Archaeological textiles and clothing Research Papers (original) (raw)

Archaeopress Archaeology www.archaeopress.com We are very lucky to have small, contemporary records of history scattered throughout our soil in the form of lead seals. With a couple of notable exceptions, their potential has not been... more

Archaeopress Archaeology www.archaeopress.com

We are very lucky to have small, contemporary records of history scattered throughout our soil in the form of lead seals. With a couple of notable exceptions, their potential has not been realised by archaeologists and historians, but the recent explosion in the numbers found and recorded has helped to bring their importance and value to the attention of those interested in our heritage. This book is intended to be a repository of the salient information currently available on the identification of cloth seals, and a source of new material that extends our understanding of these important indicators of post-medieval and early-modern industry and trade. It is, primarily, a guide to help with the identification of cloth seals, both those found within and those originating from the United Kingdom. Most of the extra examples, referenced beneath the images, can be quickly located and viewed through access to the internet.

Cloth Seals

Recent publications on textile archaeology have highlighted the important contribution of small finds in general(1) [Huang, A. L., & Jahnke, C., 2015, p.3](2) and cloth seals(3) in particular [ibid, pp.4, 151, 153-154, 205; Kleij, P., 2008, p.57; Rodenburg, N.M., 2011, p.7; Maćkowski, T., 2012a(4); & Davis, C., 2014, p.73 &, most recently, Wolf, T., 2016]. However, the huge potential of cloth seals as a data source for the late medieval, post medieval and early modern periods of economic and industrial history remains largely untapped. This is in no small part due to the difficulty involved in their full identification [Egan, G., 1978b, p.177] and the dispersed nature of the information required to decipher all that their cryptic letters, numbers, images and markings can tell us(5). This book aims to assist in this identification process.

(1) “Archaeologists across Europe generally recognise that small finds data, whether from stratified contexts or not, is a vital component of the archaeological record, and that these finds should be recorded, curated and preserved, and the information about them shared.” [Deckers, P., Lewis, M., Thomas, S., 2016, p.428].

(2) This largely focuses on the use of spindle whorls and loom weights in archaeometry but acknowledges cloth seals' proof of international trade.

(3) This applies equally to bag and bale seals, [Berglund, S., 2010, p.42].

(4) Includes an excellent overview of the cloth seals found in Gdansk and outlines the useful information that can be found on them. This is taken into more detail in further papers [Maćkowski, T., 2012b and (forthcoming publication) 2016].

(5) Although primarily concerned with cloth seals found in America, the following remark applies equally well to Europe, “Aside from [a] few major works, cloth seals have appeared as merely a small section or mention in reports and books, largely misunderstood and generally written off as highly enigmatic and undecipherable. While this is true at times due to poor preservation, lead seals are simply a subject in need of careful and in depth research in order to be better understood” [Davis, C., 2014, p.14]. Another student thesis [Boon, R.J., 2012] gives us hope that this in-depth research is indeed being pursued by the next generation.