Category Archives: Material culture

Fizzy drinks, the Codd patent bottle and some experimental archaeology

Posted on August 27, 2020 by

When aerated mineral water drinks were first manufactured way back in the eighteenth century, they were stored in stoneware bottles. But the gas often escaped, the fizz disappeared and the drinks became flat. When glass bottles were used, a different … Continue reading →

Posted in Material culture, Research, hmmm, South Australia | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

We’re building a wall and adding a foundation deposit

Posted on October 14, 2018 by

So, we like gardening, although we’re often neglectful and the plants that thrive do so because they’re hardy.  This weekend’s project, in which I played a minor role, was to build a three-course curved wall around the fence that holds … Continue reading →

Posted in Excavation, Folk traditions, Foundation deposits, Ireland, Irishness, Material culture, South Australia | Tagged , , , ,

Christmas jigsaw puzzle of the ceramic variety

Posted on January 1, 2018 by

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 →

Posted in Baker's Flat, Cataloguing, Material culture, Research, hmmm | Tagged , , , ,

Unearthed: an exhibition inspired by Baker’s Flat

Posted on April 29, 2017 by

Unearthed is an exhibition of paintings by Lynn Mack, inspired by some of the ceramic and glass artefacts excavated at Baker’s Flat. It’s part of South Australia’s History Festival, and you can find it at the entrance to the Central Library at Flinders University. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art and archaeology, Baker's Flat, Material culture, Migration, South Australia | Tagged , , , , , ,

A reflective moment on the entangled world of research

Posted on February 12, 2017 by

‘Take a sharp needle,’ he said, ‘and stick it in under the collar of your coat, and not one of them will be able to have power on you.’ This is from a story that John Millington Synge recorded on … Continue reading →

Posted in Folk charms, Folk traditions, Material culture, Research, hmmm, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , ,