Weaving
Weaving was another basic task of ancient Greek women, learned at an early age. In
Xenophon’s
Economics,
Ischomachos says that his wife was “not yet fifteen when she came to me, and had spent her previous years under careful supervision so that she might see and hear and speak as little as possible. Don’t you think it was adequate if she came to me knowing only how to take wool and produce a cloak, and had seen how spinning tasks are allocated to the slaves?”
4.46 Most households produced their own cloth for garments, bedding, and the like, and weaving equipment was found in most Olynthian houses.
Unlike grinding grain and processing other foods, which used mostly portable equipment for relatively short periods, most weaving required a loom which could not be moved easily. The Greeks wove cloth on vertical looms, the warp threads weighted with terracotta loomweights (fig. 37).
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| Fig. 37. Red-Figured Skyphos Showing Penelope Weaving |
When not in use, the loom could be dismantled and stored out of the way, but once set up, it could not be shifted to another location until the textile was completed. Unlike grinding grain, which could be moved to different rooms depending on the weather or other factors, a loom had to be placed carefully with an eye to available light, shelter, comfort, and security.
Literary sources offer only slight help in understanding where in the house women wove. Penelope wove in an upper chamber (
ὑπερῷον) of the house (
Hom. Od. 1.361,
15.517), and Andromache was weaving in the innermost room (
μυχός) of the house when Hector is killed (
Hom. Il. 22.440). A passage of Menander’s
Girl from Samos mentions a “loom-room” (
ἱστεών):
“And I myself, too, helping, giving this and that,
Into the storeroom, as it chanced, had gone, from whence
I did not come directly, busy laying out
More food than common and inspecting many things
Within. Just then, while I was there, a woman came,
Descending from an upper storey, from above,
Into the store-room’s antechamber.—For with us,
There’s an apartment, as it happens, for the looms,
So placed that through it is the entrance to the stairs
And to the store-room.
”
Menander, Samia 13-21
In this play, weaving was done in an open room on the ground floor, through which there was access to both the upper story and to the storeroom.
Weaving was done both by the free women of the household and female slaves alike, often side by side.
““And fifty slave-women he had in the house, of whom some grind the yellow grain on the millstone, and others weave webs, or, as they sit, twirl the yarn, like unto the leaves of a tall poplar tree; and from the closely-woven linen the soft olive oil drips down.”” (
Hom. Od. 7.103-6).
Evidence for weaving at Olynthus, as from most archaeological sites, comes almost entirely from loomweights and very occasionally other weaving and spinning paraphernalia. No remains of the framework of looms and only a few possible weaving tools were found, as these were usually made of wood. Loomweights were, however, very abundant. Robinson and Graham concluded that ““loom-weights have been found in nearly every room of every house excavated so that the only reliable evidence for determining where the loom originally stood is the discovery of large numbers in one room... we can reach no more definite conclusion than that any large plain room might be used to accommodate a loom.””
4.47But with closer investigation we can build a more detailed picture than this. In one house, a loom was definitely set up on the ground floor when the city was destroyed. Forty-three loomweights were found in a line 1.1 m long in the southeastern room of
Villa CC, a house otherwise very poorly preserved (fig. 38).
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| Fig. 38. Selected Houses with Weaving Areas |
The notes do not record whether the line was parallel or perpendicular to the wall of the room, although this would help reconstruct how the loom was set up in the room, whether it was leaning against the wall or was freestanding. But it attests weaving on the ground floor of the house, and gives the width of the loom and the minimum number of loomweights which equipped it. A bronze hooked instrument, perhaps a weaving tool, was found in this room as well.
The field records of loomweights in other houses are much less detailed than this. Groups of loomweights are sometimes described as piled against a wall or at one side of a room, where they probably fell from a loom leaning against the wall. Some fieldbooks record the 1 x 1 m square in which the loomweights were found, giving a rough distribution. In other cases, we have only the total count of loomweights found in the room—numbers which may be reduced by incomplete collection of these mundane objects. Without more precise records of how they were found, it is difficult to determine whether they had fallen a short distance from a loom on the ground floor, like those in
Villa CC, or had fallen from loom set up in a second-story room, or were stored in a cache for use somewhere else, or were simply random losses. More careful attention to just how the loomweights had fallen, to the remains of burned wood and other perishable materials, might add considerably to our understanding of Greek weaving. But these assemblages nonetheless offer a great deal of evidence for the organization of weaving in Greek houses.
