Books by Margarita Gleba
![Research paper thumbnail of Making cities: Economies of production and urbanization in Mediterranean Europe, 1000–500 BC, 2021 [Open Access: 10.17863/CAM.76133]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/71130004/thumbnails/1.jpg)
McDonald Institute Conversations series, 2021
Large and complex settlements appeared across the north Mediterranean during the period 1000–500 ... more Large and complex settlements appeared across the north Mediterranean during the period 1000–500 bc, from the Aegean basin to Iberia, as well as north of the Alps. The region also became considerably more interconnected. Urban life and networks fostered new consumption practices, requiring different economic and social structures to sustain them. This book considers the emergence of cities in Mediterranean Europe, with a focus on the economy. What was distinctive about urban lifeways across the Mediterranean? How did different economic activities interact, and how did they transform power hierarchies? How was urbanism sustained by economic structures, social relations and mobility? The authors bring to the debate recently excavated sites and regions that may be unfamiliar to wider (especially Anglophone) scholarship, alongside fresh reappraisals of well-known cities. The variety of urban life, economy and local dynamics prompts us to reconsider ancient urbanism through a comparative perspective.
Studi di Preistoria Orientale 4, 2017
This volume gathers the contributions of the 6th Purpureae Vestes International Symposium, which ... more This volume gathers the contributions of the 6th Purpureae Vestes International Symposium, which took place in Padova-Este-Altino, Veneto, Italy in October 2016. The topic, Textiles and Dyes in the Mediterranean economy and society, focused on the role of textile production and dyeing as economic activities of the various ancient cultures of the Mediterranean area, highlighting conservatisms and innovations in the various Mediterranean textile traditions and customs. An important impetus for this has been provided by the recent advances in textile studies and the numerous scientific projects that are using textile evidence to understand wider economic developments of ancient Mediterranean societies. The 53 articles collected in this volume follow a chronological (from the Bronze Age to the High Middle Ages) and geographical (from East to West and from Italy to the provinces) order. The last section deals with broader aspects that transgress chronological or geographical boundaries.
This volume gathers the contributions of the 6th Purpureae Vestes
International Symposium, which ... more This volume gathers the contributions of the 6th Purpureae Vestes
International Symposium, which took place in Padova-Este-Altino, Veneto,
Italy in October 2016. The topic, Textiles and Dyes in the Mediterranean
economy and society, focused on the role of textile production and dyeing
as economic activities of the various ancient cultures of the Mediterranean
area, highlighting conservatisms and innovations in the various
Mediterranean textile traditions and customs. An important impetus for
this has been provided by the recent advances in textile studies and the
numerous scientific projects that are using textile evidence to understand
wider economic developments of ancient Mediterranean societies. The 53
articles collected in this volume follow a chronological (from the Bronze
Age to the High Middle Ages) and geographical (from East to West and
from Italy to the provinces) order. The last section deals with broader
aspects that transgress chronological or geographical boundaries.
In the past few years the field of archaeological textile research has witnessed a major dynamism... more In the past few years the field of archaeological textile research has witnessed a major dynamism as demonstrated by numerous conferences and publications on the topic, as well as establishment of large-scale interdisciplinary collaborative programmes, such as the Centre for Textile Research funded by the Danish National Research Foundation (2005-2015) and the pan-European project Clothing and
Identities – New Perspectives on Textiles in the Roman Empire (DressID) funded by the European Union Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (2007-2012), as well as numerous ERC and Marie Curie grants. These activities demonstrate not only that the field holds great potential in elucidating many aspects of past cultures, such as economy, technology, trade, fashion and religion, but also that at the moment there is a developing energy, expertise and collaborative will to draw from.
The present volume is, in fact, a result of a close collaboration between the editors in their roles as the principal investigators of the European Research Council funded 5-year project PROCON – Production and Consumption: Textile Economy and Urbanisation in Mediterranean Europe 1000-500 BCE (Margarita Gleba, 2013-2018) based at the University of Cambridge in the UK, and the European Commission
funded Intra-European Marie Curie project TexSEt – Textile in Southern Etruria. Textile Technology in Central Tyrrheanian Italy from Late Prehistory to the Etruscan Period (Romina Laurito, 2014-2016) based at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. One of the outcomes of this continuing collaboration was an international conference that took place at the Danish Academy in Rome on 11-12 February 2016.
The event highlighted the various methods and approaches to textile and fibre studies in ancient Italy, presented new discoveries and studies of previously published material using new methods, and contextualised Italian material within wider European framework. The papers presented by an international group of scholars are gathered in the present volume.
A volume collecting specialist studies on this topic has never been published in Italy before. Compared to Central and Northern Europe, textile research Italy has been a rather neglected field until recently. The reason most often cited for the absence of studies on ancient textiles in Italy is their extremely poor preservation. Textiles, however, are much more common finds than generally thought and survive in original
organic state but also as carbonised and mineralised traces, as well as in the form of imprints. In addition, there are numerous other sources of evidence, such as textile tools, palaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains, as well as iconographic and written sources, which permit us to gain valuable information about many and varied aspects of textile production in ancient Italy. The scientific methods have been or are
being developed within archaeology that can be applied to gain new knowledge about ancient textiles on unprecedented scale. Finally, experimental archaeology is of great service in elucidating important technological questions.
