Marco Romeo Pitone

• PhD Archaeology, School of History, Classics and Archaeology/PhD Digital Humanities/ MA Digital Creative Practice and Film Practice
• Experimental Bronze Age Copper Smelting: a tool for research and outreach

Team members: Marco Romeo Pitone, Victoria Lucas, Kypros Kyprianou, Katie Oswell, Jasmine Padgett, Alicia Sawyer, Amber Roy & Violeta Tsenova

Experimental archaeology uses experimental simulation and reproduction of archaeological processes (e.g. the production of stone tools, the working of a metallurgical furnace or the building of a roundhouse), to develop and test hypotheses drawn from the interpretation of the archaeological record.

 This project involved UG, MA students and members of the public into a successful copper smelting experiment on-field (based on a PhD project in Archaeology at Newcastle University) reproducing the metallurgical technology used in Cyprus during the Bronze Age. The project contributed to disseminate research outside academia and to bridge Newcastle University with its local areas. The experiments were hosted at Jarrow Hall Anglo-Saxon Farm, Village and Bede Museum.

The entire experimental process has been video-recorded and archived as documentation, and the same material has been used by a team of MA students from the Culture Lab to create a documentary on Experimental Archaeology for the wide public.

Funding source: NUHRI Challenge Labs

Project Supervisor: Dr Chloe Duckworth