Loom Weights Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

In this introduction the main research
approaches applied to textile tools will be
outlined. The ways in which the different
groups of artefacts have been studied in the
past will be investigated, as well as how more
innovative approaches came into being in
recent decades and, finally, which research
potentials have not yet been fully explored.
This chapter aims to present the research
produced by scholars of textile tools and why
and how, if at all, this pool of knowledge
has influenced Aegean and Near Eastern
archaeological research in general.
First, the chapter will provide an overview of
the research approaches and key issues related
to textile tools in the Bronze Age Eastern
Mediterranean, also in comparison to central
and northern Europe. Second, it will discuss
the research on various textile tools. Finally,
the chapter will conclude by proposing a shared
framework to ameliorate the scholarly work on
textile tools in the future. Published in in E. Andersson Strand and M.-L. Nosch (eds.), Tools, Textiles and Contexts. Investigating textile production in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age. Ancient Textiles Ser. Vol. 21. Oxford: Oxbow, 1–23.

Profound cultural changes occurred in the later 3rd millennium BC in many parts of the Aegean during the transition from the Early Bronze Age II to III (EBA II to III). These are for example observable in the drastic changes in architectural and pottery styles. This contribution deals with some examples of archaeological indicators for long-distance contacts between the Aegean and the east (Asia Minor and even beyond) during the Early Bronze Age. Relevant archaeological material for textile manufacture, adornment, seal and weight use, and silver production will be discussed. It is argued that trade and the potential physical presence of foreign merchants had a decisive impact on the “emergence of civilisation” during the EBA II. The long distance exchange was most likely driven by the eastern demand for silver and an Aegean desire for rare commodities, like specific “semi-precious“ beads and woolen textiles. A considerable disruption of this exchange pattern is witnessed by the beginning of the EBA III in the Aegean. It brought the development towards a more complex socio-economic organisation in many parts of the Aegean to a temporary end, with the notable exception of Crete. In the light of the recent suggestions of an earlier beginning of the EBA III in the Aegean, it seems difficult to reconcile this disruption with a potential climatic change around 2200 BC

Re-evaluation of evidence for weaving at Troy, with a special discussion of pierced small spools typical of MH Mainland Greece and their juxtaposition with the flat discoid grooved loom-weights, spreading about the same time from Crete... more

Lacking the actual finds of textiles from the Hallstatt period in Slovakia one has to look for another type of evidence for textile production. Fortunately, there are to be found many spindle whorls and loom weights at settlement contexts, which can be studied more in details. In 2002 and 2005 a lowland settlement was uncovered in the vicinity of a rich necropolis belonging to the Kalenderberg Group in Dunajská Lužná, part Nové Košariská in south-west Slovakia. In partly destroyed house there were unearthed two groups of all together 170 pyramidal loom weights made of sun-dried clay, both set in lines next to the walls, one about 4 m long, another one about 2 m long. Based on this find, in 2010-2011, there has been made a reconstruction of the smaller warp-weighted loom with 79 loom weights. A type of weave and a quality of threads were estimated according to the weight, shape and spatial analysis of the loom weights. At the same time, a matching piece of textile from Hallstatt salt mines was taken as a model type of fabric for reconstruction of weaving on this loom. The experiment was held in cooperation with an archaeologist who excavated the loom weights, an ethnologist who is experienced in old textile techniques and a textile archaeologist. This interdisciplinary work brought together new insights to the construction of the warp-weighted loom, the process of preparation for weaving as well as the weaving itself. The aim of this paper is to answer the questions which came to light during the reconstruction: What kind of evidence give the loom weights situated in lines on a floor of a house? What kind of unit system of length and width can we think about in the Hallstatt period? In what way were threads distributed through the heddles to create a 2/2 twill? How do some of the construction elements of the loom influence the weaving process – e.g. how to attach weights on the warp or what is the slant of the supports of the heddle-rods? The results of this reconstruction will be presented in a broader context of textile production in the Hallstatt period in Central Europe.

- by Juraj Zajonc and +1
- •
- Experimental Archaeology, Warp Weighted Loom, Weaving, Warping
- by Margarita Gleba
- •
- Textile Production, Bronze Age, Textile tools, Miletos
- by Sascha Mauel
- •
- Textile Production, Greece, Spindle Whorls, Craftsmanship

The main goal of this study is to examine the archaeological material dating from the Early Roman period which was discovered during archaeological investigations in a sandpit near Slepotice (Pardubice District) between the years 1995–2003. There were 30 features in total which yielded mainly potsherds corresponding to the Eggers A phase and thus to the pottery of the Plaňany group of the Grossromstedt culture. In addition to pottery, there were also bronze brooches, bronze castellated belt hooks, and other iron objects. The recovered collection was compared with objects of similar date from the Elbe-Germanic cultural circle.