The number of loomweights found together is one indicator of whether they represent the debris of a loom or trash. A very small number of weights was of no use at all: it takes a substantial number to equip a loom. The loom in
Villa CC had 43 weights, but looms could be equipped with smaller numbers of weights. A group of twenty-one weights was found in a line 1.59 m long, clearly
in situ on the floor of a ninth-century building at
Gordion in Phrygia. (The same and neighboring buildings contained hoards of up to 500 loomweights, spindle whorls, and textiles in various stages of manufacture.) The four groups of loomweights from different rooms of house
A v 9 each consisted of about 20 loomweights, suggesting that these represent four individual looms (above,
chapter 3, “House A v 9”). Extant Norwegian warp-weighted looms could have as few as 13 weights, or as many as 59, but most have between 20 and 40 loomweights (although these were heavier than the Greek examples). Barber estimates that as few as 6 loomweights might have formed a set in some cases.
4.48To try to determine the minimum number of loomweights which suggest actual weaving rather than random losses for Olynthian looms, we can plot the number of loomweights found together in a group against how commonly that quantity was found.
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| Fig. 39. Clusters of Loomweights |
We would expect a relatively small number of rooms to have been used for weaving, while many rooms contained trash and debris. Through this sort of analysis, and considering the architectural setting and what other artifacts were found together with the loomweights, we may begin to distinguish use groups from trash.
4.49The plot shows that eighty-four rooms had 1 loomweight in them; forty-nine rooms had 2 loomweights; only thirty-eight had 3 loomweights, and so forth until only one room contained 74 loomweights. Since a solitary loomweight or just a pair was of no use, these finds must be interpreted as trash or debris (although perhaps from a loom set up here previously). Larger clusters probably either fell from looms or were stored in the room as the equipment belonging to one or more looms. Twenty-five rooms had between 10 and 25 loomweights in them, and seven rooms had between 25 and 43 loomweights, including the cluster from
Villa CC which had clearly fallen from a single loom. All these probably represent the remains—in many cases probably incomplete—of single looms. Only five rooms had more than 43 loomweights in them. These included
A iv 9, room g, which had 71 loomweights in two distinct clusters, probably representing the detritus or equipment of two looms (above,
chapter 3, “House A iv 9”). The
House of the Comedian, room k, had 29 loomweights scattered along the north wall, perhaps a single loom’s worth, and 38 elsewhere in the room, perhaps belonging to another loom. This room, however, was small and open to the street and is unlikely to have been used for weaving. The groups of loomweights therefore do not necessarily belong to single looms. The kitchen (c) of house
A xi 10 contained a tight cluster of 57 loomweights, together with a variety of other domestic artifacts. These were found so tightly clustered, however, that it seems unlikely that they had fallen from a loom; rather, they were probably being stored in a bag here. The largest single group, of 74 loomweights, was found in a trial trench west of house
ESH 4, together with a
netting needle, four red-figured
lekythoi and other vases, a fine female
protome, and other objects. As the context was not very clear, it is impossible to say whether they belong to a single set or more than one. Finally, house
A viii 7/9 contained two large hoards, one of 50, and one of 247 loomweights. In these quantities, it is likely that they were used for household industry rather than purely domestic weaving; they are therefore considered separately in
chapter 6).
Given the great range of preservation of different houses, one would not expect to find totally clear patterns in the numbers of loomweights from different rooms. But the clusters of loomweights found at Olynthus agree very well with known groups which clearly fell from a single loom, such as those from
Villa CC or
Gordion, and with the ethnographic parallels in Norway and elsewhere. Most clusters fall in the range of 10 to 40 loomweights, just what others have suggested for an ancient warp-weighted loom. It does not follow, of course, that all these were set up in looms; some may have been complete sets, stored away for use in another space. But we can still get a general impression of what sorts of spaces were used for weaving, where they were located in the house, how they were lit and what else was going on in these spaces. A key factor in choosing a room for weaving would have been access to light. Weaving requires a sheltered but well-lit space, and this must have strongly affected the location where women chose to set up their looms.
About forty-three rooms, in thirty-five houses, seem to have been used for weaving at Olynthus, depending on how many loomweights we believe constitute credible evidence (figs. 38, 63, 64)
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| Fig. 38. Selected Houses with Weaving Areas |
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| Fig. 63. Distribution of Gendered Spaces and Artifacts on the North Hill |
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| Fig. 64. Distribution of Gendered Spaces and Artifacts on the East Spur Hill and Villa Section. |
Most room types are represented in table 3. The only types of rooms which were never used for weaving were
androns (which, not surprisingly, never contained more than 3 loomweights),
flues and
bathrooms, which were too small for a loom, and entrance areas.
4.50 Although Greek has a word for a “loom-room,” this seems to be applicable to any space where weaving was done rather than designating a specific type of room.
The pastas would have been bright and comfortable, and collections of loomweights were found in the pastades of a number of houses, including
A 3,
A 8,
A vi 2,
B vi 5, and
B vii 2. But rather few of these turn out to be completely convincing. The pastas of
B vi 5 is the most certain.