The aim of this special volume is to demonstrate the potential of archaeological textiles and related sources for the investigation of ancient Italian economy, technology and agriculture and to discuss new methods that can be applied to the investigation of ancient textiles. We are thankful to the Editor in Chief, Marcella Frangipane, and the Scientific Board of Origini for the enthusiasm with which they accepted our
proposal to publish this collection in one of the leading archaeological periodicals of Italy. We thank the European Research Council and the European Commission for their generous support of our research.
Vetus textrinum. Textiles in the Ancient World. Studies in honour of Carmen Alfaro Giner reúne un... more Vetus textrinum. Textiles in the Ancient World. Studies in honour of Carmen Alfaro Giner reúne un conjunto de trabajos internacionales e interdisciplinares sobre el tejido en la antigüedad, tanto desde el punto de vista técnico del trabajo textil como de su significado simbólico, identitario o cultural, aportando no solo información sobre la tecnología, la conservación museística y la economía antiguas, sino también sobre el simbolismo social y religioso de la vestimenta antigua. El homenaje a la profesora Carmen Alfaro Giner incluye contribuciones sobre el próximo oriente antiguo, desde Mesopotamia a la Persia aqueménida; sobre Egipto, desde la época faraónica a la época bizantina; sobre el Egeo, desde la época minoica a la época helenística; sobre la Italia perromana, el mundo romano y la producción de púrpura; o sobre la protohistoria de la Europa continental o la producción fenopúnica. Todos los participantes en este homenaje reflexionan sobren el vestido, el género, el color, la conservación, el simbolismo, la economía o muchísimos otros de los aspectos del tejido en la antigüedad, desde la historia, la arqueología, la filología y todas las otras ciencias de la antigüedad, a partir de las fuentes literarias, epigráficas o papirológicas, o el estudio de las fusayolas, el uso de las pinzas de precisión o del microscopio.
Textile production is an economic necessity that has confronted all societies in the past. While ... more Textile production is an economic necessity that has confronted all societies in the past. While most textiles were manufactured at a household level, valued textiles were traded over long distances and these trade networks were influenced by raw material supply, labour skills, costs, as well as by regional traditions. This was true in the Mediterranean regions and Making Textiles in pre-Roman and Roman times explores the abundant archaeological and written evidence to understand the typological and geographical diversity of textile commodities. Beginning in the Iron Age, the volume examines the foundations of the textile trade in Italy and the emergence of specialist textile production in Austria, the impact of new Roman markets on regional traditions and the role that gender played in the production of textiles. Trade networks from far beyond the frontiers of the Empire are traced, whilst the role of specialized merchants dealing in particular types of garment and the influence of Roman collegia on how textiles were produced and distributed are explored. Of these collegia, that of the fullers appears to have been particularly influential at a local level and how cloth was cleaned and treated is examined in detail, using archaeological evidence from Pompeii and provincial contexts to understand the processes behind this area of the textile trade.
"There is evidence that ever since early prehistory, textiles have always had more than simply a ... more "There is evidence that ever since early prehistory, textiles have always had more than simply a utilitarian function. Textiles express who we are - our gender, age, family affiliation, occupation, religion, ethnicity and social, political, economic and legal status. Besides expressing our identity, textiles protect us from the harsh conditions of the environment, whether as clothes or shelter. We use them at birth for swaddling, in illness as bandages and at death as shrouds. We use them to carry and contain people and things. We use them for subsistence to catch fish and animals and for transport as sails. In fact, textiles represent one of the earliest human craft technologies and they have always been a fundamental part of subsistence, economy and exchange. Textiles have an enormous potential in archaeological research to inform us of social, chronological and cultural aspects of ancient societies. In archaeology, the study of textiles is often relegated to the marginalised zone of specialist and specialised subject and lack of dialogue between textile researchers and scholars in other fields means that as a resource, textiles are not used to their full potential or integrated into the overall interpretation of a particular site or broader aspects of human activity.
Textiles and Textile Production in Europe is a major new survey that aims to redress this. Twenty-three chapters collect and systematise essential information on textiles and textile production from sixteen European countries, resulting in an up-to-date and detailed sourcebook and an easily accessible overview of the development of European textile technology and economy from prehistory to AD 400. All chapters have an introduction, give the chronological and cultural background and an overview of the material in question organised chronologically and thematically. The sources of information used by the authors are primarily textiles and textile tools recovered from archaeological contexts. In addition, other evidence for the study of ancient textile production, ranging from iconography to written sources to palaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains are included. The introduction gives a summary on textile preservation, analytical techniques and production sequence that provides a background for the terminology and issues discussed in the various chapters. Extensively illustrated, with over 200 colour illustrations, maps, chronologies and index, this will be an essential sourcebook not just for textile researchers but also the wider archaeological community. 512p, 320 col & b/w illus, 22 maps, 30 tables (Ancient Textiles Series 11, Oxbow Books in association with the Centre for Textile Research, 2012)"
Recent archaeological work has shown that South Italy was densely occupied at least from the Late... more Recent archaeological work has shown that South Italy was densely occupied at least from the Late Bronze Age, with a marked process of the development of proto-urban centres, accompanied by important technological transformations. The archaeological exploration of indigenous South Italy is a relatively recent phenomenon, thanks to the bias towards the study of Greek colonies. Therefore an assessment of processes taking place in Italic Iron Age communities is well overdue. Communicating Identity explores the many and much varied identities of the Italic peoples of the Iron Age, and how specific objects, places and ideas might have been involved in generating, mediating and communicating these identities. The term identity here covers both the personal identities of the individuals as well and the identities of groups on various levels (political, social, gender, ethnic or religious). A wide range of evidence is discussed including funerary iconography, grave offerings, pottery, vase-painting, coins, spindles and distaffs and the excavation of settlements. The methodologies used here have wider implications. The situation in the northern Black Sea region in particular has often been compared to that of southern Italy and several of the contributions compare and contrast the archaeological evidence of the two regions.
