farolfus

The Britsum Pipe

A while back I started prowling through the online collection of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden to try to find more accessories or other items to help flesh out my 9th-century Frisian kit and I ran across a wooden pipe found in a terp (raised artificial dwelling mound) in Britsum, Netherlands, and dated betweenContinue reading “The Britsum Pipe”

Starter Pack

Someone recently asked me about what stamp dies would be the best for someone starting out with early Anglian/Saxon decorated pottery, so I thought I’d put a post together with some information on that. Although the decorated pots from Anglian and Saxon Britain from around 450 to 650 CE have an incredible range of differentContinue reading “Starter Pack”

Migration Era Gotland: Part 1

I’ve been getting more into the Migration Era ceramics from Gotland, and while I have a handful of Gotland-specific stamp dies and plenty more that are motifs common to Gotlandic, Anglian/Saxon, and Langobardic pots, I wanted to make a few more that were based directly on finds from Gotland. This is Part 1 of aContinue reading “Migration Era Gotland: Part 1”

9th century Frisian Kit

Most of the time I portray a moderately high-status c.600 CE Langobard man in what is now northern Italy. Where I live in real life, there are very few other people reenacting this particular period, and I am usually the only Langobard at events I attend. On the other hand, there are many, many peopleContinue reading “9th century Frisian Kit”

Iron Age Scandinavian Kit

My greatest love is the late Migration Era, but for this project I wanted to create a full set of soft kit that would be appropriate for a “Roman Iron Age” presentation from Scandinavia in the late 3rd or 4th century CE. The goal was to put together a set of everyday clothing that wasContinue reading “Iron Age Scandinavian Kit”

No math Damendorf Trousers

I made some pants last week and someone asked me how I did it. What follows is my attempt to explain a process that involved me squatting in my underwear and looking rather foolish at times, but allowed me to make probably the best-fitting trousers I own without using any math. Why on earth wouldContinue reading “No math Damendorf Trousers”

Pyramidal Scabbard Mounts in Langobard Tombs: Feeling Single, Seeing Double?

I am currently in the process of making a scabbard for a recently acquired spatha, and I will need to suspend it from something. In order to come up with an appropriate belt or baldric based on finds from the Langobard necropolis at Nocera Umbra, I began researching the hardware associated with scabbards and swordContinue reading “Pyramidal Scabbard Mounts in Langobard Tombs: Feeling Single, Seeing Double?”

A most unusual bean: Northfleet Revisited

As a general rule, when reconstructing stamping dies I like to work directly from a photograph of the original pot. Looking at the way light hits a stamp impression is the best way for me to understand the way the die would have been carved: which portions are in higher relief, the order of cuts,Continue reading “A most unusual bean: Northfleet Revisited”

O (inverted) Christmas Tree…

After a run of mostly Anglian stamps, I thought I would mix it up with this Kentish pot. The triangular stamp has a leaf-vein motif, and the shape certainly puts me in mind of a silver birch leaf or perhaps a black poplar. The pot itself is in the collection of the museum in Maidstone,Continue reading “O (inverted) Christmas Tree…”

Magic Beer Stamp?

Runic inscriptions in Anglian and Saxon pottery are quite uncommon, but several 5th century urns were found in the cemetery at Spong Hill in North Elmham, Norfolk, bearing similar stamps comprised of three runes. They are stamped upside down on the exemplar, but the letters are Elder Futhark mirror runes (mirrored across the vertical axis).Continue reading “Magic Beer Stamp?”