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Umha Aois | Ireland
The Bronze Age 4,000 Years On
Umha Aois was founded in 1995 as a response to the European Year of the Bronze Age. The aim of the group is to research and celebrate the skills of Irish Bronze Age craftspeople. By re-creating techniques and artefacts from that period, Umha Aois seek to acknowledge the achievements of past societies and further our understanding of practical knowledge, past and present.
During their annual two-week symposia, the group concentrate on the reconstruction of methods which could have been used in the Bronze Age. This has been achieved by gradually replacing modern materials and equipment with simpler, and more authentic alternatives such as clay and dung moulds and charcoal-fired pit-furnaces.
Since its first event, the project has made immense progress in understanding and successfully re-creating Bronze Age technologies, while at the same time encouraging creative and artistic responses to archaeological material. The development of archaeological studies and artistic endeavours within the project have been inextricably linked to practical activities and craft skills.
Umha Aois have recently expanded their activities to include casting demonstrations and educational workshops, and are currently preparing for a two-week visit to Lejre Experimental Centre in Denmark.
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Ábhar agus Meon, Sixth World Archaeological Congress, School of Archaeology, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
(@) http://www.ucd.ie/wac-6 (@) http://www.amexhibition.com (e) info(at)amexhibition.com
(t) +353 (0)87 654 8301 (f) + 353 (0)1 716 1184
Designed by iArchitectures (2008).