The NESAT symposium has grown from the first meeting in 1981 which was attended by 23 scholars, t... more The NESAT symposium has grown from the first meeting in 1981 which was attended by 23 scholars, to over 100 at the tenth meeting that took place in Copenhagen in 2008, with virtually all areas of Europe represented. The 50 papers from the conference presented here show the vibrance of the study of archaeological textiles today. Examples studied come from the Bronze Age, Neolithic, the Iron Age, Roman, Viking, the Middle Ages and post-Medieval, and from a wide range of countries including Norway, Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia and the Netherlands. Modern techniques of analysis and examination are also discussed.
Etruscans were deemed “the most religious of men” by their Roman successors and it is hardly surp... more Etruscans were deemed “the most religious of men” by their Roman successors and it is hardly surprising that the topic of Etruscan religion has been explored for some time now. This volume offers a contribution to the continued study of Etruscan religion and daily life, by focusing on the less explored issue of ritual. Ritual is approached through fourteen case studies, considering mortuary customs, votive rituals and other religious and daily life practices. The book gathers new material, interpretations and approaches to the less emphasized areas of Etruscan religion, especially its votive aspects, based on archaeological and epigraphic sources.
Minoan ladies, Scythian warriors, Roman and Sarmatian merchants, prehistoric weavers, gold sheet ... more Minoan ladies, Scythian warriors, Roman and Sarmatian merchants, prehistoric weavers, gold sheet figures, Vikings, Medieval saints and sinners, Renaissance noblemen, Danish peasants, dressmakers and Hollywood stars appear in the pages of this anthology. This is not necessarily how they dressed in the past, but how the authors of this book think they dressed in the past, and why they think so. No reader of this book will ever look at a reconstructed costume in a museum or at a historical festival, or watch a film with a historic theme again without a heightened awareness of how, why, and from what sources, the costumes were reconstructed. The seventeen contributors come from a variety of disciplines: archaeologists, historians, curators with ethnological and anthropological backgrounds, designers, a weaver, a conservator and a scholar of fashion in cinema, are all specialists interested in ancient or historical dress who wish to share their knowledge and expertise with students, hobby enthusiasts and the general reader. The anthology is also recommended for use in teaching students at design schools.
Older than both ceramics and metallurgy, textile production is a technology which reveals much ab... more Older than both ceramics and metallurgy, textile production is a technology which reveals much about prehistoric social and economic development. This book examines the archaeological evidence for textile production in Italy from the transition between the Bronze Age and Early Iron Ages until the Roman expansion (1000-400 BCE), and sheds light on both the process of technological development and the emergence of large urban centres with specialised crafts. Margarita Gleba begins with an overview of the prehistoric Appennine peninsula, which featured cultures such as the Villanovans and the Etruscans, and was connected through colonisation and trade with the other parts of the Mediterranean. She then focuses on the textiles themselves: their appearance in written and iconographic sources, the fibres and dyes employed, how they were produced and what they were used for: we learn, for instance, of the linen used in sails and rigging on Etruscan ships, and of the complex looms needed to produce twill. Featuring a comprehensive analysis of textiles remains and textile tools from the period, the book recovers information about funerary ritual, the sexual differentiation of labour (the spinners and weavers were usually women) and the important role the exchange of luxury textiles played in the emergence of an elite. Textile production played a part in ancient Italian society's change from an egalitarian to an aristocratic social structure, and in the emergence of complex urban communities.
Papers by Margarita Gleba
PLOS ONE, Dec 13, 2023
Leather was one of the most important materials of nomadic Scythians, used for clothing, shoes, a... more Leather was one of the most important materials of nomadic Scythians, used for clothing, shoes, and quivers, amongst other objects. However, our knowledge regarding the specific animal species used in Scythian leather production remains limited. In this first systematic study, we used palaeoproteomics methods to analyse the species in 45 samples of leather and two fur objects recovered from 18 burials excavated at 14 different Scythian sites in southern Ukraine. Our results demonstrate that Scythians primarily used domesticated species such as sheep, goat, cattle, and horse for the production of leather, while the furs were made of wild animals such as fox, squirrel and feline species. The surprise discovery is the presence of two human skin samples, which for the first time provide direct evidence of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus’ claim that Scythians used the skin of their dead enemies to manufacture leather trophy items, such as quiver covers. We argue that leather manufacture is not incompatible with a nomadic lifestyle and that Scythians possessed sophisticated leather production technologies that ensured stable supply of this essential material.
