Copper Smelting & Axe Casting Weekend
July 5 @ 10:00 am - July 6 @ 4:00 pm
The extraction of metal from ore was a huge technological step in the human timeline, but how was it done? How did people recognise the right rock? And how was it used to make tools?
You can find out on our copper smelting weekend with Dr. James Dilley, who over two days will guide you through the steps of processing ore and smelting it in a furnace exactly as people did in the Bronze Age thousands of years ago. The weekend will start with an introductory talk exploring the geology, science and archaeology behind smelting and how people might have developed the method in prehistory.
As a team, you’ll then work at different stations to crush and sort copper ore, bellow at the furnaces to reach 1000℃, pour in the crushed ore to produce stunning green flames and remove the crucible to pour out liquid copper!
The aim of the first day will be to create enough copper to make axes on Sunday. For these, you’ll make a mould for your axe, cast it yourself and then begin the process of cleaning and decorating the surface using Bronze Age tools.
