Discover the origins and applications of coiled basketry and craft your own small rush basket to take home.

£45 per person

Unlike traditional woven baskets, coiled basketry takes a different approach: pliable materials like grasses or rushes are formed into a continuous coiled core, which is then stitched together with a binding material to build the structure. The result is a tightly stitched, versatile, durable, and yet flexible basket, which would have had a range of unique applications during prehistory.

In this workshop, we'll first take a look at the archaeological record in a short lecture to discover the origins and applications of coiled basketry. Then, the bulk of the workshop is hands-on: You'll be introduced to some of the materials, tools and binding techniques. Most of the workshop will be spent on crafting your own small rush basket to take home.

About Chris

Chris Woodland is an experimental archaeologist and prehistoric crafts practitioner. He is a member of the Mesolithic Resource Group, who specialise in researching and educating about how our ancestors lived in the Stone Age. His broad skill set includes flint knapping, bow building, firecraft, fishing technologies, tanning, foraging, and working with a variety of prehistoric technologies.

Most recently, he has taught prehistoric craft workshops at the Kierikki Stone Age Centre in Finland, including fire lighting, carving and cordage workshops, as well as conducting experimental archaeology research on fish traps.

His workshops are complemented by his academic background in prehistoric archaeology. In-depth research goes into each workshop, tracing the origins of skills and knowledge back to our ancient ancestors.

He keeps his finger on the pulse of current research, having completed a masters degree at the University of York in Experimental Archaeology and conducting his own experimental research projects, most recently on prehistoric fishing technologies and a Stone Age bow, which you can read about here.