Star Carr ‘Life After the Ice’

Star Carr ‘Life After the Ice’: Reconstructing prehistoric houses through immersive digital and experimental archaeology methods

Star Carr was a Mesolithic settlement in North Yorkshire, England, occupied around 11,000 years ago.

During excavations from 2004-2015 led by archaeologists from the Universities of York, Chester and Manchester, the earliest house in Britain was found alongside the earliest evidence of carpentry, artefacts including the oldest bow found in Europe, and over 20 complete deer-antler headdresses. These globally significant discoveries formed the basis of a major 2 year exhibition and publication engagement programme undertaken through a partnership between the Yorkshire Museum and the University of York. This co-curated exhibition enabled us to experiment with different approaches to reconstructing what life may have been like at Star Carr.

An immersive digital mural was developed in which we reconstructed the site’s landscape and, for the first time, we ‘peopled’ the settlement using digital characters brought to life through motion capture technology. As part of the public engagement programme, a replica of the earliest house in Britain was constructed in the museum gardens during August 2024 to provide a freely accessible way for people to engage with the exhibition.

In this talk, archaeologist Dr Jess Bates and digital artist Dr Guy Schofield will transport you back to the Mesolithic and explore how researchers are using innovative methods to gain insights into the lives of people living 11,000 years ago.

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Host or Publisher University of York Open Lectures