A truly unique opportunity to experience Bronze Age metalworking in one of the most significant locations to the Bronze Age in the UK! Join experimental archaeologist, Dr James Dilley as he guides you through the process our ancestors perfected over 4000 years ago.   Participants will get the hands-on chance to prepare a mould, working the leather bellows and cast liquid bronze to produce a replica axehead to take home!   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 mines is included in the workshop ticket price. More information about the mines can be found here: https://www.greatormemines.info/   Guidance will be on-hand at all times. Appropriate clothing must be worn for manual work (fully covered shoes and trousers etc).   Workshop attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch and drinks. Attendees must be over 16.

A truly unique opportunity to experience Bronze Age metalworking in one of the most significant locations to the Bronze Age in the UK! Join experimental archaeologist, Dr James Dilley as he guides you through the process our ancestors perfected over 4000 years ago.   The first swords in Europe were made of bronze. They are an iconic development in the human story as social pressure led to tension between groups and individuals. Swords were as much a tool of fighting as they were status symbols. During the workshop, participants can make a replica of the iconic leaf-bladed Ewart Park style sword blade . Workshop students 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 bronze age sword to take home at the end of the day. Students can then begin filing off the casting flash and start cleaning the surfaces of the sword.   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 mines is included in the workshop ticket price. More information about the mines can be found here: https://www.greatormemines.info/   Guidance will be on-hand at all times. Appropriate clothing must be worn for manual work (fully covered shoes and trousers etc).   Workshop attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch and drinks. Attendees must be over 16.

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.