Original scientific paper

A loom from Virje

Tajana Sekelj Ivančan orcid.org/0000-0001-5992-8434 ; Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb, Croatia
Tena Karavidović ; Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

Virje, a site in the Podravina region, with its two positions – Volarski breg and Sušine – has been known as an archaeological site for several decades. Salvage excavations were carried out there between 2008 and 2014. The several-year-long excavations by the Institute of Archaeology yielded the remains of a smelting workshop, in addition to the habitation remains from the Early and High Middle Ages and Late Antiquity, while the 2010 excavations, carried out by the Koprivnica Municipal Museum, revealed traces of a settlement from the Early and Late Iron Ages. Based on the results of a geophysical research carried out in spring 2014 at Sušine, a gentle elevation next to the Čivičevac canal, a position was selected for subsequent salvage archaeological excavations, which were carried out in November the same year. The trench, carefully positioned at the place of a supposed structure, yielded valuable results: a large sunken structure of rectangular plan. Its northern part had accommodated a loom, with in situ remains consisting of around thirty completely preserved clay weights. After the weights had been removed, a greyish feature was observed by the edge of the structure, presumably the remains of a decayed straight wooden beam that formed part of the loom. The function of the two iron objects found in the eastern and western parts of the trench cannot be ascertained. Differences in the shape and mass of the weights, in addition to their position in the excavated context, as well as the usewear traces on some weights, inspired the authors to adopt an experimental approach in the interpretation of the appearance of the loom. Based on the conducted experiments, conclusions are put forward regarding the possible way the weights and loom were used, the type and thickness of the thread and the appearance of the weaving and the fabric. The conclusion about the date in which the loom was used is based on the collected pottery fragments from the structure, which belong to the La Tene period.

Keywords

Virje–Sušine; clay weights; warp-weighted loom; spindle-whorl; pottery; La Tène structure

Hrčak ID:

171065

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/171065

Publication date:

21.12.2016.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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