Archaeology in Wilding Practical Workshops
Workshop participants will be able to choose between practical workshops on the following themes:
Antler, Jacqui Mulville (Guerilla Archaeology)
Earth, Dave Kay (Oxford Archaeology) & Jed Soleiman (University of Oxford)
Plants, Tina Roushannafas and Julia Meen (Oxford Archaeology) & Pete Leeson (Woodland Trust)
Making, Rose Ferraby (Artist and Archaeologist) & Rob St John (Artist)
Image ©Rose Ferraby
Antler
Crafted From the Past, Designed for Today
Through archaeology, hands-on experimentation, and local knowledge, we have revived the ancient craft of antler working. Take part in our workshop to explore the skills and artefacts created over time, craft your own antler artefact and learn about our Craftwork project. No prior experience is necessary. Find out more here:
https://guerillaarchaeology.com/events/embedding-heritage-craft/
Earth
In this workshop we will explore some of the recent work undertaken by Oxford Archaeology and the University of Oxford into the ‘soilscapes’ of the Knepp Estate.
We will walk up towards the Hammer Pond to see a test pit that exposes a soil sequence typical for this part of the Estate, and the basal geology that was the ultimate source of Sussex’s iron working heritage. Here, we’ll get hands on with describing and identifying different soil types, and discuss how these soils are integral to our understandings of landscape and ecological change across the wider Estate. David Kay will present some of the initial findings of his recent geoarchaeological research into the sedimentary legacies of former land uses, and how these legacies condition what future ‘rewilded’ soils might look like. Jed Soleiman will also present the results of his doctoral research into mycelial networks and Knepp’s subterranean ecologies, explaining how healthy soils underpin the health of the entire rewilded ecosystem.
Expect to get your hands dirty, learn some new skills in working with soil, and gain an insight into the earthy underworld of Knepp!
Plants
In this workshop, we will explore the vegetation of the Knepp Estate and the connections between past and present flora.
How do we know which plants grew in prehistoric landscapes, and what roles did they play in people’s lives? What do we mean when we refer to woodlands or hedgerows as ‘ancient’? This discursive workshop will invite participants to consider these questions while we explore the blurred boundaries between woodland, hedgerow, and scrub, and ‘hunt’ for prehistoric wild plants in the Knepp landscape, as represented in the archaeological plant macrofossil and pollen records.
Tina Roushannafas and Julia Meen (Oxford Archaeology) will discuss some of the archaeobotanical methods used to understand past human-plant relationships, while Pete Leeson (Woodland Trust), with nearly 40 years’ experience in land and woodland management, will provide a contemporary ecological perspective on trees and plants in today’s ‘wilded’ landscape.
Bring waterproofs and botanical field guides if you have them (not mandatory but useful!).
Making
Image Credit: Mario Cruzado
Join artists Dr Rose Ferraby and Dr Rob St John on an exploration of Knepp through sound and visual art. Participants will be invited to think about how we imagine and create work that navigates ideas of past and future change, unseen elements of landscapes and narratives of people and place. Rose and Rob will explore different ways of looking and listening; ways of thinking differently about scale and time.