The Encyclopedia of Archaeology, 2nd ed., ed. by Th. Rehren and E. Nikita, 2023
This entry provides an overview of the main cultures of the Steppe and Forest-steppe belts of Eas... more This entry provides an overview of the main cultures of the Steppe and Forest-steppe belts of Eastern Europe, geographically delineated between the Danube and the Volga Rivers, including the entire littoral of the Northern Black Sea, during the early Iron Age, which is approximately dated between the 10th and the 4th centuries BCE. Among the most notable cultures are the Chornohorivska, Chornoliska, Zhabotyn, Early Scythian and Classical Scythian. The main focus is on archaeological data, including settlements, burials and the accompanying material culture.
The Encyclopedia of Archaeology, , 2nd ed., ed. by Th. Rehren and E. Nikita, 2023
This entry provides an overview of the main cultures of the Steppe Nomadic Cultures of the Lower ... more This entry provides an overview of the main cultures of the Steppe Nomadic Cultures of the Lower Volga, Lower Don and Southern Urals in the 6th–3rd centuries BCE. These include the so-called Sauromatian culture, the Filippovka horizon and the Early Sarmatian Prokhorovka Culture. The main focus is on the archaeological data, including burials and the accompanying material culture.
Im Bergbaugebiet von Schwaz/Brixlegg im Nordtiroler Unterinntal fand während der späten Bronzezei... more Im Bergbaugebiet von Schwaz/Brixlegg im Nordtiroler Unterinntal fand während der späten Bronzezeit und frühen Eisenzeit ein umfangreicher Bergbau auf Kupfererze statt, der zahlrei¬che Spuren im Gelände hinterlassen hat. Montanarchäo¬logische Forschungsprojekte der Universität Innsbruck, gefördert vom österreichischen Wissenschaftsfonds FWF und vom Tiroler Wissenschaftsfonds TWF, untersuchen seit den 1990er Jahren das prähistorische Montanwesen in diesem Raum. Zu den Forschungszielen gehören die Rekonstruktion der metallurgischen Produktionskette vom Erzabbau über die Aufbereitung bis hin zur Erz¬verhüttung und Gewinnung von Rohkupfer sowie der Arbeits- und Lebenswelt der prähistorischen Berg- und Hüttenleute. Die bislang prospektierten und in Aus¬schnitten archäologisch untersuchten Befunde belegen einen zeitlichen Schwerpunkt der Bergbauaktivitäten im 12. bis 8. Jh. v. Chr. Auf einem Verhüttungsplatz bei Radfeld (Mauk A) fanden sich 1997 bei der Freilegung einer „Waschrinne“ zur nassmechanischen Aufbereitung von Schlacken einige gut erhaltene Textilfragmente. Der archäologische Befund sowie die Textilfunde, Analysen zu Textiltechnik, Fasermaterial und Farbstoffen werden im folgenden Beitrag vorgestellt. Zudem werden die funk¬tionelle Interpretation und kulturgeschichtliche Einord¬nung der Textilfunde diskutiert.
World Archaeology, 2022
Sails and textile technology played a key role in enabling mobility and thus shaping historical p... more Sails and textile technology played a key role in enabling mobility and thus shaping historical phenomena such as migration, trade, the acquisition and maintenance of imperial power in the ancient Mediterranean. Yet sails are nearly absent from analyses of ancient fleets, even in extensively studied cases like that of Classical Athens. This paper examines the demand and production of sailcloth, including labour and material requirements, and logistics. A consideration of the Athenian navy demonstrates that making sails involved significant amounts of labour and resources. Managing supplies and reserves of sailcloth constituted a significant challenge, which could be addressed through more intensive exploitation of textile workers, trade, and taxation.
Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 2022
Using the organic artefacts from the fourth-century BC grave at Bulhakovo in southern Ukraine, th... more Using the organic artefacts from the fourth-century BC grave at Bulhakovo in southern Ukraine, this article discusses the economics of the perishable material culture of the Scythians of the Pontic Steppe region. Thanks to the survival of organic materials (wood, leather, textiles), the burial provides important information about the complex networks of production and exchange that existed in European Scythia. Scientific analyses produced new data regarding materials and techniques used for the production of wooden, leather and textile objects, providing an opportunity for a more nuanced discussion of their production and consumption.
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Books by Margarita Gleba
International Symposium, which took place in Padova-Este-Altino, Veneto,
Italy in October 2016. The topic, Textiles and Dyes in the Mediterranean
economy and society, focused on the role of textile production and dyeing
as economic activities of the various ancient cultures of the Mediterranean
area, highlighting conservatisms and innovations in the various
Mediterranean textile traditions and customs. An important impetus for
this has been provided by the recent advances in textile studies and the
numerous scientific projects that are using textile evidence to understand
wider economic developments of ancient Mediterranean societies. The 53
articles collected in this volume follow a chronological (from the Bronze
Age to the High Middle Ages) and geographical (from East to West and
from Italy to the provinces) order. The last section deals with broader
aspects that transgress chronological or geographical boundaries.
