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kareinaThe Summer job at Lofotr Viking Museum that I am interested in applying for is the one for craftspeople The have a two-page application form, and ask for a CV. I have filled in the form, and wrote the below paragraphs for the section labelled "Write your application text here. Background, skills, etc:" This much text makes the application just exactly fill the two pages of their form. If anyone has any feedback for me on it, I would really appreciate it.
The application text:
I am excited to apply for the Viking Age Crafts position, with a speciality in Soapstone carving because ties in so well with my second PhD research (see CV) and my introduction to soapstone carving from the Nidaros Cathedral Restoration Project. I truly enjoy the soapstone carving, but, due to other commitments, I haven’t had the time available to complete my large cooking pot. Therefore, a summer job wherein I am able to devote my time to the craft of stone carving sounds absolutely perfect.
In addition to carving soapstone, I would like to undertake experimental archaeology and learn to cook in soapstone vessels. I have heard from Eva Stavsøien at Nidaros that a soapstone pot of the size I am carving has enough heat capacity to keep a pot of water boiling for fully 10 minutes after the pot has been removed from the fire, which sounds perfect for making porridge without burning it.
However, I am very curious: How dependent that boiling time after removal from the fire is on the size of the pot? A smaller pot would presumably cool faster than a large one, but it also contains less liquid. Does that mean that the smaller heat-sink can keep the smaller amount of water boiling for the same amount of time? How does the relationship between the thickness of the pot walls and the diameter of the pot (T-D ratio) effect the overall heat capacity of the pot (and thus how long the liquid will continue to boil)? Assuming that changing the T-D ratio changes how long the liquid continues to boil, are different pots better suited to making porridge from different grains (with different cooking times)? If so, can any inferences be made as to preferred local porridge grains based on differences in the T-D ratio of the pot? While I expect that the final question is beyond the scope of a single summer’s experimental archaeology, doing tests measuring the boiling times after removal from the fire for pots with different T-D ratios would be an interesting start towards that understanding.
The application text:
I am excited to apply for the Viking Age Crafts position, with a speciality in Soapstone carving because ties in so well with my second PhD research (see CV) and my introduction to soapstone carving from the Nidaros Cathedral Restoration Project. I truly enjoy the soapstone carving, but, due to other commitments, I haven’t had the time available to complete my large cooking pot. Therefore, a summer job wherein I am able to devote my time to the craft of stone carving sounds absolutely perfect.
In addition to carving soapstone, I would like to undertake experimental archaeology and learn to cook in soapstone vessels. I have heard from Eva Stavsøien at Nidaros that a soapstone pot of the size I am carving has enough heat capacity to keep a pot of water boiling for fully 10 minutes after the pot has been removed from the fire, which sounds perfect for making porridge without burning it.
However, I am very curious: How dependent that boiling time after removal from the fire is on the size of the pot? A smaller pot would presumably cool faster than a large one, but it also contains less liquid. Does that mean that the smaller heat-sink can keep the smaller amount of water boiling for the same amount of time? How does the relationship between the thickness of the pot walls and the diameter of the pot (T-D ratio) effect the overall heat capacity of the pot (and thus how long the liquid will continue to boil)? Assuming that changing the T-D ratio changes how long the liquid continues to boil, are different pots better suited to making porridge from different grains (with different cooking times)? If so, can any inferences be made as to preferred local porridge grains based on differences in the T-D ratio of the pot? While I expect that the final question is beyond the scope of a single summer’s experimental archaeology, doing tests measuring the boiling times after removal from the fire for pots with different T-D ratios would be an interesting start towards that understanding.