- by Pavel Horník and +2
- •
- Pottery (Archaeology), Settlement Patterns, Textile Technology, Roman Period
- by Łukasz Miszk
- •
- Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Weaving, Loom Weights

A summary report on the variety and functionality of the textile tools found at Bronze Age Tiryns, NE Peloponnese, Greece, published in E. Andersson Strand and M.-L. Nosch (eds.), Tools, Textiles and Contexts. Investigating textile production in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age. Ancient Textiles Ser. Vol. 21. Oxford: Oxbow, 267–278.

In this paper, we present the excavation situation and material from the selected pit house/feature no. 144/1998. The objective is to show the typical features of ceramic material as well as to point out the exceptional discovery of the weight of a weaving loom in situ. The overall assessment of the settlement from the early Roman period, where 30 pit houses have been discovered and excavated, will be published in the journal „Archaeology of eastern Bohemia“.

- by Jan Jílek and +1
- •
- Pottery (Archaeology), Settlement Patterns, Roman Period, Archaeology of Germanic tribes (Roman period)
- by Ignacio Simón Cornago
- •
- Archaeology, Iconography, Epigraphy (Archaeology), Engraved gems

During the later 13th and the 12th century BC several specific categories of artefacts, pottery and clay implements appear in many regions of the Eastern Mediterranean, which can all be considered as novelties. They seem rather foreign within the cultural assemblage of the final Late Bronze Age as they have a rough appearance, are crudely handmade or even unfired. These classes comprise the so-called Handmade Burnished Ware (HBW) and clay spools/reels/cylinders. Other categories of artefact like certain types of figurines and clay rings/disc weights/dough-nut weights might be added to this group. The unusual characteristics of these artefacts lead me to call them ‘barbarian’ elements (comparable with the HBW, which was previously called Barbarian Ware). The ‘revival’ of the term should not imply that I think that necessarily people foreign to the East Mediterranean (‘barbarians’ without state-like societal organisation and script use) brought the new artefacts with them. The term ‘barbarian’ is also not meant as a verdict about the cultural relevance of the presumed users of these artefacts, it should only highlight the rather crude manufacture of the artefacts in comparison to the usual artefacts of these categories of the palatial societies in the 13th century BC.
They will be discussed in view of their chronological position in the various regions, their possible contextual association with each other and their functional dimensions. Special emphasis will be given to the question of the first appearance of these ‘barbarian’ elements in the various regions of the East Mediterranean. It will be investigated whether the occurrence of HBW, clay spools and possibly other find categories are connected to each other, and whether they appear simultaneously in the settlements. It has always been at the centre of interest to find the place of origin of HBW and similarly this was also attempted for the clay spools. We will address this problem here – which is related to the long discussed research question whether a clearly traceable migration of people across the east Mediterranean during this period (“Sea Peoples”) can be reconstructed by archaeological means.

The function of loom weights was to stretch and space the warp threads on a vertical loom. The loom weight is often the only preserved remnant of a loom used in antiquity. Because of their ubiquity, loom weights are the main key to the study of textile production in the Iron Age in the Levant.During excavations loom weights are easy to recognize if they are made of metal, stone or ceramics. Within burnt layers, unfired clay loom weights can be accidentally fired and thus well preserved. But it is difficult to recognize and securely excavate unfired raw clay loom weights. The two main problems are:1. Unfired loom weights disintegrate when they get wet.2. When excavating a mudbrick site, the clay of the loom weights resembles the matrix they were found in.Clay loom weights were sometimes fired, resulting in durable terracotta weights, but the majority were made of unfired clay. Unlike Staermose Nielsen (Staermose Nielsen, K.-H. In: Pritchard, F. and J.F. Wild (ed.). Northern Archaeol...

The paper deals with reconstruction of the warp-weighted loom based on the actual find of loom weights found in situ at the Hallstatt period settlement in Dunajská Lužná – part Nové Košariská. It also encompasses information about preparation of the warp and weaving process on such loom, when reconstructing a 2/2 chevron twill fabric from the salt mines in Hallstatt, Austria. This case study is the result of an interdisciplinary cooperation between archaeology and ethnology. The experiment follows previous theoretical (e.g. typology of warp-weighted looms from the territory of Slovakia and Austria) as well as practical (e.g. reconstruction of the warp-weighted loom from the La Tène period at Devín Castle) knowledge of both authors.

- by Tereza Štolcová and +1
- •
- Experimental Archaeology, Weaving Technology, Hallstatt, Archaeological textiles and clothing

73 clay biconical loomweights were found at Khirbat Burin dating to the Persian period (5th-4th centuries BC). The loomweights were found near a wall and were scattered in two rows of c. 78 cm indicating the width of the loom. They were burnt in the fire with the wooden beams of the loom. The weights range from 23.9 to 41.7 g.
Keywords
Khirbat Burin, Persian period, loomweights, warp-weighted loom, biconical.

