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Warp-weighted loom

Three heddle-rods for weaving twill

The warp-weighted loom is a simple and ancient form of loom in which the warp yarns hang freely from a bar, which is supported by upright poles which can be placed at a convenient slant against a wall. Bundles of warp threads are tied to hanging weights called loom weights which keep the threads taut.[1]

Evidence of the warp-weighted loom appears in the Neolithic period in central Europe. It is depicted in artifacts of Bronze Age Greece and was common throughout Europe, remaining in use in Scandinavia into modern times. Loom weights from the Bronze Age were excavated in Miletos, a Greek city in Anatolia.[2]

The warp tension needed on a loom is roughly proportional to yarn diameter, and loom weights must be positioned in an even, level row, with all the threads hanging nearly straight down, for smooth weaving. This means that the shape of a loom weight limits a loom to certain thread counts, and the mass of the loom weight is related to the yarn used. This means that loom weights can be used to calculate the density and other properties of the fabric made on them.[3]

  1. ^ Burnham 1980, p. 177
  2. ^ Gleba, Margarita and Joanne Culter. Textile Production in Bronze Age Miletos: First Observations. in Aegaeum 33 Annales liégeoises et PASPiennes d’archéologie égéenne: Kosmos - Jewellery, Adornment and Textiles in the Aegean Bronze Age, Peeters Leuven - Liège 2012, p. 113-120.
  3. ^ Mårtensson, Linda; Nosch, Marie-Louise; Strand, Eva Andersson (November 2009). "Shape of Things: Understanding a Loom Weight". Oxford Journal of Archaeology. 28 (4): 373–398. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0092.2009.00334.x.

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