Artwork by artists Lorraine Whelan & James Hayes
UMHA AOIS
The Bronze Age 4,000 Years On

The Navan Centre (Eamhain Macha), Co. Armagh, August 1996
Niall O'Neill lifts a glowing crucible out of the furnace at the start of the pour. What an adrenalin rush!
The Ulster History Park, Omagh, July 1997
Major excavations for an experiment in melting bronze. The bronze melted but it turned out we had the scale way off! The smaller the pit, the more control you have over the melt (plus you can actually get near it, haha!)
The Ulster History Park, Omagh, July 1997
Some crucibles made for the Bronze Age pit experiment, preloaded with copper & tin pellets. Also, to the right, several stone moulds packed in sand for a pour.
The Ulster History Park, Omagh, July 1997
An axe head clay mould, hot out of the oven and about to be filled with molten bronze. This style of clay mould incorporating a complex pour cup and core has proved very successful.
The Ulster History Park, Omagh, July 17th - 31st, 1997
Completed bronze casts and stone moulds. At centre top is a bell shape that was poured in a hand formed sand cast (with core!). At right top is the remains (scorched white) of a cuttle fish mould, a quick technique for small detailed pieces, a technique used mostly by jewelers. Creating hollow cast objects, such as axe heads or spear heads, proved to be the challenge of the week which we overcame with a high degree of success considering the limited time frame.
The Ulster Folk & Transport Museum , Co. Down
August 2nd - 13th 1999
Niall O'Neill puts on an impressive show during one of many evening pours. Since we were staying in residence onsite, the group would often work late into the evening to get as many castings in as possible.
The Ulster Folk & Transport Museum , Co. Down
August 2nd - 13th 1999
Molten bronze being poured into a clay mould. This bronze was melted in a small pit furnace, using a bellows and charcoal. For a sense of scale, the tongs in the picture holding the crucible are just standard kitchen tongs. The crucible was made by wrapping clay around a prepared stick and sliding it off when it had dried sufficiently. The crucible has a high sand content to help it withstand the heat, as its melting point is not far above the bronze's melting point!
Artwork by artists Lorraine Whelan & James Hayes