Identities – New Perspectives on Textiles in the Roman Empire (DressID) funded by the European Union Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (2007-2012), as well as numerous ERC and Marie Curie grants. These activities demonstrate not only that the field holds great potential in elucidating many aspects of past cultures, such as economy, technology, trade, fashion and religion, but also that at the moment there is a developing energy, expertise and collaborative will to draw from.
The present volume is, in fact, a result of a close collaboration between the editors in their roles as the principal investigators of the European Research Council funded 5-year project PROCON – Production and Consumption: Textile Economy and Urbanisation in Mediterranean Europe 1000-500 BCE (Margarita Gleba, 2013-2018) based at the University of Cambridge in the UK, and the European Commission
funded Intra-European Marie Curie project TexSEt – Textile in Southern Etruria. Textile Technology in Central Tyrrheanian Italy from Late Prehistory to the Etruscan Period (Romina Laurito, 2014-2016) based at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. One of the outcomes of this continuing collaboration was an international conference that took place at the Danish Academy in Rome on 11-12 February 2016.
The event highlighted the various methods and approaches to textile and fibre studies in ancient Italy, presented new discoveries and studies of previously published material using new methods, and contextualised Italian material within wider European framework. The papers presented by an international group of scholars are gathered in the present volume.
A volume collecting specialist studies on this topic has never been published in Italy before. Compared to Central and Northern Europe, textile research Italy has been a rather neglected field until recently. The reason most often cited for the absence of studies on ancient textiles in Italy is their extremely poor preservation. Textiles, however, are much more common finds than generally thought and survive in original
organic state but also as carbonised and mineralised traces, as well as in the form of imprints. In addition, there are numerous other sources of evidence, such as textile tools, palaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains, as well as iconographic and written sources, which permit us to gain valuable information about many and varied aspects of textile production in ancient Italy. The scientific methods have been or are
being developed within archaeology that can be applied to gain new knowledge about ancient textiles on unprecedented scale. Finally, experimental archaeology is of great service in elucidating important technological questions.
The aim of this special volume is to demonstrate the potential of archaeological textiles and related sources for the investigation of ancient Italian economy, technology and agriculture and to discuss new methods that can be applied to the investigation of ancient textiles. We are thankful to the Editor in Chief, Marcella Frangipane, and the Scientific Board of Origini for the enthusiasm with which they accepted our
proposal to publish this collection in one of the leading archaeological periodicals of Italy. We thank the European Research Council and the European Commission for their generous support of our research.
Textiles and Textile Production in Europe is a major new survey that aims to redress this. Twenty-three chapters collect and systematise essential information on textiles and textile production from sixteen European countries, resulting in an up-to-date and detailed sourcebook and an easily accessible overview of the development of European textile technology and economy from prehistory to AD 400. All chapters have an introduction, give the chronological and cultural background and an overview of the material in question organised chronologically and thematically. The sources of information used by the authors are primarily textiles and textile tools recovered from archaeological contexts. In addition, other evidence for the study of ancient textile production, ranging from iconography to written sources to palaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains are included. The introduction gives a summary on textile preservation, analytical techniques and production sequence that provides a background for the terminology and issues discussed in the various chapters. Extensively illustrated, with over 200 colour illustrations, maps, chronologies and index, this will be an essential sourcebook not just for textile researchers but also the wider archaeological community. 512p, 320 col & b/w illus, 22 maps, 30 tables (Ancient Textiles Series 11, Oxbow Books in association with the Centre for Textile Research, 2012)"
Papers by Margarita Gleba
International Symposium, which took place in Padova-Este-Altino, Veneto,
Italy in October 2016. The topic, Textiles and Dyes in the Mediterranean
economy and society, focused on the role of textile production and dyeing
as economic activities of the various ancient cultures of the Mediterranean
area, highlighting conservatisms and innovations in the various
Mediterranean textile traditions and customs. An important impetus for
this has been provided by the recent advances in textile studies and the
numerous scientific projects that are using textile evidence to understand
wider economic developments of ancient Mediterranean societies. The 53
articles collected in this volume follow a chronological (from the Bronze
Age to the High Middle Ages) and geographical (from East to West and
from Italy to the provinces) order. The last section deals with broader
aspects that transgress chronological or geographical boundaries.
Identities – New Perspectives on Textiles in the Roman Empire (DressID) funded by the European Union Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (2007-2012), as well as numerous ERC and Marie Curie grants. These activities demonstrate not only that the field holds great potential in elucidating many aspects of past cultures, such as economy, technology, trade, fashion and religion, but also that at the moment there is a developing energy, expertise and collaborative will to draw from.
The present volume is, in fact, a result of a close collaboration between the editors in their roles as the principal investigators of the European Research Council funded 5-year project PROCON – Production and Consumption: Textile Economy and Urbanisation in Mediterranean Europe 1000-500 BCE (Margarita Gleba, 2013-2018) based at the University of Cambridge in the UK, and the European Commission
funded Intra-European Marie Curie project TexSEt – Textile in Southern Etruria. Textile Technology in Central Tyrrheanian Italy from Late Prehistory to the Etruscan Period (Romina Laurito, 2014-2016) based at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. One of the outcomes of this continuing collaboration was an international conference that took place at the Danish Academy in Rome on 11-12 February 2016.
