Darrell Markewitz

CURRICULUM VITAE : Arts / Educational - to 2023


Post Secondary Education


‘Middle Ages / Experimental Archaeology’ - Laurier University, Waterloo ON : 2019

audit of undergraduate single credit course

Ontario College of Art, Toronto: 1975 - 79

General Studies program, with emphasis in technical media.

Trent University 1974-75

General Sciences program (first year of BSc)


General Arts Experience


• Body of related work extends back to the late 1970's

• A professional artisan blacksmith since the mid 1980's

• Established The Wareham Forge as a full time operation in 1992

• Independent Research into Northern European bloomery iron smelting : 2001 - present

• ’Semi-retired’ as of mid 2023


Major Teaching (Arts & Historic)


• ‘Bringing Vinland to Life - L’Anse aux Meadows NHSC, Newfoundland : Spring 2022

9 day staff training in history, craft skills, interpretive method related to the Norse Encampment program (lectures / workshops / program design and implementation)

• Workshop training programs at the Wareham Forge, Wareham ON, 2 - 3 day sessions : Spring 1992 to 2020 (COVID)

Hands on programs stressing technical aspects : Blacksmithing / Bladesmithing / Iron Smelting / Casting / plus Viking Age related

• Haliburton School of the Arts, Sanford Fleming College, Haliburton ON, Sessional Instructor : Fall 2017 / Winter 2018 / Fall 2018

Sessional (one week) college level programs for 16 adult students ; ‘Basics / Toolmaking’ and ‘History of Ironwork’ combines lecture and practical.

• ‘Celtic Iron Age Smelting’ - Scottish Crannog Centre, Aberfeldy, Scotland, 2016. Four day training session for staff on bloomery iron furnaces.

• ‘Experimental Archaeology - Iron Smelting’, Washington College MD, 2013 / Brown University RI, 2011. One week workshop program for university level students

• ‘World of the Norse’, Cranbrook Institute of Science, MI, 2003.

Designed, constructed & installed this 1000 sq ft. exhibit containing 175 replica objects placed in ‘daily life’ context, included related staff training.

• ’Interpreting the Viking Age’, College of the North Atlantic, St Anthony NL, May - June 2000.

Six week long college level program for 40 adult students. (Program design, delivery, administration, training manual.)

• ‘Full Circle - First Contact’, Newfoundland Museum, 2000 +. Worked on educational aspects of this travelling exhibit, plus staff training at hosting institutions, mounted living history presentations in conjunction (Woodstock Museum / Cranbrook Institute of Science)

• ‘Vikings - North Atlantic Saga’, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, 2000 +.

Part of initial concept team, worked on educational aspects of this travelling exhibit, plus staff training at hosting institutions. mounted living history presentation in conjunction (Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa)

• ‘the Norse Encampment’, L’Anse aux Meadows NHSC, Parks Canada, 1996 +

Creation and ongoing staff training for the interpretive program. (Program design, production, delivery, training manual.)


Iron Smelting / Historic - Teaching & Demonstrations


• 'Turf to Tools' (Project Lead) : Scottish Sculpture Workshop, Lumsden Scotland, August 2014, 2016, 2017, Isle of Skye, 2023

Research into Pictish (Scotland c 400 - 600 AD) iron smelting

• ‘Caherconnell Furnace Festival’ : Caherconnell Stone Fort, the Burren Ireland, August 2023

Participant training, public interface, physical demonstration at this three day iron smelting symposium

• ‘Middle Ages / Experimental Archaeology’ - Laurier University, Waterloo ON : 2019 / 2020 / 2023

Guest lecturer for undergraduate course

• Ontario Artisan Blacksmiths : (various ON locations), June 2005, April 2012, February 2014, October 2019

Demonstration of blacksmithing skills

• CAMELOT (Conference) : St Jerome’s University, Waterloo ON, September 2018

Iron smelting demonstration / experiment

• DARC at Vinland, L’Anse Aux Meadows NHSC, Newfoundland, August 2010, July 2012, 2017

organized team of 12+ re-enactors for 10 day presentations 2012 + 2017 including iron smelt

• Reconstructive and Experimental Archaeology Conference : Gastonia NC, October 2102, 2013, Williamsburg VA 2016

• ‘The Celts are Coming’ : Scottish Crannog Centre, Aberfeldy, Scotland, August 2017, Celtic Iron Age smelt

• International Congress on Medieval Studies : Kalamazoo MI, May 2012 - 2016,

Paper presentations, physical demonstrations (iron smelt 2013 / Aristotle Furnace 2016)

• 'Iron Smelting in Thy' : Heltborg Museum, Denmark, April - May, 2008

Undertook 3 iron smelting demonstrations

• ‘The Vikings are Coming’ : Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Bristol RI, September 2003, 2004, 2006

