,transcriber's ,note ,there is a small amount of ,greek in this book1 which has been transliterated1 and is surrounded by signs1 like this4 ,ancient ,egyptian and ,greek ,looms ,,by ,h4 ,,ling ,,roth 7,keeper74 ,,with #ch ,,line ,,block ,,and ,,one ,,collotype ,,illustrations4 ,,bankfield ,,museum1 ,,halifax ,,april #aiac ,,preface4 ,halifax1 which is situated in the heart of the great textile trade of ,lancashire and ,yorkshire1 has been a home of the woollen manufacture since the earliest time1 and it is only meet1 therefore1 that its museum should possess specimens of the tools used in the early days of spinning1 weaving1 and cloth making generally4 ,in spite of the considerable progress made towards that end1 many typical specimens are still wanting1 and1 while we have plenty of material for the study of weaving in various parts of the world1 we are lacking in everything relating to the industry in ,ancient ,egypt and ,greece4 ,failing specimens ,i have had recourse to illustrations1 but the ,egyptian ones published by ,cailliaud1 ,rosellini1 ,sir ,j4 ,g4 ,wilkinson and ,lepsius1 contradict each other in many important points1 so that those who study them find them practically useless for an understanding of the art as carried on in the ,nile lands4 ,fortunately1 last year1 ,mr4 ,n4 de ,g4 ,davies1 the well-known ,egyptologist1 hearing of my difficulty1 very generously placed some of his copies of tomb drawings at my disposal1 and with this invaluable help ,i have been enabled to complete the present paper1 and to lay before ,halifax students some new details of manufacture bearing upon their staple industry4 ,h4 ,ling ,roth4 ,bankfield ,museum1 ,halifax4 ,april #aiac4 ,i4 ,,egyptian ,,looms4 ,,horizontal ,,looms4,a ,in the tomb of ,chnem-hotep1 at ,beni ,hasan1 there is a wall painting of a horizontal loom with two weavers1 women1 squatting on either side1 and at the right in the background is drawn the figure of the taskmaster4 ,there are also figures represented in the act of spinning1 etc4 ,for the present we are concerned with the weaving only4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #a4--;,horizontal ,loom1 ,tomb of ,chnem-hotep1 from the illustration in ,cailliaud's ,recherches1 etc4 ,same size as published4 ,of this illustration1 there appear to be six reproductions4 ,we have first of all1 ,fig4 #a1 that of ,fred4 ,cailliaud 7,recherches sur les ,arts et ,metiers1 etc41 ,paris1 #ahca7 with illustrations of drawings made by himself in the years #ahai to #ahbb4 ,his publication was followed by ,fig4 #b1 that of ,sir ,j4 ,g4 ,wilkinson 7,manners and ,customs1 etc41 ,london1 #ahcg74 ,mr4 ,john ,murray1 whose house has published ,wilkinson's work from the first edition to the last1 informs me that a few of the drawings were made by ,george ,scharf1 afterwards ,sir ,george ,scharf1 ,keeper of the ,national ,portrait ,gallery1 but that most of them seem to have been made by ,joseph ,bonomi1 the well known ,egyptologist4 ,wilkinson's woodcut1 although clearly and neatly done1 is on a very small scale2 nevertheless it admits of a fair comparison with those reproduced on a larger scale4 ,illustration3 ,figs4 #a #c4 ,weaving4 ,fig4 #b4 ,loom4 #c4 ,putting in the woof1 but not by a shuttle thrown with the hand4 #d4 ,male ,overseer4 #e4 ,hackling4 #f4 ,twisting the double threads for the warp4 a ,weaving4 b ,chief of ,loom4 c ,facing4 d ,pulling out4 ,fig4 #b4--;,horizontal ,loom1 ,tomb of ,chnem-hotep1 from ,sir ,j4 ,g4 ,wilkinson's ,manners and ,customs1 ,london1 ,john ,murray1 #ahgh1 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #cag4 ,same size as published4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #c4--;,horizontal ,loom1 ,tomb of ,chnem-hotep1 from the illustration in ,rosellini's ,monumenti 7,monumenti ,civili71 ,plate ,,xli4 ,reduced one-fifth lineal of size published4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #d4--;,horizontal ,loom1 ,tomb of ,chnem-hotep1 from ,lepsius' ,denkmaeler4 ,same size as published4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #e4--;,horizontal ,loom1 ,tomb of ,chnem-hotep1 from ,prof4 ,percy ,newberry's ,beni ,hasan1 ,i4 ,plate #bi4 ,same size as published4 ,after him1 ,fig4 #c1 ,n4 ,f4 ,j4 ,b4 ,rosellini began the publication of his great work 7,i ,monumenti dell' ,egitto1 ,pisa1 #ahcb-ahdd74 ,the similarity between the comparatively few drawings published by ,cailliaud and