History of weaving Research Papers (original) (raw)

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- Tapestry, History of weaving, Medieval Tapestry

Analysing textiles from Hallstatt in Austria always involves studying the whole chaîne opératoire. Due to their excellent preservation in the salt mine it is worth considering how the items were produced as well as the end point of the chaîne opératoire, the use, recycling and discarding. Additionally, the fi ndspot, Hallstatt, off ers insights into an interesting period for the development of textile crafts in prehistoric Europe: in the second and fi rst millennium BC many inventions and innovations fl ourished across Europe and transformed the textile world.

- by Karina Grömer and +1
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- Textiles, Material Culture Studies, History of Textiles, Textile Archaeology

We investigate pattern and process in the transmission of traditional weaving cultures in East and Southeast Asia. Our investigation covers a range of scales, from the experiences of individual weavers ('micro') to the broad-scale patterns of loom technologies across the region ('macro'). Using published sources, we build an empirical model of cultural transmission (encompassing individual weavers, the household and the community), focussing on where cultural information resides and how it is replicated and how transmission errors are detected and eliminated. We compare this model with macro-level outcomes in the form of a new dataset of weaving loom technologies across a broad area of East and Southeast Asia. The lineages of technologies that we have uncovered display evidence for branching, hybridization (reticulation), stasis in some lineages, rapid change in others and the coexistence of both simple and complex forms. There are some striking parallels with biological evolution and information theory. There is sufficient detail and resolution in our findings to enable us to begin to critique theoretical models and assumptions that have been produced during the last few decades to describe the evolution of culture.

- by Christopher D Buckley and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology, Southeast Asian Studies

Traditional arts are the products based upon the knowledge and skill of individuals, where particularly natural raw materials are used, reflecting the culture, tradition and customs of a community and the feelings, thoughts and skills of individuals.
Throughout history, all communities formed their own cultural structures with these art products they produced in compliance with the raw material and natural structure of the regions they lived. In the formation of such a structure, nomads are of importance and they developed their existing culture and enriched it.
The existence of wicker knitting, one of the earliest arts of the world, in prehistorical periods is known through basket parts, bone stilettos and stone carvings found in the graves unearthed in excavations. In the current time, wicker knitting products integrated with modern sense of design are on the way of having a large field of usage in our daily lives. The purpose of the current study is to introduce the development of wicker knitting among traditional Turkish arts, the current position and designs for new fields of usage. As the method of the study, screening and test models were used. Depending on the products used in the past in this sense, new product applications were realized aiming at the current fields of usage.

- by Fatma Nur Başaran
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- Textiles, Basketry (Archaeology), History of weaving, Weaving

In the Hedebo area in the east of Denmark, around Copenhagen, Køge and Roskilde, the peasants developed household textiles of very high quality including the fine embroidery known as hedebo embroidery.
The area was characterised as having the country’s most fertile arable land as well as both good marketing possibilities and special property conditions for the peasants. These advantages resulted in particularly good social and economic conditions compared to other peasants making them able to spend a large part of their profit on textiles.
The article answers the questions: What kind of household textiles were used on the farms, how were they used, where were they stored and who manufactured them? Furthermore, suggestions are given as to how the peasants were able to produce such fine textiles and in such large quantities as was the case.

- by Inge Christiansen
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- Peasant Studies, Land Reforms, Traditional Crafts, Folk Culture

The book provides the first broad survey of church textiles of Spanish America and demonstrates that while overlooked, textiles were a vital part of visual culture in the Catholic Church. When Catholic churches were built in the New World in the sixteenth century, they were furnished with rich textiles known in Spanish as "church clothing." These textile ornaments covered churches' altars, stairs, floors, and walls. Vestments clothed priests and church attendants, and garments clothed statues of saints. The value attached to these textiles, their constant use, and their stunning visual qualities suggest that they played a much greater role in the creation of the Latin American Church than has been previously recognized. In Clothing the New World Church, Maya Stanfield-Mazzi provides the first

- by Kathryn Kruger
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- English language and literature, History of weaving, Weaving

Tablet woven bands were widely used to embellish various garments and even in some cases worn alone as a headband throughout the Viking Age. Numerous surviving examples have been found at Viking Age Norse archeological sites all throughout Europe including (but not limited to) Scandinavia, the European Mainland, and the British Isles. Considering this, I thought that I should try my hand at learning how to do some basic tablet weaving and have created a thin band of weaving with a basic chevron design. I will use this band (and more in the future as my skills build) to further embellish the period costumes I create and create a more authentic look and feel.