- by Orit Shamir and +1
- •
- History of Textiles, Persian Culture, Persian, Warp Weighted Loom

Müller Florian Martin, Überlegungen zu Funktion, Verzierungen und Fundkontexten daunischer Webgewichte, in: Raimund Karl, Jutta Leskovar (Hrsg.), Interpretierte Eisenzeiten. Fallstudien, Methoden, Theorie - 2. Linzer Gespräche zur interpretativen Eisenzeitarchäologie, Studien zur Kulturgeschichte von Oberösterreich 19 (Linz 2007) 291–303.

- by Florian Martin Müller
- •
- Puglia, Archeologia Preromana, Daunia, Preroman Iron Age

This file contains a better quality version that is word searchable.

- by Ezra Marcus and +1
- •
- Archaeology, Egyptology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Archaeology of Ancient Israel

Poster presented in Washington in 2007 at the 10th International Congress on the Heritage and Archaeology of Jordan (ICHAJ).

- by Patrizio Fileri
- •
- Ancient Coins, Daunia, Votive Deposit, Votive offerings
- by David Lanzi
- •
- Votive offerings, Loom Weights

In this paper we analyzed a batch of 64 clay weights from three archaeological sites located in Romania (Gumelniţa, Măgura-Jilava, and Sultana) that belong to Kodjadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI cultural complex (4600-3900 cal. BC). Our approach includes an interdisciplinary investigation based on technological analysis, experimental archaeology , and X-ray CT scans coupled with statistical analysis. This investigation has a high potential to reveal relevant information regarding the technological background (e.g., inclusion, voids, temper, etc.), manufacturing stages (e.g., modeling, shaping, kneading, etc.), or transformation processes (e.g., drying and firing vs. weight and size modification) in order to identify, explain and understand the chaîne operatoire for this type of artefacts. Moreover, correlation of the results with the experimental archaeology could offer an integrative interpretation about the material culture of past humans and its multiple meanings, but also critical information about the multiple dimensions of manufacture for these objects (e.g., time, effort, physical-chemical processes, etc.). The multi-analytical approach proposed here also includes a comparative study of technological aspects of these clay weights across the three archaeological sites investigated, as well as the experimental replicas.

- by Bogdan Manea and +5
- •
- Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Interdisciplinarity
- by Emmanuelle Leroy-Langelin and +3
- •
- Textiles, Protohistory, Loom Weights
- by Gábor Ilon
- •
- Late Hallstatt - Early LT period transition, Loom Weights
- by Danut Prisecaru
- •
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Research Methodology, Textiles

This short paper aims to provide an overview of the two main
types of ornamentation applied to loomweights. This type of artifact, though
usually classified in the so-called ‘small finds’ category, often contains very
interesting objects on which we can observe various kinds of ornamentation.
The author will firstly identify two main types of decoration. The first
of them relates to the application of signs, symbols or letters, while the second
is more spectacular as it involves the application of engraved, impressed
or painted iconographic representations. The author will then attempt
to outline the hypotheses which have been put forward concerning the reasons
behind the decoration of loomweights. The author will focus on three main
possible causes. The first is the marking of the manufacturer of the weight,
the second is the personal desire of the owner (e.g. decorative purposes)
and the third relates to the votive and funerary nature of this type
of artifact.

- by Łukasz Miszk
- •
- Weaving, Loom Weights
- by Sascha Mauel
- •
- Textile Production, Greece, Spindle Whorls, Craftsmanship

First comprehensive survey on the enigmatic clay spools or cylinders (also called bobbins or reels) of the transitional period form the Bronze to the Iron Age (mainly 12th century BC) after intials remarks by J. Carington-Smith, V. Karageorghis, L. Stager and others about their importance for the interrelations in the east Mediterranean during this period. The typology, chronology and functional dimensions of the objects are discussed with special reference to the contextual evidence from Late Mycenaean Tiryns. Clay spools are commly appearing in Late Bronze Age contexts (Ha B, hardly earlier) in southern Central Europe and Italy but the connection is still hard to demonstrate in typological and chronological terms.