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| Fig. 38. Selected Houses with Weaving Areas |
It contained 19 loomweights, at least 8 of which were found scattered within an area about 2 x 2 m in the more enclosed east end of the pastas. The loom may have been leaned against the south wall here, set on the foundation 0.75 m in front of the wall. The pastas also contained two
grindstones and a
saddle quern, and a number of vases, most of which were not mended and may therefore have been coarsewares; this seems to have been a space used for a variety of work. The pastas of house
A vi 2 contained 8 loomweights in the eastern end, 2 in the west and southwest, and 2 in undetermined locations; this seems a doubtful case, as the numbers are small and distribution scattered. Other pastades had smaller even scatters of loomweights, less than a dozen. These scatters may be the incompletely preserved remains of looms used in the pastas, but they might also be losses or trash. The hoard of 247 loomweights found in the pastas of house
A viii 7 was probably being stored for use here or elsewhere in the house; they do not indicate where the looms would have been set up.
courtyards could also be used for weaving, although there would have been a risk of inclement weather. Clusters of loomweights were found in the courts of
A vii 1,
A vii 4,
A vii 10,
A viii 10, and
B vi 9. As with the pastas, though, these groups were relatively small and their interpretation ambiguous. The largest group, from house
A vii 4, consisted of 16 loomweights, apparently scattered around the courtyard rather than concentrated in one area (
chapter 3, “House A vii 4” and fig. 22).
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| Fig. 22. House A vii 4 |
Another room (b) of this house, however, contained 23 loomweights, at least half of which were clustered within a small space. It seems likely that this room was used for weaving and that the loomweights from the courtyard were scatter or detritus. The courtyard of the nearby house
A vii 1 contained 12 loomweights and a
spindle whorl; these may well be the remains of a loom, although their disposition was not noted. The other courtyards contained 7 or 8 loomweights at most, evidence which must be considered ambiguous.
But even allowing the most generous interpretation, assuming that relatively small numbers of loomweights in courtyards and pastades are the incomplete remains of looms rather than losses or trash, these open spaces of the house only account for about one-quarter of the rooms used for weaving. More frequently, women set up their looms in enclosed or semienclosed spaces adjoining the courtyard or other source of light rather than in the court or pastas itself. The most dramatic example of this pattern was house
A v 9, where all four of the rooms adjoining the courtyard contained clusters of 18 to 24 loomweights and were very probably used for weaving (
chapter 3, “House A v 9”; fig. 25).
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| Fig. 25. Plan of Houses A v 9 and A v 10 |
One room was the pastas and was lit from the small courtyard; the others probably had windows facing into the court and so would have been relatively bright.
Other households used similar enclosed spaces for weaving, including houses
A 11,
A iv 9,
A v 2 (room g),
A v 5,
A vii 3,
A vii 6,
A viii 1,
A viii 10, and possibly
A -1, the
House of the Wash Basin, and others. In house
A v 5, a loom was set up in an open “exedra” at the southwest corner of the courtyard. 18 loomweights were found in this small space, which would have been particularly open and well lit. The room in the southeast corner of house
A viii 1 (k) was also mostly open to the courtyard. 32 loomweights were found at the foot of the east wall, probably fallen from a loom leaning against the wall, well lit by the wide opening to the courtyard.
The courtyard was the main source of light in the inward-looking Greek house, and weaving rooms located adjacent to the courtyard were probably illuminated by windows, perhaps relatively large ones, opening onto the court. Other sources of light were available in some houses, however. Some weaving spaces were lit by a light well or flue rather than from the courtyard. Room a of the
House of Many Colors, for instance, was lit by a light well at its east end, and contained 41
loomweights, a
spindle whorl, and an
epinetron for carding wool—a particularly complete assemblage of weaving equipment (above,
chapter 3, “The House of Many Colors”). The light well (room b) also contained 37 loomweights, mostly found in the southeast corner. This suite may well have housed two looms, together with other household equipment. The “second kitchen” (room h) of house
ESH 4 contained a group of 39 loomweights, found near the wall of the bathroom (room i). Like a kitchen-complex, this suite might have been lit by a light well/flue in its northwest corner.
The kitchen of house
A xi 10 contained 57 loomweights, the only kitchen which contained a significant collection of loomweights (fig. 50).
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| Fig. 50. House A xi 10 |
These were discovered in a dense cluster near the center of the north wall, together with two
figurines—one of the loomweights was found inside a figurine. The tight packing described in the fieldbook sounds like this might have been a group of loomweights stored for use here or elsewhere in the house, although this is uncertain. The kitchens of
A vi 4,
A vii 6, and the
Villa of the Bronzes contained small scatters of loomweights—fewer than 10 in each room. Although looms were apparently not set up in these rooms when the city was captured, the loomweights found in them may have been lost from looms set up previously, perhaps in the winter as suggested above.