- by Gangadharan .A
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- Weaving Technology, Textile Technology, History of weaving, Weaving/looms

In this paper, I present results of a series of weaving experiments on a warp-weighted loom. This project was motivated by a desire to develop a better first-hand understanding of the role of some technical aspects of the loom on the types and frequencies of weaving patterns. As a reflection of my personal interest and to keep the scope of this paper manageable, I focused on two main aspects. The first is the fact that extant textile remains show that all four-shed patterns woven on a warp-weighted loom share a common characteristic and that is that they are always broken, not symmetrical. The second is motivated by the finds of crescent shaped loom weights and considers methods to maintain uniform tension in the warp threads while weaving twill.

According to recently published research (Softer, 2004: 407) the technology of spinning and weaving has its roots in Palaeolithic epochs, dating as far back as ca. 30,000-25,000 BP (Dolni Vestonice I, Moravia). It therefore seems possible that the stories from all over the world which show the archaic idea of making a heavenly texture by spinning and weaving may be much older than hitherto thought. The following paper doesn’t go into such a time depth: the oldest example comes from the Neolithic period. But its aim is to show, that spinning and weaving the fabric of the world had been a very important, effective, and long-lasting model for human understanding of the cosmos.

Archaeology seems to support the idea of widespread Minoan trading contacts and a significant number of Minoan colonies. The distribution of the place name “Minoa” in the Aegean and in the eastern and central Mediterranean also appears to imply Minoan colonies. However, we must not forget that it was the famed archaeologist Arthur Evans who gave the Minoan civilization its name. It is possible that the Minoans went by a different name entirely. If the Bronze Age Cretan king was known as “Minos”, it is quite possible that the king’s colonies were named “Minoa” after him, but this is just speculation.

- by Richard Vallance Janke and +1
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- Languages, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Languages and Linguistics, Contact Linguistics

Scenes of textile production on Athenian vases are often interpreted as confirming the oppression of women, who many argue were confined to "women's quarters" and exploited as free labor. However, reexamination of the iconography--together with a reconsideration of gender roles and the archaeology of Greek houses dating to the 5th and 4th centuries BC--suggests that these images idealize female contributions to the household in a positive way. The scenes utilize the dual metaphor of weaving and marriage to express the harmonia of oikos and polis, a theme particularly significant under the evolving Athenian democracy.

It is my contention that by the Upper Paleolithic, many technologies were quite advanced. In particular, basket weaving or woven-fiber technology had reached a high point of development. A variety of basket weaving techniques had been mastered along with the manufacture of cordage and the beginnings of textiles. This knowledge and these skills were then passed on to Neolithic cultures who were able to make full use of these technologies in their sedentary and agricultural societies. Basket weaving or woven-fiber technology was a central technology all during the Pre-Pottery A & B Neolithic time period, a time period that lasted much longer than the later Pottery Neolithic. Furthermore, even after the invention of pottery, basket weaving skills continued to be crucial to both the Neolithic cultures and to the first civilizations.

- by Rick Doble
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- Ethnoarchaeology, Neolithic Archaeology, Basketry (Archaeology), Weaving Technology

While few archaeological finds remain concerning dress during the Iron Age of the Celtic Tribes in Europe, if we consider historical commentary, Celtic art, oral traditions and archaeological data together we can amass a generic idea what might have been available and worn by them. This broad approach to dress is not with out bias however and it must be noted that regional differences must have existed. The document tries to amass not just the generic view of dress but also emphasizes the issues of lack of evidence and culture and region differences that impact this information.

- by heather smith
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- Archaeology, Celtic Studies, History of Costume, History of Textiles

Abstract | PLEASE NOTE CORRECTION ON PAGE 59. TEXT STRUCK OUT IN RED SHOULD READ: "The Dowager Queen Gyalyum"
After more than two centuries of industrialized textile production, despite the displacement
of textiles into the margins of modern life, handweaving persists. While each instance
of successful manufacture is unique, commonalities can be identified that build towards an
understanding of contemporary roles for handmade cloth and the factors that bear on its
survival. This essay aims to consider Bhutan’s success in supporting and evolving handwoven
textiles as a model of maintaining handmade cloth in the twenty-first century. The narrative
relates the ups and downs of Bhutanese handweaving in the decades before and since the
millennium, presenting the complex interplay that has influenced the ways handwoven textiles
are made and used in modern Bhutan. In this sometimes chaotic scenario, patterns emerge
that illuminate the situation of textiles in Bhutan and indicate bases for comparison with other
regions where handmade textiles struggle, yet survive. Although Bhutan’s textile saga is unique
in many ways, particularly because of the country’s powerful monarchy and self-imposed
isolation, the essay highlights central elements of Bhutan’s success in maintaining the vigor
of handmade cloth that can be relevant anywhere that weaving remains part of modern life.1