the very large number published by ,rosellini is very great4 ,it is of course quite possible ,rosellini may have made use of some of ,cailliaud's drawings4 ,five years after ,rosellini's publication came that of ,c4 ,r4 ,lepsius 7,denkmaeler1 ,leipzig1 #ahdi71 ,fig4 #d1 his drawings having been made in the years #ahdb to #ahde4 ,since the time of ,lepsius until quite recent years ,i can trace no further copying until we get the illustration1 ,fig4 #e1 in ,prof4 ,percy ,newberry's ,beni ,hasan1 ,london1 #aiaj4 ,in this work the reproduction is about one twentieth of the original1 or about three fifths of the size of that of ,wilkinson1 and unfortunately so crude as not to be available for our present purpose4,b ,lastly we have the reproduction1 ,fig4 #f1 from ,mr4 ,n4 de ,garis ,davies' drawing made in #aijc1 and now first published by kind permission of ,mr4 ,f4 ,ll4 ,griffith4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #f4--;,horizontal ,loom1 ,tomb of ,chnem-hotep4 ,size of original3 ,height of the figures #i-a_/d #bd4d cm4 ,drawn by ,mr4 ,n4 de ,g4 ,davies1 and now published for the first time by permission of ,mr4 ,f4 ,ll4 ,griffith4 ,in the various reproductions by the above explorers1 the only three which agree very closely are those of ,cailliaud1 ,rosellini and ,davies4 ,the others vary considerably and in essentials do not agree with the above nor with one another4 ,the differences may in the first instance be due to difficulties in copying the original in the tomb4 ,others may be due to ignorance of detail on the part of the secondary copyist--the man who prepared them for publication--so that he was unable to follow up the clues on the drawings laid before him4 ,the differences may also be due to careless copying and to touching up of the copies when made2 they may be slightly due to deterioration and obliteration of the original in the course of time4 ,the ,encyclopaedia ,biblica gives a variant from all six illustrations1 but approaching nearest to that of ,cailliaud1 ,rosellini and ,davies4 ,it is misleading in so far that the drawing has been made to suit ,professor ,kennedy's idea as to what it should be4 ,some of the differences are of minor importance1 but a comparison will help materially to our understanding of the method of weaving adopted by the ,egyptians from the ,x,i,ith to the ,x,i,xth ,dynasties1 or about ,b4,c4 #bjjj to #abjj4 ,to go into details1 and taking ,mr4 ,n4 de ,g4 ,davies' illustration as our basis1 we find slight differences in the shape of the pegs ,b1 ,b#a1 which are immaterial4 ,a more pronounced difference is seen in the way in which the threads are attached to the warp beam ,a4 ,neither ,wilkinson nor ,lepsius carry these threads over the beam1 the former carrying them only as far as the laze threads ,c1 while the latter carries them up to a line drawn parallel to and below the beam2 ,cailliaud and ,rosellini carry them over the beam while ,mr4 ,davies carries them half way only4 ,the object of this half carrying over is not clear4 ,the threads in chain-form at ,c are probably laze threads1 apparently placed there so that in case of any disarrangement of the warp threads the weaver can from that point run her fingers along them and get them disentangled4 ,it has been suggested to me that this chain-form might be a tension chain for taking up slack warp1 but the former explanation seems the more likely4 ,all the drawings but ,wilkinson's show the warp threads converging towards the breast beam2 ,wilkinson shows them parallel and in ,lepsius their convergence is excessive4 ,there should be a slight convergence shown1 as in the course of weaving the threads get drawn in1 and in later forms of looms in semi-civilised countries we find an endeavour to counteract this tendency by the use of a tool known as a temple4 ,the cross sticks ,d#a1 ,d#b1 look like laze rods4 ,it may not be out of place here to point out that in primitive weaving laze rods serve two purposes1 or one more than in the later somewhat more advanced looms4 ,they serve throughout to keep the warp threads in place1 and they serve to separate the odd threads from the even 7#a1 #c1 #e1 #g from #b1 #d1 #f1 #h1 c471 and in so doing take the place of the fingers in making the shed1 i4e41 the opening through which the weft 7or woof7 is passed1 a function which in turn is usurped by the heald 7or heddle74 ,the heddle therefore becomes a very important