The event highlighted the various methods and approaches to textile and fibre studies in ancient Italy, presented new discoveries and studies of previously published material using new methods, and contextualised Italian material within wider European framework. The papers presented by an international group of scholars are gathered in the present volume.
A volume collecting specialist studies on this topic has never been published in Italy before. Compared to Central and Northern Europe, textile research Italy has been a rather neglected field until recently. The reason most often cited for the absence of studies on ancient textiles in Italy is their extremely poor preservation. Textiles, however, are much more common finds than generally thought and survive in original
organic state but also as carbonised and mineralised traces, as well as in the form of imprints. In addition, there are numerous other sources of evidence, such as textile tools, palaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains, as well as iconographic and written sources, which permit us to gain valuable information about many and varied aspects of textile production in ancient Italy. The scientific methods have been or are
being developed within archaeology that can be applied to gain new knowledge about ancient textiles on unprecedented scale. Finally, experimental archaeology is of great service in elucidating important technological questions.
The aim of this special volume is to demonstrate the potential of archaeological textiles and related sources for the investigation of ancient Italian economy, technology and agriculture and to discuss new methods that can be applied to the investigation of ancient textiles. We are thankful to the Editor in Chief, Marcella Frangipane, and the Scientific Board of Origini for the enthusiasm with which they accepted our
proposal to publish this collection in one of the leading archaeological periodicals of Italy. We thank the European Research Council and the European Commission for their generous support of our research.
Textiles and Textile Production in Europe is a major new survey that aims to redress this. Twenty-three chapters collect and systematise essential information on textiles and textile production from sixteen European countries, resulting in an up-to-date and detailed sourcebook and an easily accessible overview of the development of European textile technology and economy from prehistory to AD 400. All chapters have an introduction, give the chronological and cultural background and an overview of the material in question organised chronologically and thematically. The sources of information used by the authors are primarily textiles and textile tools recovered from archaeological contexts. In addition, other evidence for the study of ancient textile production, ranging from iconography to written sources to palaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains are included. The introduction gives a summary on textile preservation, analytical techniques and production sequence that provides a background for the terminology and issues discussed in the various chapters. Extensively illustrated, with over 200 colour illustrations, maps, chronologies and index, this will be an essential sourcebook not just for textile researchers but also the wider archaeological community. 512p, 320 col & b/w illus, 22 maps, 30 tables (Ancient Textiles Series 11, Oxbow Books in association with the Centre for Textile Research, 2012)"
European Research Council funded 5-year project PROCON - Production and Consumption: Textile Economy and
Urbanisation in Mediterranean Europe 1000-500 BCE (FP/2007-2013-312603; PI Margarita Gleba) based at the University
of Cambridge in the UK. The workshop gathered specialists in textile archaeology, conservation, archaeobotany
and zooarchaeology in order to bring together and to discuss the various methods and approaches to ancient textile and
fibre studies in Spain. We hope that this issue will demonstrate the potential of archaeological textiles and related sources
for the investigation of ancient Iberian economy, technology and agriculture and encourage new research directions
in this subject.
site of Ledro, already known for numerous fragments of linen fabric, the site of Lucone di Polpenazze is taking on considerable importance thanks to the new excavations underway since 2007. Various settlements have been identified in the inframorenic basin of the Lucone. To Lucone A, excavated from 1965 to 1971, which had already yielded various interesting
materials, including numerous textile fragments, now has been added Lucone D, where numerous fragments of fabric, a spool with wound thread and various tools for spinning and weaving have been found. This paper summarises the preliminary analysis of spindle whorls, loom weights, some of the linen textile fragments and the thread preserved on a spool, which attests the intermediate stage of splicing at Lucone.
a variety of different ways, utilising the colour (natural wool shades and dyes), spinning and weaving techniques. The resulting types of patterns include block checks, grid checks, houndstooth patterns, and tartan-like designs. Most of the checked textiles are twills. The checked patterning is compared to other design principles known in the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East, where no twills have been securely identified to date. The checked twills from China are considered in the context of checked twill development and spread across Eurasia.
Bronze-Early Iron Age Iberian Peninsula. It is intended as a background for the terminology and an introduction to the different stages of
textile production as well as various sources and methods that can enlighten our understanding of textiles and their economic, social and
historical role in ancient Iberian Peninsula.
wrote of Scythian archers flaying the right arms of their dead enemies and using the skin to cover their quivers, yet little is known
about the construction and materials of Scythian quivers. The survival of numerous fragments of leather quivers excavated from
Scythian burials in southern Ukraine and recently developed analytical methods finally provide the possibility of investigating
the material used to make this indispensable element of Scythian military equipment. We used Scanning Electron Microscopy
(SEM) and Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) to test 38 fragments of decorated leather quivers from ten kurgan
sites in order to reveal their species identity. In this paper we present the methods and results of our investigation and attempt
to answer the question: what material did the Scythians use to make their quivers, and was Herodotus correct in his grisly claim?
about the materials and techniques used by the Scythians for the construction of their clothing and other practical objects.