- by Susan S Bean and +2
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- Bhutan (Anthropology), History of weaving, Weaving, Hand Weaving

La presente tesi di laurea nasce da un interesse personale inerente un particolare argomento assai trascurato e poco dibattuto: la tessitura. La mia ricerca è iniziata grazie alla pratica della rievocazione storica ed alle prove d’archeologia sperimentale svolte con diverse associazioni. Nel processo spettacolare/didattico di rievocazione storica vi è la necessità basilare di ricostruire gli abiti e i tessuti che venivano utilizzati quotidianamente nel passato, questo mezzo dunque assume un’importanza fondamentale nel mostrare al pubblico quale fosse l’aspetto di quelle persone. Il materiale da cui provengono queste informazioni viene principalmente dalle fonti archeologiche ed iconografiche. Il mio interesse verso questo studio è nato principalmente per motivi pratici legati alla necessità di avere materiali filologici da utilizzare in rievocazione. Questa ricerca iniziale si è approfondita sempre di più per contestualizzare il tipo e la qualità dei tessuti utilizzati, le tipologie di telai che producevano questi tessuti e le tonalità di colori naturalmente ottenibili. L’obbiettivo di questa tesi è dunque comprendere le fasi cruciali della tessitura, partendo dalla storia di quest’attività, comprese le prime attestazioni di cucito antecedenti alla tessitura vera e propria. Il metodo utilizzato è basato su un’analisi della storia della tessitura e dei più famosi reperti tessili ritrovati, uno studio dei primi metodi pratici utilizzati per l’intreccio delle fibre e la comprensione del funzionamento delle “macchine” per la realizzazione dei tessuti. Il primo capitolo affronta la storia della tessitura dalle sue iniziali attestazioni. Nel secondo capitolo è descritto lo sviluppo di alcuni dei numerosi tipi di telai esistiti nei diversi millenni, per la comprensione del funzionamento di queste macchine. Il terzo capitolo entra in una fase più specifica, attinente la fabbricazione delle materie prime da cui produrre i diversi tipi di filati d’origine vegetale e animale, poiché dal tipo di materia naturale utilizzata si ottengono importanti informazioni di carattere societario, quali le tipologie d’allevamento e le coltivazioni presenti. Di notevole importanza è la tintura dei tessuti, tema affrontato nel quarto capitolo, in particolare il tipo di pigmenti naturali ricavati dalle piante, dagli animali o dai minerali, che danno le varie gradazioni di colore, al fine di comprendere la minore o maggiore difficoltà nella realizzazione di questi e conseguentemente per capire l’importanza che assumevano determinati colori rispetto ad altri. Il quinto ed ultimo capitolo è la parte fondamentale di questa ricerca: l’applicazione dell’archeologia all’attività tessile. Sono affrontate le problematiche inerenti la rarità dei reperti tessili (dovuta al loro rapido deterioramento naturale), l’importanza assunta dal ritrovamento degli strumenti da lavoro, nonché le prove lasciate sul campo da questi manufatti; da questi elementi si possono ricavare informazioni pratiche sulla base delle loro caratteristiche fisiche (forma, materiale, resistenza) e delle loro finalità, determinate dalla funzione pratica. In questo campo l’archeologia ha la massima importanza, essendo il metodo diretto da cui otteniamo le informazioni in fase di scavo. Applicando i ritrovamenti alle numerose rappresentazioni grafiche ed alle fonti letterarie antiche, è possibile ottenere i dati con cui poter ricostruire buona parte del processo manifatturiero.

- by Valentina Cutaia
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Archeologia
- by Sonja Magnavita
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- Textile Archaeology, Ancient Textiles, African Archaeology, History of weaving

Textiles are rarely found in archaeology because they decay due to climate and soil conditions. Objects that were used to make thread and fabric and that are found in excavations do, however, enable reconstructions of textile production. In this study the data from 1480 loom weights and a number of textile fragments from four Iron Age sites in Transjordan – dated between 800 and 332 BC – were used as a starting point to reconstruct the economic and cultic aspects of textile production. This opened up new insights into the availability and use of raw materials, production techniques, labour investment, producers, consumers and the market. The approach of this study, placing textile research in the context of text analysis, has enabled new interpretations of archaeological finds, unveiling aspects of the economic, social and religious fabric of Iron Age society, and simultaneously it sheds new light on texts from the southern Levant, resulting in a new kaleidoscopic approach to biblical archaeology.

