[ΚΕΝΟ]



Large spherical loomweight with central hole

Π29003
Clay
Intact, chipped and flaking
Height: 8.4 cm. Diameter: 8.5 cm.
Nirou Chani
Late Bronze Age, Neopalatial period, Late Minoan IB period:
1500-1450 BC:
Gallery:
VI
Case:
Case 55
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). Private and public life. Bread and circuses
Home handicrafts. Crafts (Weaving)
Description
Loomweights were used to stretch the warp threads on the upright loom when weaving. This spherical loomweight has a vertical hole through which the yarn was threaded, and three vertical grooves, perhaps allowing it to be tied more securely. Spherical loomweights were widely used in Neopalatial Crete, perhaps for the production of cloth of a different quality to that woven using discoid loomweights. The weight, shape and number of the loomweights found in an excavation context can provide valuable information on the weaving technology of the time, as other weaving implements (such as the wooden loom frame) and the finished products (the textiles themselves) very rarely survive.
Bibliography:
Militello, P. Festòs e Haghia Triada. Rinvenimenti minori I. Materiali per la tessitura. Studi di archeologia Cretese 11. Padova, 2014, 129.
Author:
I. N.


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