Ancient Craft Courses
Ancient Craft Courses at Stanwick Lakes
We’re excited to welcome AncientCraft to Stanwick Lakes this autumn for two unique ancient craft workshops.
AncientCraft specialises in creating replica prehistoric artifacts, offering living history demonstrations, conducting educational workshops, and providing consultancy for museums and media. These sessions are designed to enhance your understanding of prehistoric craftsmanship. Not only will you create a take-home object but also gain valuable insights into the historical context and significance of these ancient techniques and tools.
Ancient Craft are joining us again in 2025 for three exclusive workshops!
Dr James Dilley has been teaching and supporting Stanwick Lakes volunteers on our Big Bronze Age Boat Build project, an experimental archaeologist and craftsman, specialising in prehistoric technologies. Since AncientCraft was founded, James has gained a PhD in Archaeology at the University of Southampton and has worked with numerous museums, schools and heritage sites.
Emma Jones specialises in creating replica prehistoric jewellery from the Stone Age through to the Bronze Age. Having recently completed a replica of the Poltalloch Jet Necklace, Emma is fascinated by the tools and techniques our prehistoric makers would have used to create the artefacts of the time.
Emma also creates educational videos for museums and heritage sites around the UK.
Choose Your Ancient Craft Course
There are three ancient craft courses on offer in 2025: Bronze Axe Casting, Bronze Age Jewellery and – NEW – Flint Knapping.
These exceptional and popular workshops are designed to enhance your understanding of prehistoric craftsmanship. Not only will you create a take home object but you will also explore the amazing archaeology behind the craft, where and how the raw materials were formed and how to continue your journey after the workshop.
Bronze Age Jewellery
Saturday 4th October
Find out how people in the Bronze Age used jet and jet-like materials to create a range of personal ornamentation, from bangles, buttons, belt rings, beads and pendants! Which artefact will you choose to replicate?
Our day will begin with an introductory talk into personal ornamentation in the Bronze Age, focusing on jet and jet-like materials. We’ll take a closer look at what artefacts have been found in Britain, what they’re made from and how experimental archaeology can help to better understand how these objects were made.
The rest of the morning will be spent working with a piece of jet to shape and drill a bead before moving onto creating a shale button, belt ring or pendant.
Despite its fame in the Victorian period, jet and jet-like materials have been collected and shaped by people for thousands of years. Using far simpler tools than Victorian crafts people, they achieved stunning pieces that still dazzle people in museum displays today. What was so special about this mysterious black material? Why do we refer to jet-like materials? Find out on this workshop!
Saturday 4th October
NEW! Flint Knapping
Saturday 4th October
The oldest flint tools found in Britain date to around 1 million years ago, the latest around 3000 years ago so you will have the chance to try your hand at a process used for 99.7% of human presence in Britain! Experimental archaeologist Dr. James Dilley will guide you through the process of making your own flint tools to take home at the end. He appears frequently on archaeology television programmes including Digging for Britain, Stonehenge: The Lost Circle, HistoryHit and many more!
You’ll learn:
- – Making flakes from a flint core
- – Use flakes to make scrapers, piercers, knives and saw blades
- – Using these tools to make bifaces and handaxes
This workshop is an introduction to flint knapping where the aim of the day will be for attendees to go home with a variety of different stone tools they have made, new flintknapping skills and a new appreciation for prehistoric technology.
Please bring suitable outdoor clothing and shoes as this course takes place outside. Participants must wear long trousers and closed shoes, regardless of weather.
Saturday 4th October