The symbolism connected with the fiber arts is remarkably consistent throughout the world and contains a number of common themes of which the most important is the “Thread-Spirit” doctrine, found in many cultures—Hindu, Islamic, European, Chinese, Amer-Indian—suggesting great antiquity. The doctrine, once understood, gives meaning to the varied symbolism derived from the related arts of knotting, sewing, spinning and weaving. The doctrine is expressed both in language and art and appears in various forms in the folktales of the world as well as in the sacred writings of the world’s major religions.

- by Mark Siegeltuch
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- Religion, Hinduism, Comparative Religion, Archaeology

The Natural History Museum Vienna undertakes extensive research at the site Hallstatt, comprising not only interdisciplinary analysis of the finds and the contexts but also Experimental Archaeology.
Here we focus on a tablet woven band (HallTex 152), which seems to be a very simple design at the first glimpse. The pattern of the band – lozenges with cross-filling - is also present at other Hallstatt period artefacts such as pottery or bronze sheet objects. We present seven different ways to recreate the pattern. Detailed experiments were carried out with different threading concepts for the weaving tablets and different weaving mechanisms and turning sequences. The different solutions to create that design were discussed in comparison with the the original textile.

- by Karina Grömer and +1
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- Experimental Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Textiles, Material Culture Studies

Colour, pattern and glamour are not usually terms associated with textiles in Bronze Age and even for Iron Age Central Europe. Such textiles are usually assumed to be merely functional - textile technology was not so developed and woven fabrics are thought to have been coarse and in dull natural shades. Although this is true for the main corpus of Bronze Age textiles in Europe, recent projects carried out for the textiles from the saltmine Hallstatt, offered a glimpse of an alternative picture. In the Bronze Age we can discern the beginnings of a creative interplay with the possibilities of the materials - patterns, surfaces, colours and their combination with metal. Recently analyzed finds from the Bronze Age mines at Hallstatt (1500-1200 BC) give first examples for advanced weaving techniques, spin pattern and dyeing. Textile patterns are rare, but in the case of the Irgenhausen find very elaborate and mirroring the pattern from contemporary clay figurines in Eastern Europe. Gold threads from Austrian and Hungarian find-spots bring some glamour into the woven world.
An innovative process can be detected in Bronze Age Europe, to give the textiles an attractive appearance as with as other materials and objects like jewellery. In Iron Age Europe first specialisation in textile craft can be seen. After the innovative Bronze Age we now have a full developed textile art with artfully used dyes, divers patterning techniques – both during the weaving process and afterwards. Within Early Iron Age, the interplay between textiles and metal objects attached on them reaches a very high standard – in expressing wealth and beauty. This was discussed with reference to the work of Peter Wells (2008) and his analysis of the visual qualities of objects

We are indebted to various sources for our knowledge of the pre-Roman Iron Age textile production on the territory of Austria (800-15 BC), such as well-preserved textiles, grave finds, textile tools, archaeological evidence in settlements and depictions of textile producers and their products.
We can find evidence of their activities in each settlement, where they lived and worked. Spindle whorls, loom weights and needles in graves may indicate that the deceased who were accompanied by these tools were textile workers, and furthermore point to a special social status these persons occupied in their communities. Particularly during the early Iron Age predominantly women have textile tools in their graves, sometimes even being accompanied by tool sets (e.g. spindles and knifes or spindles and needles). Depictions of textile work, such as on the Sopron Urn and the Bologna tintinnabulum, illustrate different stages of the textile production process from spinning to weaving.
The two case studies of Hallstatt and Dürrnberg demonstrate that textile production in Iron Age Austria was organised in different ways, providing diverse archaeological evidence concerning the producers, consumers and traders of textiles.