factor1 and ,dr4 ,h4 ,g4 ,harrison by no means overstates the case when he says that the development of the heddle is the most important step in the evolution of the loom 7,horniman ,museum ,handbooks1 ,no4 #aj1 pp4 #dg-di74 ,we may now return to the drawing4 ,wilkinson shows the rod ,d#a indistinctly and the left hand end only of ,d#b4 ,lepsius' artist seems to have taken a liberty with ,d#a but in the right direction1 by making it more definitely into an early form of heddle--the loop and rod--but he shows ,d#b the same as ,cailliaud and ,rosellini4 ,prof4 ,kennedy argues that these rods are in the wrong position and that ,d#a which is a heddle should be in the place of ,d#b4 ,mr4 ,davies' drawing as well as those of ,cailliaud and ,rosellini show that ,d#a is a heddle while ,d#b is shown to be a laze rod4 ,asiatic primitive looms1 like those from ,borneo and ,bhutan1 have two laze rods but no heddle2 on the other hand many primitive ,african looms have one laze rod and one heddle as is the case with this ,egyptian loom4 ,more threads are shown on the left hand end of ,d#b than on the right hand end4 ,mr4 ,davies informs me that the same quantity should be shown from end to end across the warp1 but on the right hand side they are so indistinct that he was just able to detect but not to trace them and so he omitted them4 ,we now come to the rod ,e4 ,cailliaud and ,rosellini show an undulation at the one end a1 but do not make the other end clear4 ,wilkinson shows a small hook at the end a1 which appears to me to be a transcriber's development of the curved end of his two predecessors2 in the text ,wilkinson says there is a hook at each end of this stick1 but he does not show any at the end opposite to a2 he refers to these hooks more than once 7#ast ed41 ,,iii41 p4 #abf footnote74 ,lepsius has altered the shape of the curve and transferred it from the end a to the opposite end4 ,in ,mr4 de ,g4 ,davies' drawing1 it has been inserted in dotted lines1 as the original is in such a state that tracing is almost impossible4 ,wilkinson1 ,erman1 v4 ,cohausen 7,das ,spinnen u4 ,weben bei den ,alten1 in ,ann4 ,ver4 ,nassau4 ,altherthumsk41 ,wiesbaden1 #ahgi1 p4 #bi71 and others call it a shuttle1 but ,i am more inclined to consider it a slashing stick 7sword or beater-in7 for pushing the weft into position4 ,a tool which appears to be a beater-in and of similar end shape is seen held in the hand of a woman on a wall painting at ,el ,bersheh--see ,fig4 #aa1 top right-hand corner4 ,we have in another illustration1 ,fig4 #g1 an article which appears to be a spool1 which ,i think confirms the view that ,e is not the shuttle but the beater-in4 ,in all the illustrations1 too1 the pose of the hands of the women bearing on this stick is indicative of a downward pressure and not of a grasp4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #g4--,tomb of the ,vizier ,daga4 ,date about end ,,xi4 ,dynasty1 ,b4,c4 #bjjj4 ,mr4 ,n4 de ,g4 ,davies' ,five ,theban ,tombs1 ,plate ,,xxxvii4 ,the upper illustration indicates a woman warping or beaming1 probably warping4 ,in the lower illustration note the left hand figure holding the spool in her hand4 ,at first sight this small black line looks like a continuation of the beater-in in the hands of the other weaver1 but ,mr4 ,davies informs me that it is quite a distinct article1 and that there can be no doubt about it4 ,just above the breast beam there are #h or #i threads of weft but they are too faint to be included4 ,the selvedge ,f on the one side of the cloth and not on both sides is also interesting from the fact that selvedges do not appear on the ,egyptian cloths until the ,,xviii4 ,dynasty circa ,b4,c4 #afjj4 ,the breast beam3--,it appears to me that the three portions marked ,g#a1 ,g#b and ,g#c joined up are intended to represent the breast beam and its holding pegs1 similar to the warp beam ,a and its pegs ,b#a1 ,b#b1 but the portion ,k is not clearly drawn in any of the reproductions4 ,wilkinson omits this altogether1 but in its place has two black pieces which also are still less clear4 ,lepsius has omitted ,g#b altogether and appears to have made ,g#a and ,k and ,g#c into treadles1 by raising ,g#a above the level of ,g#c1 and to support the view that these are treadles1 he makes use of the overseer's foot by placing it on the supposed treadle1 and the casual observer thinks it is the foot of the woman weaver4 ,however1 ,mr4 ,davies' copy seems to offer a solution4 ,he agrees with ,cailliaud and ,rosellini in so far as ,g#a1 ,g#b and ,g#c are concerned4 ,with him ,k takes quite a different form1 in fact it looks very similar to an article which an attendant woman in another panel has close by her1 see ,fig4 #h4 ,it might perhaps be a rest to prevent the beater-in being driven home too forcibly--this1 however1 is still only a surmise--as the length of the beater-in makes it heavy at the far end4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #h4--,weaver with the support ,k1 ,fig4 #f2 the woman appears to hold a beater-in in the right hand and a ball of thread in the left hand4 ,rosellini4 ,in ,cailliaud the warp threads are coloured in pale blue and red on top of the black lines of the drawing2 he has painted the selvedge and finished cloth a pale blue1 as well as that portion of ,g#b which is covered by the cloth indicating that this is the breast beam1 ,g#c and ,g#a are painted a dark red4 ,rosellini colours ,a1 ,b#a1 ,b#b1 ,d#a1 ,d#b1 ,g#c orange2 ,g#a and ,k dark red1 but ,e from end to end light ochre4 ,this shows that ,k is distinct from ,e4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #i4 ,upright or ,vertical ,looms from the ,tomb of ,thot-nefer at ,thebes1 ,,xviii ,dynasty1 circa ,b4,c4 #adbe4 ,from a drawing by ,mr4 ,n4 de ,g4 ,davies4 ,size of original3 ,height from ,base ,line to top of frame at ,a1 #aa-a_/b #bi cm4 ,in consequence of this loom being represented as upright it is often spoken of as an upright or vertical loom4 ,but it is drawn upright because the ,egyptian artist did not understand perspective1 and it was only by making the loom upright that he was enabled to show the details we have just been examining4 ,for the same reason mat making is illustrated edgeways4 ,if the loom were an upright one the two women weavers would have had their backs turned towards the onlooker as can be seen in ,fig4 #i4 ,any doubt on the matter has however been set aside by ,prof4 ,john ,garstang's extremely interesting discovery of a wooden model depicting a group of women spinning and weaving which he illustrates in his work1 ,the ,burial ,customs of ,ancient ,egypt1 ,london1 #aijg4 ,after referring to the woman spinning1 he continues3 ,the other seated figures apparently represent women at work upon a horizontal loom2 the frame and the woof sic1 should be warp threads are faintly represented upon the board4 ,it is possible that they are making mats or1 perhaps1 weaving 7p4 #acb74 ,he gives an illustration of the group taken from a photograph1 but as it does not show the lines which indicate the loom lying horizontally on the ground nor the warp threads1 ,i have asked him to let me have a drawing made of it and1 with his kind permission1 it is now reproduced here1 ,fig4 #aj4 ,the threads of the warp and the finished piece of cloth at the breast beam end are clearly indicated4 ,the whole model supports conclusively the well founded supposition that the loom we have been considering is a horizontal one4 ,curiously enough1 ,prof4 ,garstang does not appear to appreciate the important bearing of his discovery1 for on a later page 7p4 #acd7 in speaking of ,lepsius' illustration1 discussed above1 he says3 the weavers are seen at work at an upright loom4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #aj4--;,horizontal ,loom4 ,outline sketch by ,miss ,davey of the original model of a group of one woman spinning and two women weaving1 found by ,dr4 ,john ,garstang at ,beni ,hasan4 ,the model is in the ,museum of the ,liverpool ,institute of ,archaeology4 ,it must not be thought that the ,beni ,hasan representation is the only one which illustrates a horizontal loom4 ,a second one is reproduced by ,prof4 ,percy ,newberry from the tomb of ,tehuti-hetep circa #aich-ahdi ,b4,c41 see ,fig4 #aa4 ,in the upper portion the women are seen spinning and preparing the thread generally1 while in the lower portion two women on the left are warping1 and in the centre three apparently are beaming1 i4e4 putting the warp on to the beams preparatory to commencing to weave1 the warp threads being apparently drawn over pegs to ensure the proper tension4 ,this illustration shows the warp flat against the wall like the mat making shown at ,beni ,hasan4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #aa4--,tomb of ,tehuti-hetep4 ,date about #aici-ahdi ,b4,c4 ,from ,professor ,percy ,newberry's ,el ,bersheh ,i4 ,pl4 #bf4 ,note the woman on the top right hand corner holding a beater-in4 ,a third representation of a horizontal loom is reproduced from the forthcoming volume of the ,egypt ,exploration ,fund by kind permission of ,mr4 ,n4 de ,g4 ,davies1 who made the copy4 ,in this1 ,fig4 #g1 already referred to1 the lower portion is all that has come down to us4 ,the cloth is not shown contracted as in the ,beni ,hasan representation1 the two laze rods are drawn close to each other and here also an attempt appears to have been made to show the over and under lapping warp threads2 the laze rods appear each with a hook1 the hook on the upper rod turned upwards and the hook 7if it be one7 on the lower rod turned downwards4 ,it is possible these hooks may be pegs to prevent the shifting of the laze rods4 ,it may be that one of the two rods is a heddle rod the indication being the fine double lines1 but this may not be compatible with the hook at the end of the rod4 ,the weaver on the left holds a spool in her hand1 evidently a piece of stick with the weft thread wound round it1 which she is pushing through with her fingers4 ,the weaver on the right holds a beater-in as shown in the ,beni ,hasan drawing4 ,the breast beam is held in position by two pegs near the right one of which there is a curved article of indeterminate use4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ab4--,study of a ,bedawin ,arab weaving1 from a sketch taken in the ,forties of last ,century1 by ,frank ,goodall1 ,r4,a4 ,the original sketch is in ,bankfield ,museum4 ,the weaver appears to be provided with one heddle and a beater-in4 ,there is no very clear evidence as to how the finished cloth was taken up unless we accept it that the bulging out of the part ,g#b means that it was wound round the breast beam as is done on hand and power looms of the present day4 ,some very long pieces of cloth have come down to us and unless they were taken up in this way a long stretch of ground would have been necessary4 ,a modified form of this horizontal loom has been met with in recent years among the ,bedawin ,arabs1 as shown in the illustration of a study sketch1 ,fig4 #ab1 made by ,frank ,goodall1 ,r4,a41 in the forties of last century4 ,the loom was provided with pegs like the old ,egyptian loom but it was supplied with a primitive heddle resting on a stone at each side of the warp and it would appear that the weaver1 to a certain extent1 did not take up the woven cloth by winding it round the breast beam and by that means retaining his position1 but1 as the weaving progressed and the line of finished cloth got beyond his reach1 he crept up to it and so got farther and farther away from the breast beam until in the end he arrived at the warp beam4 ,similar looms are still used for mat making by the ,egyptian fellah4 ,,vertical ,,looms4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ac4--,upright or vertical loom4 ,wilkinson's ,ancient ,egyptians1 ,london1 ,john ,murray4 #ast ed41 ,vol4 ,,iii41 p4 #ace4 ,apart from the horizontal loom ,wilkinson and ,robert ,hay,c also recorded the existence of an illustration of an upright loom1 said in error to be at ,eileithyias 7,el ,kab74 ,wilkinson's copy1 ,fig4 #ac1 is more elaborate than that of ,hay4 ,mr4 ,davies informs me that the original is not at ,eileithyias1 but in the tomb of ,nefer-hotep at ,thebes4 ,wilkinson in regard to this illustration quotes the oft-repeated statement of ,herodotus 7circa #dfj-dee ,b4,c47 in reference to looms in general3--,other nations make cloth by pushing the woof upwards1 the ,egyptians on the contrary1 press it down4 ,on this statement ,wilkinson remarks3 ,this is confirmed by the paintings which represent the process of making cloth2 but at ,thebes1 a man who is engaged in making a piece of cloth with a coloured border or selvedge1 appears to push the woof upwards1 the cloth being fixed above him1 to the upper part of the frame ,fig4 #ac4 ,but ,i am unable to follow ,wilkinson in this1 for ,i can find no indication in his illustration which shows how the beating-in of the weft is accomplished4 ,from the illustration all one can say is that it might have been done either way4 ,wilkinson's illustration is lettered from a to p but this lettering is not explained by him at all1 excepting in the case of the letter k1 of which he says3 k is a shuttle1 not thrown1 but put in with the