The only way to find out what the Enderby Shield, the only known Iron Age shield made from bark, may actually have looked like is to task a crack team of experimental archaeologists with crazy Iron Age skills, and a nose for detective work, to authentically recreate it.

Curator of European and Roman Conquest period, Sophia Adams and this extraordinary team follow a trail of clues from laboratory findings at the British Museum, to marks and patterns on the remains of the shield itself, as they forensically piece together how this bark shield would have been constructed 2200 years ago.

This shield project was made possible by the inspiration and knowledge of Matthew Beamish and the skills and dedication of a team of field archaeologists, experimental archaeologists, independent specialists, conservators and scientists from The British Museum, University of Leicester Archaeological Services https://le.ac.uk/ulas, SUERC and York Archaeological Trust; including Caroline Cartwright and Barbara Wills (BM); Prof. Melanie Giles, Matthew Beamish, Adam Clapton and Roger Kipling (ULAS); Diederik Pomstra, Paul Windridge and Michael Bamforth. With thanks to Everards of Leicestershire and Mike Winterton and family.

#experimentalarchaeology #woodcraft #woodworking #basketry #ironage #shield #barkshield