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Open Position:
Experimental Archaeology Research Associate,  40%, start date 1.4.2025, limited to 18 months

The Research Associate will conduct experimental archaeology research about reconstructing the necessary production steps for Linden bark vessels from the Linear Pottery and the Bronze Age periods. The work includes testing different tools and types of barks with the aim of clarifying the qualitative choices for bark selection and the possible function. It will include collaborating with the archaeologists who analyse the bark vessels, the restorers who analyse the condition and the decomposition and the dendrologists for harvesting fresh bark. The associate will participate in the group meetings and conduct workshops for the team members to share the knowledge acquired from the research. Under the supervision of the project’s lead researcher, the associate will collaborate with the team members in the documentation, research, and publication of the project.
Here more information and how to apply.

13.11.2024 Online round table on the conservation of bark materials


The wednesday lecture organised by the HKB Forschung will see 6 conservators discuss successes and challenges in treating bark objects.   Kathleen Sullivan (Canadian Conservation Institute) and Peter McElhinney (Världskulturmuseerna) will talk about lime bark, Ingrid Stelzner (LEIZA) and Tracy Niepold (Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege) about linden bark, Johanna Klügl (Archäologisches Dienst Bern and Institute Materiality in Art and Culture, HKB) and Natalya Vasiljeva (Hermitage Museum) about birch bark. Zoom link: https://hkb-bfh-ch.zoom.us/
j/94502758611?pwd=kOor8oXbs4NDGY-
CBQ4Uywc1JklOnRu.1
Meeting-ID: 945 0275 8611, Kenncode: 114231





17.-18.10.2024 Kick-off meeting in Dresden

The enlarged team met in Dresden at the Landesamt für Archäologie (LfA) for the kick-off. We talked about the aims of the project, the challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration, and worked hard to develop a common language for both the botanical description of the bark and the archaeological description of the vessels. We spent a morning looking at the LfA's impressive collection of bark vessels, taking samples of the objects to be identified, and collecting large samples of discarded bark material for the conservation experiments. We ended the kick-off with a visit to the SMAC in Chemnitz and its amazing Linear Pottery Culture collection. Many thanks to Harald Stäuble and the LfA for their generous hospitality and perfect organisation!





The research project Archaeobark: Identification, Conservation and Significance of Prehistoric Bark Vessels is a project of the Institut Materialität in Kunst und Kultur (IMIKUK) of the Bern Academy of the Arts (HKB) in cooperation with the Archaeological Services of the Canton Bern (ADB), Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA), Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Baden-Württenberg, (LfD), Landesamt für Archäologie Sachsen (LfA) and Leipzig University. It is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the German Research Foundation (DFG).