In two houses,
A iv 9 (a) and
A vii 4 (b), clusters of loomweights were found in rooms adjacent to a flue or light well, but not open to it through a pillar-partition (figs. 22, 24).
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| Fig. 22. House A vii 4 |
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| Fig. 24. House A iv 9 |
Neither of these rooms had another obvious source of light. They are far from the courtyard (which in
A iv 9 was quite small in any case), and if the court had been the only source of light, they would have been quite dim for weaving. They may instead have been lit through windows opening into the adjacent
light well. The light well thus illuminated two rooms rather than just the one.
Although the
courtyard and
pastas were the best-lit spaces in the house, they were by no means the most commonly used rooms for weaving. There could be many reasons why women would have preferred to set up their looms in smaller, more enclosed rooms. It would have been easier to keep unfinished work safe from children or other interference. These rooms might have been cooler in the hot summer, when the city was destroyed, and more easily warmed in the winter. They were more predictable, remaining usable no matter what the weather, whereas the court or pastas might turn uncomfortable or inconvenient as the weather changed.
The use of these rooms for weaving does not, however, seem to result from a desire to restrict this activity to a more private or secluded part of the house. Indeed, weaving areas were sometimes conspicuously close to the entrance of the house, hardly more removed than the court or pastas. It is curious, however, that in these cases, the women of the household did not set up their looms in the adjacent, better-lit spaces, such as the kitchen of
A vii 4, which was open to the flue through the entire pillar-partition.
Although Greek households generally wove their own cloth, not every house preserved evidence of weaving. Very few houses in
block A vi had more than a few loomweights, for instance. The only house on this block with a significant group was
A vi 2, which had 12 loomweights in its pastas. Next door, house
A vi 4 had 5 loomweights and a spindle whorl in its kitchen (e), perhaps debris left from weaving in this room at some time before the destruction. Overall, though, the average for the block was only 6 loomweights per house; and most of these were in houses
A vi 2,
3, and
4. The other houses in this block had either a few loomweights scattered in various rooms, or none at all. House
A 9, the
Villa of the Bronzes, the
House of the Twin Erotes, and a number of other houses had too few loomweights to equip even a single loom, although these houses were relatively well preserved, carefully excavated, and contained many artifacts of other sorts. This is probably not solely due to faulty recording since some loomweights were recorded, and if there had been large deposits they would have been noted. These rather luxurious houses presumably belonged to more wealthy families, who may have relied more than average on commercially woven cloth; or the household situation may have been more complex, for instance with part of the household living elsewhere but supplying cloth to the residents of these houses.
Three or four houses seem to have woven textiles on a large scale, including
A v 9, which had four looms set up in rooms around the court, the double house
A viii 7/9, and perhaps
A iv 9 and
A vii 9. These are discussed under
“Textile Manufacture” in chapter 6.
A variety of different shapes of loomweights were used at Olynthus, but two sorts predominate in the destruction debris: pyramidal weights (Type 7) and conical weights (Type 8).
4.51 We would expect weights from a single loom to form a matched set, but interestingly, this is generally not the case. The loomweights found in a line in
Villa CC and so definitely used together consisted of 19 conical weights, 8 pyramidal, and 16 rectangular loomweights. These loomweights were not weighed; they may have been fairly closely matched in weight, if not in shape.
4.52 Other sets of loomweights were also unmatched: of the 57 loomweights in
A xi 10, 45 were conical, 11 pyramidal, and 1 was a truncated pyramid. The group of 39 loomweights from
ESH 4 included 29 pyramidal weights, 9 conical, and 1 squat round weight. The weights from house
A iv 9 (a),
A viii 1 (k) and most other houses were also a mixture of conical and pyramidal types.
4.53 The mismatching in shape, of course, did not matter as much as differences in weight. Even modern warp-weighted looms can have loomweights of different sizes. Variations in weight could be compensated for by attaching more warp threads to the heavier weights, for instance; and the exact tension of the warp threads may not have been considered critical.
In a few houses the weights were more uniform, though. The loomweights from the two looms in the
House of Many Colors, for instance, were mostly conical, with a very few pyramidal loomweights, as were the set of 24 weights from house
A 10 (b). The sets of loomweights from houses which seem to have manufactured textiles on a large scale,
A v 9 and
A viii 7/9, also formed more closely matched sets. Virtually all the loomweights from house
A v 9 were conical (only 5 out of the 85 in the house were pyramidal or squat), while those from the enormous hoard in
A viii 7/9 contained both pyramidal and conical types, but of very uniform and unusually light weight. These professionals apparently did not make do with mismatched sets of loomweights, but for normal household weaving, it apparently did not make as much difference whether warp-threads had slightly different tensions.
