are needed to create a good bar of soap.
Sally Pointer is an archaeologist and freelance heritage educator with a background in museum education and teaching traditional skills. She has recently completed an MSc in Experimental Archaeology at the University of Exeter, where she is now an Honorary Associate Research Fellow. Her research interests are diverse, and she is currently working on projects that explore early textile tools and bast fibres in prehistory. She has an ongoing interest in the development of cosmetics, perfumes and soaps across time and is also working on a book project to explore the history and archaeology of soap. She regularly teaches workshops on ancient skills and traditional crafts and can often be found doing costumed interpretation and audience engagement at heritage sites. She also uses social media and YouTube to help share projects and tutorials on a wide range of topics. The origins of soap have been clouded in myth and misinformation for a long time, and a major project within her MSc and currently being prepared for publication explores the probable scenarios in which true soap was first observed in the ancient world.
Dr Sara Robb began making honey soaps and beeswax creams after leaving academic research in 2003. Formulating for nearly 20 years, Sara's recipes are available in books (Dr Sara’s Honey Potions, Beauty & the Bees, Making and Selling Cosmetics: Honeycomb Cleansing Cream) and numerous journal articles (British Beekeeping Journal, Bee Craft, BBKA News, Bees for Development Journal). Dr Robb has a keen interest in teaching others to formulate cosmetics (running workshops at the British Beekeepers Association Spring Convention and The National Honey Show) and helping small producers by providing Cosmetic Product Safety Reports. Dr Sara Robb is a VUB Certified Safety Assessor, Member of the Society for Cosmetic Scientists, & The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA).
Mirrors and Windows 2023
The EXARC Show
12/12/23 • 30 min
It's getting closer to the end of the year, which means that it's time for our next episode of Mirrors and Windows. This year, founding member and current director Roeland Paardekooper chats with Matilda Siebrecht, who will be taking over the role of director in January. Together, they talk about what's happened in 2023 - from the conference in Turun to this year's EXARC award winners - and look ahead to what's coming in 2024 - such as the culmination of projects such as ReTold and TELT. They also look even further back, with Roeland sharing some of his experiences and stories from his time in EXARC (although he insists he wasn't sitting in a rocking chair by the fire during the recording!). And of course, they also look further ahead, as Matilda shares some of her plans and ideas for the future of EXARC.
EXARC Extracts 2023/4
The EXARC Show
12/12/23 • 8 min
The 2023/4 EXARC Journal presents seven reviewed and eleven mixed matters articles. All the articles are open access to allow for free exchange of information and further development of our knowledge of the past.
The reviewed articles come from Europe, Canada, Australia and Syria. As usual they cover wide variety of topics. Can Experimental Archaeology Confirm Ethnographic Evidence? Presents an experimental programme used to examine how boomerangs may be used to retouch stone tools. Testing Roman Glass in the Flame explains the importance of glass properties such as viscosity, temperature working range and softening point when studying ancient techniques of glass working. How Open-air Museums Can Create Programmes for People Affected by Dementia presents special programmes for elderly people with dementia, run by the open-air museum Den Gamble By, in Denmark. “Look at The Bones!” describes an experiment testing the idea presented in the popular press that “Vikings unwittingly made their swords stronger” by using bones in the chain of production from iron ore through to finished swords. Strategy of Presenting Prehistoric Sites Like an Open-air Stand analyses the problems and challenges of preserving and at the same time attracting visitors to prehistoric sites, while engaging local communities in Syria. In Italy, in the middle of the Baroque age, the fashion for drinking chocolate rapidly spread through the courts, nobles, clergy and convents. Experimental Archaeology and the Sustainability of Dental Calculus Research introduces a project that explored the potential of a new methodological approach to investigate the history of chocolate. by combining experimental archaeology with micromorphological and chemical analysis of dental calculus. How were Half-Moons on Shells Made in the Upper Palaeolithic? Presents a study, the aim of which was to reconstruct the chaîne opératoire required to create half-moon-shaped objects from mollusc shell valva, common objects in Italian burials from the Upper Paleolithic onward.
The mixed matters section contains 11 articles, including an article on utilising experimental archaeological elements within primary education in China., six book reviews and four conference and event reports.
Sustain Ability on Show
The EXARC Show
10/03/23 • 38 min
We all enjoy visiting museums and other archaeological areas, but what are the implications of sustainability when maintaining and rebuilding these sites? This month we consider open-air museums and cultural heritage sites from the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals, as Matilda chats with guests Amy Stewart and Silje Evjenth Bentsen.
Amy Stewart is the curator at the Crannog Centre Open Air Museum in Scotland. Since the unfortunate destruction of the central Crannog several years ago, Amy has become involved in planning the new build, and part of this job involves considering the implications of sustainability at the museum site.
Dr Silje Evjenth Bentsen is the project manager of “Fotefar mot nord” (“Traces towards the North”) in Norway. This project aims to promote cultural heritage as a resource for both the local community and the tourism industry, and one of the main themes of developing it further is that of sustainability.
Together, they discuss issues of social, material, and environmental sustainability when rebuilding cultural heritage sites.
Perils of Preservation
The EXARC Show
09/28/24 • 38 min
When we talk about documentation, digitalisation and restoration we usually assume that the sites where this takes place are accessible and safe, like in an open-air museum. However, there is a category of conservation specialists who, on a daily basis, are dealing with a range of challenges when they work in remote and/or dangerous areas. In this episode two heritage preservation experts talk about what drives them and how they address the perils their teams face in places like Iraq, Mozambique or Angola.
Stefano Campana is Professor of Landscape Archaeology at the University of Siena, specialising in documentation and remote sensing. He is the co-founder of Archeo Tech & Survey, a spin-off company from the University of Siena, which specialises in archaeology, remote sensing and geomatics. Giovanni Fontana Antonelli is an architect and landscape planner who devoted two decades of his work to the safeguarding of cultural heritage in the Arab world. He is the co-founder of Archi.Media Trust, a non profit organisation focussing on cultural heritage preservation and cultural development.
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FAQ
How many episodes does The EXARC Show have?
The EXARC Show currently has 58 episodes available.
What topics does The EXARC Show cover?
The podcast is about History, Archaeology, Podcasts, Education, Social Sciences and Science.
What is the most popular episode on The EXARC Show?
The episode title 'EXARC Extracts 2024/1' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The EXARC Show?
The average episode length on The EXARC Show is 36 minutes.
How often are episodes of The EXARC Show released?
Episodes of The EXARC Show are typically released every 28 days, 14 hours.
When was the first episode of The EXARC Show?
The first episode of The EXARC Show was released on May 29, 2020.
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