John Strachan
John's PhD project is titled: 'Technological choice and variation in prehistoric metalworking: a transdisciplinary investigation'
Project Description
My project uses an interdisciplinary methodology to investigate Early Bronze Age metalworking techniques in Scotland and Northern England, with a specific emphasis on identifying regional craft traditions in this area. The north of Britain is generally under-researched in terms of metallurgical analysis, and this project aims to address this issue and generate new information on ancient metalworking practices in the region. Furthermore, this project aims to understand and document the agency and choice of the metalworkers within these cultural traditions. This exciting project will hopefully bridge the gap between scientific and craft understandings of metalwork in the past and allow for a more nuanced discussion of the development of metallurgy in the north of Britain, making use of neutron analyses, metallography, and experimental archaeology.