Axe Casting

Discover how some the earliest metal tools were produced in prehistoric Britain. This workshop is led by experimental archaeologist James Dilley from the University of Southampton.

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 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.