Furthermore, traces of pigment indicate that these items were colourful, providing information that cannot be gained from
representational artwork. This paper presents preliminary results of the analysis of a selection of textile and leather fragments
preserved in Scythian burials across southern Ukraine. The results are placed in the wider context of European and Eurasian
textile and dye cultures of the 1st millennium BC.
• How was this production and consumption organised: where did the various resources come from, what were the technologies used, what was the level of organisation?
• Who was involved in textile production and consumption?
• What was the quality and quantity of textiles produced and how they changed over time in response of urban consumer demands?
In exploring these questions the project follows not only a functional approach, but also considers the value ascribed to these goods and the customs that came with them. The geographical area selected for this study is eastern, central and western Mediterranean Europe, Greece, Italy and Spain. The chronological period chosen is the period between 1000 and 500 BCE, which roughly corresponds to the Early Iron Age in this area. The reason for choosing the area in question in the Early Iron Age period is that this was the first time in history when a more or less exclusive preference for urban settlement - prevalent in Europe to this day - achieved a truly pan-European scale. Urban life led to new consumption practices requiring new and different structures to sustain them. Consumption of textiles is defined by the quantity and quality of consumables produced, which in turn depends on the level of production organisation and the availability of material and human resources. Using established and novel approaches to textile research, the project results aim to change the landscape of urbanisation research by providing new data sets demonstrating textile production and consumption as major economic and social factors.
The paper will present some of approaches that will be developed in the recently awarded ERC funded project Production and Consumption: Textile Economy and Urbanisation in Mediterranean Europe 1000-500 BCE (PROCON).
The Eurasian Steppe region was fundamental in the development of multiple technologies and transregional networks of economic exchange long before the establishment of the Silk Roads. Far from being a periphery, the Eurasian Steppe region was the crucible in which fundamental technologies, languages, ideas and even pathogens originated and spread. Recent studies highlighting the exceptional scale and volume of Eurasian metallurgy and the emergence and spread wool textile technology in Eastern Europe, the Urals, Western Siberia and Kazakhstan are demonstrating that the Eurasian Steppe societies were at the heart of these technological development since the Bronze Age. Yet, although large-scale historical narratives spanning Europe and Asia have recently been gaining momentum, research dealing with specific technologies across this vast region remains disjointed, making it difficult to understand the broader patterns. The long-standing focus on headline-generating 'shiny' objects found in burials has led to the neglect of the necessities and realities of the complex economic systems, that required large-scale infrastructures to access raw materials and finished goods.
The session will consider sources of materials and objects (food, wool, leather, metals, wood etc.) and their production technologies (metallurgy, animal husbandry, textile production) with the aim of reconstructing economic and technological networks which developed across the Eurasian Steppe region in its broadest geographical expansion from the Bronze Age until the end of the 1st millennium BCE. We are particularly keen to see submissions which explore innovative scientific approaches to explore developments across time and space.
Organisers: Joanne Cutler, Beatriz Marin Aguilera and Margarita Gleba
In the past few years the field of archaeological textile research has witnessed a major dynamism as demonstrated by numerous conferences and publications on the topic, as well as establishment of large-scale interdisciplinary collaborative projects. The necessary next step is to integrate this growing field of study into wider academic discourse in order to address some of the wider research questions where evidence for textiles has hitherto been virtually unexplored. The project PROCON Production and Consumption: Textile Economy and Urbanisation in the Mediterranean Europe in 1000-500 BC (PROCON), funded by the European Research Council Starting Grant (2013-2018) and hosted by the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, UK, aims to test the hypothesis that textile production and consumption was a significant driving force of the economy and of the creation and perception of wealth in Mediterranean Europe during the period of urbanisation and early urbanism in 1000-500 BCE.
The PROCON project has gathered a substantial amount of new data on textile production for the period of urbanisation in Greece, Italy and Spain. The aim of this international symposium is to discuss the significance of the production and consumption of textiles for the development of urban centres in these areas during 1000-500 BCE (as clothing, elite regalia, trade and exchange items) within the broader perspective of other production activities. We are particularly interested to explore how productive activities during this period related to other economic aspects such as the use of farm land, labour resources, rise of the elites, as well as the development of urban lifestyle.
With this in mind, we have asked the invited participants to focus on the economies of production at specific sites or regions of Greece, Italy and Spain in order to place textile production in a wider economic context.
Registration obligatory:
http://www.mcdonald.cam.ac.uk/events/procon
The VI PURPUREAE VESTES Symposium will focus on the role of textile production and dyeing in the economic activities of the various ancient cultures of the Mediterranean area. An important impetus for this has been provided by the recent advances in textile studies and the numerous scientific projects that are using textile evidence to understand wider economic developments of ancient Mediterranean societies.
In addition to the better known sources of the Mediterranean textile production, such as the written evidence, iconography and tools, we particularly tried to prioritise archaeological evidence relating to textiles themselves, which for long has been largely neglected in many regions due to the perceived difficulty of preservation. In recent years, a significant progress has been made not only in the identification and study of archaeological textiles, but also in the methods of their investigation.
