WEAVING TRADITIONS IN ARCHAIC SICILY: THE CASE STUDY OF PORTELLA SANT’ANNA
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 16/03/2021

This paper will present the case study of Portella Sant’Anna, an area located to the north of the Acropolis of the archaeological site of Monte Polizzo (7th -6th centuries BC) in Sicily. The site yielded a group of loom weights of different weights and sizes from a potential working loom. My analysis has attempted to understand if and how these loom weights might have worked in a loom set up. The evidence at the site is suggestive of a particular way to set up a loom with loom weights of different weights and sizes, which might imply the use of different yarn diameters or raw materials (i.e. animal and plant fibres) and/or different techniques for tying weights to the loom. Weaving traditions in Archaic Sicily have recently been studied and the focus has been the investigation of loom weight types and the extent to which contact with Greeks and Punics influenced the local weaving traditions. This paper offers the opportunity to extend the discussion to the methodological approach.


Author(s): Longhitano, Gabriella (University of Liverpool)