Introduction to Archaeological Illustration

Introduction to Archaeological Illustration

March 2023 somewhere in Ireland

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?

Get an introduction to the theory and technique of completing archaeological illustrations from the comfort of your own home. Using household items as substitutes for real artefacts, learn the basic skills necessary to produce archaeological illustrations of pottery and small finds. Then you'll be ready to illustrate real artefacts, such as from HMS Invincible, when social distancing restrictions are lifted!

Participants will gain an understanding of the difference between a drawing and an archaeological illustration. Using household items as substitutes, participants will learn how to set up an artefact for an archaeological drawing and then how to draw it. Online lectures will be combined with set illustration tasks to provide an interactive and practical online experience. Under expert online guidance, participants will produce an illustration of an item of pottery and a small find made of wood, metal or leather.

By completing this course using household items, participants will get an introduction to the illustration skills that can then be applied to real archaeological artefacts when it is possible to access them. This course was originally organised to be run in-person to train volunteers to illustrate the hundreds of artefacts recently raised from HMS Invincible. When social distancing restrictions are suitably relaxed, a follow up course will be held at the MAST conservation lab in Poole, Dorset where participants of this course can further their skills - on real artefacts!

Please note - NO ARTISTIC SKILL REQUIRED!

WHO'S THE TUTOR

TBC

WHO'S IT FOR?

This course is for anyone interested in this traditional method of recording artefacts that is still relevant today. Divers, beachcombers, and avocational archaeologists will find this course interesting as it will teach them that through the detailed observations required for an archaeological illustration, more information can be gleaned from an artefact that might not be observed during rapid photographic recording techniques. People wishing to include the still-essential line illustrations of artefacts in publications will find this course useful as they will learn how to create these figures themselves. 

NAS members will earn 5 credits per day towards their Certificate or Award.

COSTS

TBC

Timetable (provisional and subject to change)

09:00   introductions – NAS host

09:20   History and archaeology of HMS Invincible – Dan Pascoe

09:50   Why archaeological illustration still matters – Mark Hoyle

10:20   Questions and break

10:30   Theory: Overview of techniques and conventions of pottery – Mark Hoyle

11:00   Questions and break

11:15   Practical: pottery illustration - participants

12:30   Lunch and finishing off illustrations

13:00   Theory: illustrating small finds, metal, wood, stone, rope and leather – Mark Hoyle

14:00   Practical: small finds illustration - participants

15:00   Reviewing illustrations – Mark Hoyle

15:30   Practical: Making changes to illustrations - participants

16:00   Questions, putting it into perspective – Mark Hoyle

16:30   Getting involved in HMS Invincible volunteering and NAS – NAS host

17:00   Day end