- by Karina Grömer
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Textiles, Production

12 original articles concerning the Paleolithic development of woven-fiber technology and its use in early civilizations. This 300+ page eBook is illustrated with over 250 photographs and pictures. More than 100 years ago Gustave Chauvet wrote that he believed basketry and simple weaving were present in the Upper Paleolithic sites he had studied. Yet it took almost that long to convince experts that this was the case. The discovery of irrefutable evidence in the form of impressions of weaving in clay provided the proof. Now it is also clear that basket-weaving and textile-weaving were not incompatible with the hunter-gatherer Paleolithic lifestyle and did not require the sedentary settled Neolithic way of life as had been assumed. This opens up the idea that basket-weaving or woven-fiber technology as I have called it, could have begun even in the Lower Paleolithic, millions of years ago. In these 8 articles, I outline how basketry could have begun perhaps two million years ago and then how it could have developed until the rise of the great civilizations of Sumer and Egypt which depended on this technology. I include ideas about how to find indirect evidence of basket-weaving in the Paleolithic era.

- by Rick Doble
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- Paleoanthropology, Sumerian, Basketry (Archaeology), Weaving Technology

Das Thema „Produktion“ ist Ausgangspunkt, in deutlicher Weise die Komplexität des prähistorischen Textilhandwerkes aufzuzeigen. Die verschiedenen notwendigen Arbeitsschritte zur Herstellung eines Gewebes gehen weit über das reine Spinnen und Weben hinaus: Arbeiten zur Rohstoffgewinnung, Materialaufbereitung, das Spinnen, verschiedene Web- und Verzierungstechniken, die Nachbearbeitung, und das Nähen. Für diese Arbeitsschritte werden unterschiedliche Geräte benötigt, aber auch sonstige Ressourcen wie Anbauflächen, Platzbedarf oder spezialisiertes Know how. Anhand ausgewählter Beispiele werden Möglichkeiten dargestellt, die in der Interpretation der Textilien und textilen Gerätschaften liegen. So sind etwa Diskussionen über die produzierenden Personen, sowohl deren Geschlecht als auch, ob die Tätigkeiten bereits in der Eisenzeit arbeitsteilig durchgeführt wurden, wie dann aus römischer Zeit bekannt, möglich. Nach den derzeitigen Hinweisen scheinen zumindest das Spinnen und Weben von Frauen durchgeführt worden sein. Das Geschlecht der TextilarbeiterInnen für die anderen Produktionsschritte kennen wir nicht.

- by Karina Grömer
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Textiles, Weaving Technology

2019 und 2020 wurden bei archäologischen Ausgrabungen (Ausführung: Novetus GmbH) im Vorfeld des Ausbaus der Pottendorfer Linie der ÖBB in der spätbronzezeitlichen Siedlung (1300-800 v. Chr.) von Ebreichsdorf ein insgesamt fünf Objekte umfassender Goldschatz entdeckt. Der Schatz umfasst eine Goldschale, drei Goldspiralen bzw.-spiralenbündel sowie ein Golddrahtkonvolut, bei dem es sich nach ersten Analysen durch Expertinnen des Naturhistorischen Museums um die Reste eines golddurchwirkten Textils mit von Goldfäden umwickelten Fransen handeln dürfte. Die Goldobjekte werden derzeit von einem internationalen und interdisziplinären Expert:innen-Team untersucht, um Näheres über deren Herstellung und Herkunft herauszufinden. Im Anschluss werden die Objekte durch das Bundesdenkmalamt restauriert und nach Abschluss der Arbeiten im NHM der Öffentlichkeit dauerhaft zugänglich gemacht.

In this liber amicorum for Antoine De Moor, I dedicated this paper to a magnificent sampler housed at the Phoebus Foundation, formerly known as Katoen Natie Collection, Antwerp. With the help of documentary papyrus texts from Egypt, we learn about the system of apprenticeship, in other words, how ancient weavers became masters. It is a case study, where we can confront preserved textiles with the evidence from written sources.

- by Ines Bogensperger
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- Ancient History, Textiles, Egypt, History of weaving
- by Louis Nebelsick and +1
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- History of Sexuality, Erotic art, Early Iron Age, History of weaving
- by Rolf Verberg
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- Experimental Archaeology, Viking Studies, Viking Age Archaeology, History of weaving