hand4 ,it had a hook at the end 444 and he proceeds to refer to the drawing elsewhere of the horizontal loom4 ,he does not show the hooks in his illustration4 ,in ,fig4 #ad1 ,i give the sketch made by ,mr4 ,n4 de ,g4 ,davies of the remains of the original from which ,wilkinson made his illustration4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ad4--;,drawing by ,mr4 ,n4 de ,g4 ,davies1 ,jan4 #aiac1 of an ,upright ,loom in ,tomb #di at ,thebes1 belonging to ,nefer-hotep1 at end of ,,xviii4 ,dynasty1 ,b4,c4 #accj4 ,drawn when in a better state by ,wilkinson1 ,fig4 #ac1 and ,hay4 ,a more satisfactory drawing of upright looms is that which ,mr4 ,n4 de ,g4 ,davies has placed at my disposal for reproduction here4 ,i append his description1 ,fig4 #i4 ,the picture of men working at two looms is taken from the tomb of ,thot-nefer at ,thebes1 who was a royal scribe in the middle of the #ahth ,dynasty1 circa #adbe ,b4,c4 ,in his tomb his house is shown4 ,he himself sits in the hall1 while inside some servants spin and weave1 make bread1 store the grain1 etc4 ,the roof of the chambers is supported on pillars1 and between two of these the looms are set up which are here depicted4 ,they are not attached however1 either to the roof or the pillars4 ,faint sketching lines are mixed up with the darker reds in which the picture was re-drawn1 and the whole very simply and carelessly executed4 ,i have found it difficult to make it clear4 ,in my sketch the first faint sketching outlines appear as lines4 ,the more solid red lines which replaced these ,i have 'hatched1' and certain portions including the men's flesh colour1 the stools1 the discs ,i have put in solid black1 partly because they are for the most part more solid and dark red in the original1 and partly to distinguish the portions more clearly from one another4 ,the horizontal lines which cross the web are very faintly drawn and almost as good as obliterated by the white paint which had been put on the web4 ,i have put them in just to show that the bars were conceived of as passing behind or under the web and concealed by it4 ,the larger loom is worked by two men1 the smaller by one man only4 ,the looms consist of an oblong frame ,a set up on two stones ,b4 ,the warp is attached to the warp beam ,c on top and the breast beam ,d at the bottom4 ,the threads of the warp are not shown1 no difference being made between any woven part and the warp threads2 to all is given one smear of white paint4 ,two discs ,e are seen hanging against the frame posts1 one on each side1 the earlier sketch showing a larger disc than the final drawing in dark red4 ,two slender laze rods ,f are shown on the large loom and heavy bars ,g1 ,h1 lower down2 a somewhat similar laze rod and beams are also shown on the smaller loom4 ,the weavers sit on benches with their backs to the spectator4 ,the artist has not dared to draw a back view of their heads1 but has turned each man's head to the right to show a profile4 ,they are holding a heavy looking rod which looks like a 'beater-in4' ,one would expect to see a shuttle but perhaps this was too small an object for so rough a picture--perhaps the man at the smaller loom holds an exaggerated shuttle ,l in his right hand4 ,the lines ,m seen alongside the framework are the faint red sketch lines not cords4 ,the diagonal line ,n on the left ,i do not understand1 it does not seem an accidental one4 ,on the left hand of the two looms the original shows a man spinning coarse thread into finer787 using two spindles at once2 the threads pass through rings fixed in the ceiling as in a picture at ,beni ,hasan4 ,behind him two girls are breaking up the flax and two others are making coarse threads of the fibres1 almost exactly like those in the tomb of ,daga 7,no4 #ajc7 a couple of hundred yards away4 ,to this description of ,mr4 ,davies ,i would like to add a word about the discs ,e4 ,wilkinson indicates these as rings apparently joining the horizontal beam to the post of the frame1 the form of the ring being arrived at as explained by ,mr4 ,davies by the original outline of the sketch having been made larger than the final drawing of the circle1 or disc1 and not obliterated4 ,in ,mr4 ,davies' drawing these discs hang on or are fixed on to the uprights only1 and ,i am inclined to think they represent balls of weft thread hanging up in the same way as we see whole rows of coloured balls hanging on the