Join Mike Bamforth (Department of Archaeology at the University of York) for the next in our series of free talks in association with our current exhibition, Star Carr: Life after the ice.

About the Talk

Star Carr is renowned for the exceptional survival of organic artefacts. The waterlogged wood excavated at the site allows an incredibly rare glimpse into the use of a material that, whilst used ubiquitously in the Mesolithic, almost never survives. Large deposits of wood describe lake edge platforms and possible trackways into the lake, with many well preserved wooden artefacts recovered, including a bow, digging sticks and probable spear shafts. The wood assemblage helps our understanding of the type of woodland being exploited and the ancient woodworking techniques people used to shape and form this versatile material.

From the challenges of excavating and recording 11,000 year old wood, to the experimental programmes devised to better understand what was discovered and  ultimately to some of the reconstructions this led to, this lecture aims to give a broad overview of the study of wood and woodworking technology at Star Carr and how it can help us to better understand the lives of the people who lived there.

Image credit: Cambridge Archaeological Unit