The present dissertation consists of the application of various physical and chemical methods for the analysis and investigation of historical textiles.
A total of twenty-one samples of historical colorful textiles, from a variety of Greek folklore regional costumes, were obtained from the Aristotle University Collection of Folklore Archive and Museum, Thessaloniki.
The first and major immediate-term research aim of the study was the identification of the textile fibers as well as of the study and the analytical investigation of the two metal threads among the samples, which was achieved through a combined application of microscopic techniques: Optical Microscopy (OM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDS) at the University of Thessaloniki. Interesting to attain further and more detailed information only to some samples of them, we performed High Resolution-Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) at Centro Grandi Apparecchiature at Palermo, Italy. The observation through those multi-microscopic techniques led us to the unambiguous identification of wool, cotton, silk and hemp.
The second important aim was the dyes characterization which was carried out by using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC-DAD), with Diode Array Detector, at the University Ecclesiastical Academy of Thessaloniki and Uv-Vis Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (Uv-Vis DRS) at the Chemistry Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In addition, some samples were selected to investigate them by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Raman Spectroscopy. The examination by all these analytical techniques, additionally allowed us a better insight in the advantages and limitations of these multiple analytical approaches and as well as assess their applicability to historical colorful textiles. Several of natural, synthetic and semi-synthetic dyes have been identified: Madder (Rubia Tinctorum L.), Red wood (pos. Caesalpinia echinata), Weld (Reseda Luteola L.), Persian Berries (Rhamnus sp.), Indigo (Indigofera Tinctoria L.), Indigo Carmine, Prussian Blue, by comparison with standards and reference materials.

- by Kechagias Dimosthenis
- •
- Analytical Chemistry, Textiles, History of Textiles, Silk Road Studies
- by Ignacio Simón Cornago
- •
- Graffiti, Paleohispanic scripts & languages, Mundo ibérico, Epigraphy

From the excavations carried out between 1936 and 1967 in the Chalcolithic settlement of Vila Nova de São Pedro (Azambuja, Portugal), there were recovered more than 500 ceramic elements usually known as “loom weights” with different shapes, dimensions and, in the majority, with decorated surfaces. The iconographic repertoire is quite diverse, with the geometric motifs in higher representation, followed by soliforms, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic motifs. For the zoomorphic motifs there were identified eleven decorated surfaces, whose typology is split into two categories: quadruped – whose species are not identifiable; deer representations.These iconographic motifs are part of the symbolic and conceptual universe of Iberian communities from the 3rd Millennium BC, also appearing in several artifactual categories such as ceramics, figurines, plates, engravings and rock art paintings. Understanding the mechanisms that create and increase this thematic uniformity, as well as the meaning of the deer for these agro pastoral groups, will allow a closer approach to the cultural and social behavior of these communities.

This file contains a better quality version that is word searchable.

- by Michal Artzy
- •
- Ancient History, Archaeology, Egyptology, Near Eastern Archaeology

Clay disc-shaped loom-weight (ΑΘΒ 150). Derived from the site of Pigi Athena of the Macedonian Olympus region, in southern Pieria. It was found during the excavations in a farmhouse of the Roman period, which took place between 2001 and 2003. It is entirely preserved, without any wear. Four, equal-sized, circular, impressed seals can be seen on the upper surface of the loom-weight, as well as one circular hole, through which the wooden stem passed over, on this stem the warp threads were attached. The loom-weights were placed on the loom in order to keep the threads taut. The most common were the conical and the pyramid-shaped ones, while disc-shaped loom-weights, like this one, were also in use. The material from which they were made was clay in most cases, but examples of stone or lead loom-weights are also known to us. This particular one dates between the 1st century and the 4th century A.D. (Imperial Roman Era). Dimensions of the loom-weight: diameter: 0.085 m, thickness: 0.022 m, weight: 209 g.

- by Sergio Gomes
- •
- Prehistoric Archaeology, Late Prehistory, Loom Weights
- by Adam E. Miglio
- •
- Near Eastern Archaeology, Middle Bronze Age, Loom Weights, Scarabs

Tools for textile production are much neglected artefacts, often published inadequately without photograph or drawing, measurements and weight not given. This is surprising considering what significance textiles had in ancient societies and how much work had to be invested in producing them. In this contribution clay spools (also called reels or bobbins) from the late 13th, 12th and 11th centuries are discussed from sites in Cyprus, the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean in general as well as from Italy and south Central Europe. The sudden phenomenon of the appearance of these artefacts might represent a change in textile production technique, however, the evidence is not unequivocal in respect to the question of ethnic migration (“Sea People phenomenon”).

In this paper we analyzed a batch of 64 clay weights from three archaeological sites located in Romania (Gumelniţa, Măgura-Jilava, and Sultana) that belong to Kodjadermen-Gumelniţa-Karanovo VI cultural complex (4600–3900 cal. BC). Our approach includes an interdisciplinary investigation based on technological analysis, experimental archaeology, and X-ray CT scans coupled with statistical analysis. This investigation has a high potential to reveal relevant information regarding the technological background (e.g., inclusion, voids, temper, etc.), manufacturing stages (e.g., modeling, shaping, kneading, etc.), or transformation processes (e.g., drying and firing vs. weight and size modification) in order to identify, explain and understand the chaîne operatoire for this type of artefacts. Moreover, correlation of the results with the experimental archaeology could offer an integrative interpretation about the material culture of past humans and its multiple meanings, but also critical ...

- by Bugoi Roxana
- •
- Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Interdisciplinarity