Abstract
Weaving in Anatolia from the Neolithic Period to the end of the
Early Bronze Age in the Light of Archaeological Finds
This study focuses on data relating to early weaving in Anatolia. In
fact, weaving, which dates back to the Paleolithic Age, is one of the
oldest occupations of humanity. In this context, an evaluation of the
development and technology of weaving in the light of archaeological
finds in the period from the Neolithic Period to the end of the Early
Bronze Age in Anatolia has been attempted. The first pieces of fabric
and weaving tools found in settlements dating to the Neolithic Period in
Anatolia provide important information about weaving. The first fibers
were bark fibers and plant fibers such as flax. In addition, the absence of
weaving weights and spindle whorls in settlements such as Çatalhöyük
is important in terms of showing that different techniques were applied
here at the beginning of weaving technology. The existence of fabrics
woven on weightless horizontal looms gives clues to the use of spindles
without spindle whorls or wooden spindle whorls that have not survived
until today. However, weaving weights found in Aşağı Pınar document
that production was carried out on weighted looms. This shows that
there were regional differences in weaving technology in the Neolithic
Period. In Anatolia, in the Chalcolithic Age, an increase is observed in
by-products, especially in parallel with the development of animal husbandry.
It is noteworthy that wool as an animal fiber started to become
widespread in this period. There is also an increase in the number of
terracotta or stone spindle whorls and loom weights. It is understood
from fabric remains that wool and linen weighted weaving was practised
in this period. The diameter and weight of the spindle whorls are very
important as they give information about the thickness of the fiber that
was being spun. Likewise, the width and weight of the loom weights
are important. While the weight helps to calculate what thickness of
rope tension it provides, if found in situ associated with loom residue,
the remains can give the width of the woven fabric when juxtaposed
on a loom. Unfortunately, a study that lacks these basic measurements
is tantamount to ignoring potential information. In the Early Bronze
Age, an increase in weaving activities is probably observed in parallel
with the increase in population. It is understood from the numerical
density of weaving tools that there was industrial scale production in
some settlements such as Troy and İkiztepe. moreover, it is known that there was a cloth trade between Harran, an important city-kingdom,
and the city of Ebla in Syria during this period. Surplus products from
weaving were probably used for trade. In Mesopotamian mythology,
the existence of the Goddess Uttu related to weaving is known. The
existence of some rituals related to the goddess indicates that there may
be symbolic meanings in the light of written documents on weaving.
Wool and linen fabrics are known to exist in the Early Bronze Age. It is
known that the fabric was used to wrap weapons in tombs or to wrap the
dead. Moreover, golden appliqués in the Alaca Höyük royal tombs, and
the remains of fabrics found in the royal grave of Arslantepe, suggest
that the dead were buried in clothes. It has been determined that in this
period vertical warp-weighted weaving looms were used in weaving
technology throughout Anatolia.
Keywords: Weaving Tools, Textile Production, Neolithic, Chalcolithic,
Early Bronze Age, Anatolia

- by Derya Yılmaz Tekin
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- Near Eastern Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies, Anatolian Studies, Textiles

Oriental carpet authority Jack Cassin, founder of the Weaving Art Museum (http://weavingartmuseum.org) examines Franses's paper and proves with supporting documentation a number of Franses's statements and conclusions to be highly questionable or false, as well as revealing the serious issue of Franses's unmentioned financial involvements in the acquisition of a number of the weavings he illustrates.
***CLICK THE LINK ABOVE TO rugkazbah.com TO READ THIS PAPER***

- by Jack Cassin
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- Anatolian Studies, History of Textiles, History of Art, Ancient Textiles

English title: 'Weaving workshops of Metsovo, 18th-20th Centuries'

- by Vassiliki Rokou
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- Ethnography, Textiles, Material Culture, Traditional textiles

In the last few decades, studies on organic finds increased, especially in Germany, Switzerland and Austria; some finds from Slovenia have also been recorded so far. The discussion of a find from the site of Molnik near Ljubljana, in central Slovenia, adds important information to our basic knowledge of textile culture in the Eastern Hallstatt area.
The textile from Tumulus 1/Grave 6 is a twill, woven with a single yarn and spin pattern and thus comparable to other textile finds from the same period and region. The fine threads, the spin pattern and the balanced, regular appearance points to a skillful person who made it.
In general textiles – similar to other items of ma¬terial culture from the Hallstatt period – served basic needs as well as representative ones. Grave finds are an especially good hint of such behaviour.
It is difficult to understand the value of textiles in the Iron Age, but in the case of Molnik it has to be stated that the fineness and quality of the item is outstanding. Even the amount of time needed to make such a fine textile with 30 threads per cm is higher than for an average quality textile. The fine quality, the spin pattern and the advanced twill type (diamond twill) place the fabric from Molnik among the extraordinary ones within the Hallstatt culture.

- by Karina Grömer and +1
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- Textiles, Material Culture Studies, History of Textiles, Woven Textiles