Organized team of 8-10 re-enactors for 3 day presentations

• 'Smeltfest' (Germinal Ironworks) : Lexington VA, February / March 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012,

Iron smelt research

• 'Folly in the Forge' (Michigan Artist Blacksmiths) : Traverse City MI, February 2006,

Demonstration iron smelt

• 'Early Iron' Symposium : Peters Valley NJ, October 2006 / Cooperstown NY, October 2004 & 2005,

Iron smelt instruction and demonstration

• CanIRON 4 : Annapolis Royal NS, August 2005,

Demonstration Viking Age iron smelt

• 'Iron Processing at L'Anse aux Meadows' (Parks Canada) : L'Anse aux Meadows NF, June 2001

Research workshop participant


Publications / Conference Presentations:


• ’20 Years Before the Blast - Experimental Bloomery Iron Smelting 2001-2024’, Kindle/Amazon, March 2025 (with Neil Peterson)

• ‘Basics of Bloomery Iron Smelting’, Kindle/Amazon, January 2025

• ‘Icelandic Sod Walled Bloomery Furnaces, based on the remains at Hals’, Kindle/Amazon, December 2024 (with Neil Peterson)

• ‘Iron Smelting in Vinland - Converting archaeological evidence to a practical method’, Kindle/Amazon, November 2024

• ‘Beginning Blacksmithing, or, I wish someone had told ME that!’, Kindle/Amazon, April 2024

• ’Turf to Tools - A Final Summation’, Kindle/Amazon, April 2024 (with commentary by Deirdre O’Mahony)

• ‘How Dense Are You? Recording Bloom Density from experimental iron smelting’, Kindle/Amazon, February 2024 (with Neil Peterson)


• ’20 Years Before the Blast - Experimental Bloomery Iron Smelting 2001-2024’, at CAMELOT, University of Waterloo, 2025

• ‘Icelandic Sod Walled Bloomery Furnaces, based on the remains at Hals’, for the International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, 2025

published as narrated video via YouTube, May 2025

• ‘Experiment, Archaeology & Art - The Turf to Tools Project’ in ‘Experimental Archaeology at EAA-23’ Fregni & Maguire (editors), publication pending

also presentation at the 2023 European Archaeology Assn. conference, Belfast.

• ‘Archaeology, Experience and Experiment : Further tests of Icelandic iron smelting furnaces’, contributions by Neil Peterson and Rey Cogswell, in ‘Can These Bones Come to Life?", Cramer (editor) publication pending

• ‘Look at the Bones! Adding bone to a bloomery iron smelt’ in The EXARC Journal 2023/4

also presented at the EAC13 conference, 2023 and published as narrated video via YouTube, 2023

• ‘How to Annoy Reviewers’ with Neil Peterson, in the EXARC Journal 2022/2

• ‘Now with 70% Less Clay! Experiments with Viking Age Icelandic turf walled iron smelting furnaces’, co-authors Kevin P. Smith & Neil Peterson, for the EAC12 Conference (video) published via YouTube, April 2021

(paper under preparation, shortened version on web site)

• ‘Standardized Reporting of Experimental Iron Smelting - a modest (?) proposal’, in ‘The EXARC Journal’ 2021/1

• ‘Bellows Test - Norse Smelting Bellows’, video on YouTube, February 2021

• ‘An Iron Smelt in Vinland - an experimental investigation’, in ‘Can These Bones Come to Life?’, Cramer (editor) 2014


• Featured artist : ‘Ironwork Today’ by Snynder, vol. 2 (2008) / vol. 3 (2011) / vol. 4 (2015)

• Featured artist : ‘Backroads Craft’ by Comber & Civiero, 2014


• Detailed reports / formal articles self published on web site :

- ’Experiment, Archaeology & Art - The Turf to Tools Project’, September 2023

- ‘Stacking Up - On constructing clay furnace walls’, August 2021

- ‘Into Phase 3 - Continuing experiments with iron smelting based on Hals, Iceland’, Summer 2021

- ‘Evidence of Absence - Erosion of Bloomery Furnaces’, May 2021

- ‘Iron Smelting in Vinland - Converting Archaeological Evidence to Practical Method”, June 2010)

- ‘Concerning the Shape of Blooms’, February 2010

- ‘Working towards an Icelandic Viking Age Smelt, Based on the remains at Hals’, prepared with the assistance of Kevin P. Smith & Neil Peterson, October 2008.

- ‘Adventures in Early Iron Production : An overview of experimental iron smelts, 2001 - 2005’, March 2006

• Five self published DVD / CD ROM :


For further Reference:

Main Wareham Forge website :  www.warehamforge.ca

Experimental Iron Smelting :  www.warehamforge.ca/ironsmelting

Hammered Out Bits (blog) :  warehamforgeblog.blogspot.ca