Category Archives: Kapunda

Tools of the archaeology trade

Posted on November 27, 2020 by sarthure

These days, I’m deep in the results from the Baker’s Flat excavations of 2016 and 2017, analysing what we found as part of the ‘writing up’ of my PhD. As we excavated, the work was captured in words, photos, total … Continue reading →

Posted in Baker's Flat, Excavation, Field work, Kapunda, South Australia | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A tale of two buttons and some supernatural events

Posted on September 27, 2020 by sarthure

I’ve been cataloguing buttons from Baker’s Flat. The ones in the picture below are known as trouser buttons (suspender buttons if you’re in the US) and were used mainly on work trousers and shirts. These four hole, sew through buttons … Continue reading →

Posted in Baker's Flat, Cataloguing, Material culture, South Australia | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Bonfires and St John’s Eve

Posted on June 24, 2019 by sarthure

Yesterday, 23 June, was St John’s Eve, which was traditionally celebrated in Ireland with large bonfires across the countryside. Hence its other name, Bonfire Night. June in Ireland is the height of summer, and the long twilight would be a … Continue reading →

Posted in Baker's Flat, Folk traditions, Folklore, Ireland, Irishness, Kapunda, South Australia | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Bonfires and St John’s Eve

Christmas jigsaw puzzle of the ceramic variety

Posted on January 1, 2018 by sarthure

Christmas is an excellent time for jigsaw puzzles. One of my longtime favourite novelists, Margaret Drabble, asserts that ‘jigsaws are a joy at Christmas, the ideal gift, the perfect employment’. Further, she says, they ‘give you an illusion of order and progress when … Continue reading →

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Tales from the trenches – Philomena the digging doll

Posted on August 6, 2017 by sarthure

Recently, I was reading The Archaeology of Time Travel. And I was reflecting on the idea that people who visit historic sites experience them in a more ‘real’ way when they’re presented as living history or re-enactments or historical role play. … Continue reading →

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