Dr. James Dilley

Experimental Archaeologist @sotonarch; Media consultant; Specialist in Flintknapping & Bronze casting: see my work displayed at @britishmuseum & @EH_Stonehenge

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

While filming for this BBC doc, I was for a moment, looking across into the Palaeolithic. A normally damp, isolated cave was alive with voices, fire light & the distant roar of red deer.

It was a moment that made me feel so fortunate to do what I do professionally! #flintfriday

[The Megalithic Portal Ancient Sites & Stones @megportal]

Stanwick Lakes: Boats completed! The Big Bronze Age Boat Build video, watch on the link below. Also a free online talk tomorrow evening Weds 24th July. Bronze, beer and boats: Bringing Prehistoric archaeology to life at Stanwick Lakes, With James Dilley, Nadia Norman, and Aiden Phillips. #FestivalofArchaeology More...

[Great Orme Mines @greatormemines]

😃 We really enjoyed welcoming the Great Orme Country Park wardens to Great Orme Mines during @ancientcraftUK latest visit. There was plenty of laughs, getting hands-on with history and discovering the skills of Great Orme’s Bronze Age residents!

[Great Orme Mines @greatormemines]

🤩Wow! What an incredible and exciting three days we’ve had on site!
A huge thank you to @ancientcraftuk for returning to Great Orme Mines to lead three phenomenal bronze casting workshops. Participants, mine visitors and staff have all found it fascinating and fun!

[Paula Hammond @writer_paula]

What a day! Making a bronze axe at the Bronze Age @greatormemines - living history indeed! Big thanks to @ancientcraftUK for an epic experience. All absolutely legitimate writer’s research naturally … here’s one I made earlier, with a cold one for scale

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

Bronze, Beer and Boats!

On Friday at 10am I'll be looking back at the highs, lows, spills & thrills of the Big Bronze Age Boat Build at @StanwickLakes. From amusing predicaments to exploring prehistoric archaeology in today’s world.

https://t.co/pyN7yTzK5t

📷 @emmalouwynjones

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

Brilliant Bronze!

Its user-friendly, multi-purpose, exciting, zeitgeisty & most importantly of all, its slightly shiny! Those boring old stone axes have had their day, so make sure you're attending one of our bronze orientation days!

https://t.co/xcvUH2vrfq

📷 @emmalouwynjones

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

A great weekend of flintknapping in the Norfolk sunshine!
We had another fantastic group of students who went from core and flake technology to handaxe making in a matter of hours.

Fancy joining us on workshop? Check out the link:

https://t.co/xcvUH2vrfq

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

We're looking forward to welcoming a full group to Saturday's Introduction to flintknapping workshop! Ideal for novices and the more experienced alike to 'sharpen' their skills. We have a few places left on our June and October workshops....

https://t.co/xcvUH2vrfq

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

Bronze, Beer and Boats!

Join me at @StanwickLakes on Friday 9th May at 10am for their special exhibition series of 'Tea & Talks'!

I'll be looking back at the highs, lows, spills and thrills of the Big Bronze Age Boat Build at the lakes:

https://t.co/pyN7yTzK5t

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

What a weekend we've had at the workshop!

Bronze sword casting and arrow making were on the itinerary, and we were delighted with everyone's hard work. There are a few places left on other workshops in the year, check them out!

https://t.co/xcvUH2vrfq

📷 @emmalouwynjones

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

I can't resist thrusting some gneiss rocks on twitter, that with a bit of pecking, grinding really make you want to call them Moine.

Geology puns over. Two of my favourite replica Orcadian style axes of the sort that have been found at the @NessofBrodgar

📸@emmalouwynjones

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

Home is where the hearth is ....4000BC

A snippet from a recent filming project with @JerseyHeritage inside their stunning Neolithic longhouse at la Hougue Bie museum. I'm showing how fire might have been made using iron pyrite and flint.

🎥 @emmalouwynjones

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

A cache of Neolithic flint axes

Not as common as bronze axe hoards (because worked stone detectors don't exist), but the action of grouping stone axes appears to be consistent across Neolithic Britain. Today I make hoards as stock for the Replicas Shop!

📷 @emmalouwynjones

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

Making a bronze spear head

As part of our video series for English Heritage, we wanted to show that although Grimes Graves is best known for its Neolithic flint mines, it was also home to Bronze Age metalworkers who specialised in making basal looped spears.
🎥 @emmalouwynjones

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

Grimspound - Dartmoor

In the saddle of Hookney Tor & Hameldown Tor is a 150m wide oval of rocks that encloses 24 hut circles. Excavations in the 19thC by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee uncovered worked flint & pottery suggesting a late Bronze Age date.

📷 @emmalouwynjones

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

Get ready for Part 2 of "Ice Age" over on Channel 5 at 19:30(GMT)!

After exploring the world of our Neanderthals, we discover some of the strategies used by Homo sapiens. From sophisticated hunting equipment to an Ice Age tool we still rely upon today...

https://t.co/aCcs9zR5M2

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

Em has been working with Leicestershire Museum Collections and
@CharnwoodMuseum to make a replica and film of the stunning Cossington early Bronze Age necklace for their new exhibition: My Jewellery, My Story. You can check out the film here: https://t.co/Y9OhPXxAAN

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

What tools would you need to make a Palaeolithic handaxe?

Most were made using hammerstones, some were flaked using antler soft hammers to make thinner shapes.

What flint shape should Iook for?

Ideally a nodule that is already fairly thin and lenticular!

🎥 @emmalouwynjones

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

Ötzi the Iceman's famous copper axe. Come and cast your own!

The discovery that made world news and continues to provide unparalleled levels of detail about life in the Chalcolithic can now be explored on one of our workshops this March:

https://t.co/3QeS71vUB2

[Dr. James Dilley @ancientcraftUK]

A challenge from the Bronze Age

While stone and especially clay moulds were commonly used, a metalworker over 3000 years ago tried something audacious. They tried to make a mould that was more reusable and easier to transport, by casting bronze into bronze.

🎥 @emmalouwynjones