In the program we tried, whenever possible, to follow chronology (from the Bronze Age to the High Middle Ages) and geography (from East to West and from Italy to the provinces), in hopes to grasp not only possible similarities and differences, but also conservatisms and innovations in the various Mediterranean textile traditions and customs. We have also included a session focusing specifically on the region of Veneto, in order to highlight the recent researches on the ancient textile heritage of this area. The symposium venues – Padua, Este and Altino – and the city of Venice (the location of the Tessitura Bevilacqua workshop) were at some point in history important textile production centres and we hope they will provide appropriate and inspiring settings for the symposium.
Compared to Central and Northern Europe, textile research in Greece has been a rather neglected field until recently. The reason most often cited for the absence of studies on ancient textiles in Greece is their extremely poor preservation. Textiles, however, are much more common finds than generally thought and survive in original organic state but also as carbonised and mineralised traces, as well as in the form of imprints. Over the last 10 years, the research on and conservation of archaeological textiles carried out at the Hellenic Centre for Research and Conservation of Archaeological Textiles and the Directorate of Conservation of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture have significantly raised the awareness of textiles and related materials excavated in Greece. In addition, there are numerous other sources of evidence, such as textile tools, palaeobotanic and archaeozoological remains, as well as iconographic and literary sources, which permit us to gain valuable information about many and varied aspects of textile production in ancient Greece.
The interdisciplinary workshop will gather specialists in these fields in order to bring together and to discuss the various methods and approaches to textile and fibre studies in ancient Greece with a particular focus on the 1st millennium BCE. The overall aim of this session is to demonstrate the potential of archaeological textiles for the investigation of ancient Greek economy, technology and agriculture and to discuss new methods that can be applied to the investigation of ancient textiles.
La conferenza internazionale “L’archeologia del tessuto: produzione e contesti nel I millennio a.C.” riprende il filo, mai interrotto, iniziato lo scorso anno con la giornata “Il tessuto della vita: le risorse, l’economia e la produzione tessile nell’Italia antica”, in cui gli specialisti di differenti settori di ricerca si sono confrontati sui metodi e tecnologie applicate agli studi dei tessuti e delle fibre nell’Italia antica. Questa volta l’attenzione sarà rivolta ai risultati eccezionali e alle informazioni preziose che si possono ottenere applicando i più moderni metodi scientifici per lo studio dei tessuti e degli strumenti che li hanno realizzati. Questi risultati dimostrano efficacemente che il campo ha un grande potenziale nel chiarire e ricostruire molti aspetti della cultura del passato - come l'economia, la tecnologia, il commercio, la moda e la religione.
The Symposium will focus on the role of textile production and dyeing in the economic activities of the various ancient cultures of the Mediterranean area. We particularly welcome synthetic papers using textile evidence to understand wider economic developments of ancient Mediterranean societies. As in previous symposia, however, presentations of new finds are welcome, as well.
We invite the submission of titles and abstracts (ca. 300 words in length) which are due by 31 January 2016, preferably before the deadline, if possible.
Compared to Central and Northern Europe, textile research Italy has been a rather neglected field until recently. The reason most often cited for the absence of studies on ancient textiles in Italy is their extremely poor preservation. Textiles, however, are much more common finds than generally thought and survive in original organic state but also as carbonised and mineralised traces, as well as in the form of imprints. In addition, there are numerous other sources of evidence, such as textile tools, palaebotanic and archaeozoological remains, as well as iconographic and written sources, which permit us to gain valuable information about many and varied aspects of textile production in ancient Italy. The scientific methods have been or are being developed within archaeology (such as ancient DNA studies, isotopic tracing) that can be applied to gain new knowledge about ancient textiles on unprecedented scale. The interdisciplinary workshop will gather specialists in these fields in order to bring together and to discuss the various methods and approaches to textile and fibre studies in ancient Italy. The overall aim of this session is to demonstrate the potential of archaeological textiles and related sources for the investigation of ancient Italian economy, technology and agriculture and to discuss new methods that can be applied to the investigation of ancient textiles.
La scoperta e l’analisi di alcuni frammenti di tessuti e di ornamenti metallici, associati ad abiti principeschi provenienti dalla Tomba delle Mani d’argento nella necropoli dell’Osteria di Vulci, permettono di arricchire i dati a disposizione, fornendo l’occasione per nuovi spunti di riflessione sull’archeologia dei tessuti nell’antichità. Sono stati rinvenuti infatti “bottoncini” in foglia d’oro, probabili elementi decorativi di abiti, con tracce del filo nell’occhiello e due fibule in ferro che conservano resti di tessuto.
Al termine della conferenza verrà dato spazio ad un aspetto di archeologia sperimentale con la dimostrazione dell’utilizzo di telai, fusi e conocchie; verranno realizzati tessuti che riproducono motivi ornamentali noti da contesti archeologici e da iconografie antiche.
Il quadro archeologico-culturale offerto da Margarita Gleba, attraverso momenti affidati alla riflessione sui metodi e risultati delle analisi, nonché alla sperimentazione delle tecniche, consentirà di percorrere “sul filo del passato” la storia dei tessuti nell’Italia preromana.