Let’s do the Timed-warp Again: Visualising Medieval cloth production time
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2019-02-13

Experimental archaeology plays an important role in understanding the time it takes to produce crafted objects. This paper will take the approach of examining production time in relation to artefacts, based on findings from an experiment exploring Medieval textile production. This experiment was designed to interpret the impact of technology on production time during the weaving process, and illuminated possibilities for interrogating the way in which time is reflected in crafted objects. The cloth produced during this experiment is itself a visual (and tactile) representation of the time put into producing it. Experimental and observational exploration of craft practices can lead to an understanding of how an object reflects the processes of its maker and the dichotomy of visible time saved, versus invisible time spent while manufacturing an object. The implications of production time in the study of artefacts are significant, as time put into labour often reflects larger social and economic factors. The possibilities for this area of study will be discussed using the aforementioned experiment as a case study. 

Gwendoline Pepper (University of York)