Sometimes, info turns up at unexpected times and unexpected places - just like this info about a conference with Stone Age clothing as the focus topic. There's not so much evidence (because of not so much in organic finds from back then), but the programme also includes body ornamentation.
The conference is in Halle/Saale, taking place September 25-28, and conference language is English. You can find out more about it, and register, on this webpage. Registration is open until September 15.
It's back from summer break and straight into action here - on the weekend, I will be going to Syke to show how a bronze age corded skirt was (probably) woven. I'll be demonstrating all day on Saturday and Sunday, and I'm looking forward to many questions!
I'm not sure where in the museum I will be, or whether I'll be sitting on a table or on the floor, but I will definitely wear no shoes for the weaving - I need my foot to hold the measuring stick and my little toe on one foot to keep hold of one of the loops for starting the next bunch of strings...
The event is running in the Kreismuseum Syke on Saturday from 10 -18 o'clock and on Sunday to 17 o'clock. There's going to be a bunch of demonstrators there, plus the museum itself is a very nice place to visit, so if you're up north and free for the weekend, don't miss it!
You can find out more about the event on the homepage here:
https://www.kreismuseum-syke.de/veranstaltungen/bronzezeittage/
One of the things I really love about conferences is getting to meet and to connect with new people as well as catching up with folks that I already know.
When I was going to my first conferences, I was still quite shy in approaching people - and I do remember that it felt so nice when, as you're approaching one of the small tables in a coffee break that people stand around, someone shifts to make space for you to join. (That, back then, was an easy way to join a random group of people, because you obviously need some place to put your coffee cup to be able to wrangle your coffee break snack... so it didn't feel so much like I was sneaking up and trying to impose myself on other people.)
Since then, I've gotten less shy regarding the approach of new people - but I still remember how nice it was to be welcomed by someone shifting to tacitly invite me into their circle. So, since then, I have always tried to shift and make space when someone comes close to the table I'm at. And today, by random chance, I found out that there's a name for this: The Pac-Man Rule. The short version is: When you're part of a circle in a conference (whether around a table or not), always leave an open space in the circle for someone else to join. (But do go and read the full post behind the link, it's worth it.)
Leeds International Medieval Congress is having its CfPs running, and one of the sessions will be "Threads of Knowledge":
Enter your text here ...
There's an exhibition in Kalkriese in the Varusschlacht-Museum called "Dressed - Rom Macht Mode. It's running until November 24, 2024, and looks at dress and textiles in Roman times. The exhibition includes a lot of hands-on as well as the possibilty to try on garments.
If you're interested, there's more information on the (German) webpage of the museum.
I'm off on the "Neu verflechten" conference, where I will be presenting (together with Tracy Niepold) once more about the Shiny Dead Cow Guts, also known as membrane thread project. This time, the title is so long that it almost feels like it's half a presentation by itself:
I'm always vaguely amused when titles (or subtitles) end up rather long. I don't mind them at all, since it's usually quite descriptive and so you know what awaits you - but it seems to be a thing especially in archaeology context. When I was studying, we had to fill out forms to get our "Schein" for attending something, and you'd usually run out of space because stuff was so wordy. It started already with trying to fit "Archäologie des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit" on the rather short line for what you are studying, and went on to cramming "Very long and rather descriptive title with mention of the timespan in words or if it's in numbers then something else making it really long" into the part of the form that wanted you to state the name of the course. Good times! (And no wonder we'd internally all write "AMANZ".)
As I'll be on the conference for the next two days, too, there will be no blogging until next week!
If you're looking for an excuse for a trip to Switzerland, the exhibition at the Abegg-Stiftung might be just the thing for you. Their special exhibition "The Deceived Eye – Textile Effects and their Simulation" will be shown until 10 November 2024.
The illusionistic depiction of textiles was an expression of consummate artistry even in ancient painting. The same can be said of weaving, tapestry, and embroidery, in which other textiles are simulated with great skill. Examples from the fourth to the seventeenth centuries vividly illustrate their artful play of materials, techniques and the viewer's expectations.
You can find out more about the exhibition and the opening times on the website about it.