looms of ,persian rugmakers1 and as can be seen on an ,indian rug loom in ,bankfield ,museum4 ,it is also very clear that these ,egyptian vertical looms are very different from the ,greek looms in so far as we know anything about them4 ,the ,greek looms had an upper beam only and the warp threads were bunched at the lower end and weighted with metal or clay balls to keep them taut1 ,fig4 #ae4 ,the individual warp threads were not weighted2 they were bunched and then weighted4 ,the pyramidal shaped clay warp weights found in ,egypt are ,i understand considered by ,egyptologists to belong to the ,roman period1 but in the ,manchester ,university ,museum there is a mud article which ,miss ,m4 ,a4 ,murray describes as a warp weight1 ,fig4 #ag1 so that it is possible vertical looms with warp weights may yet be forthcoming as an ,egyptian and not a foreign industrial tool4 ,but ,dr4 ,h4 ,r4 ,hall informs me this weight was probably found in the ruins of houses where ,a,egean pottery was found and hence it is probably a temporary warp weight of those people and not an ,egyptian article4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ae4--;,greek loom with spool and warp weights4 ,illustration on a skyphos 7van ,branteghem vase in the ,ashmolean ,museum1 ,oxford74 ,from ,h4 ,b4 ,walters' paper on ,odysseus ,kirke on a ,boeotian vase1 ,jour4 ,hellenic ,studies1 #ahib-c ,,xiii4 p4 #ha4 ,since writing the above ,mr4 ,n4 de ,g4 ,davies has very kindly sent me on a new set of illustrations1 ,fig4 #af1 of which he says2 ,my attention was called to the scene by ,dr4 ,alan ,gardiner4 ,the scenes which represent the preparation of the flax and the stretching of the warp are almost replicas of those in the tomb of ,daga of the ,middle ,kingdom1 so far as we can judge1 while the pictures of the looms resemble closely those in the tombs of ,thot-nefer and ,nefer-hotep4 ,the work is done by both men and women4 ,men prepare the flax while women stretch the warp4 ,men mostly work the loom1 either singly or with a companion4 ,but in one case a woman is seen at work at one of the upright looms4 ,she is shewn sitting sideways on the low bench and is not pictured in a back view with widely spread legs like the men4 ,unfortunately the work is so slovenly and so much injured that few exact outlines can be secured1 and hence all detail is insecure4 ,there are also superfluous lines in red colour which confuse the picture4 ,the tomb is ,ramesside in date 7circa #abjj ,b4,c47 ,the inscription over the seated man is too broken to be read4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #af;a4--,weavers at work as represented in the ,tomb of ,nefer-ronpet1 ,superintendent of ,weavers at ,thebes4 ,date about #abjj ,b4,c4 ,from a drawing by ,mr4 ,n4 de ,g4 ,davies4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #af;b4--,weavers at work as represented in the ,tomb of ,nefer-ronpet1 ,superintendent of ,weavers at ,thebes4 ,date about #abjj ,b4,c4 ,from a drawing by ,mr4 ,n4 de ,g4 ,davies4 ,the drawings appear to confirm generally what we have gathered from ,mr4 ,davies' previous illustration1 ,fig4 #i4 ,,portions ,,of ,,looms ,,which ,,have ,,come ,,down ,,to ,,us4 ,in so far as ,i know1 not many loom parts have yet been discovered1 and those which ,i have had an opportunity of studying do not assist us to much knowledge beyond that which we have gained by a study of the wall paintings4 ,we have the article from ,kahun already mentioned1 which may possibly be a warp weight1 as it somewhat resembles the later warp weights found elsewhere4 ,it is of hardened mud with a perforation at the thin end through which a piece of string has been passed and knotted 7,fig4 #ag71 but so far no illustration of a loom with weights has been found1 either for the period to which this article belongs or to any other period4 ,on the other hand the material is not suitable for a net-sinker1 nor is it intended to be made to stand up4 ,as mentioned above it is probably ,a,egean4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ag4--,piece of perforated hardened mud4 ,possibly a warp weight1 #aj cm4 x #h4g x #d4b 7#c-ae_/af in4 x #b-g_/af in4 x #a-e_/h in47 ,weight #dgj gramms 7#a lb4 #a_/b oz47 ,probably of ,a,egean origin4 ,kahun4 ,manchester ,museum4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ah4--;,burnt-clay warp weight4 ,height #aa4d cm4 7#d-a_/d in47 ,weight #bfj gramms 7#i-a_/d oz47 ,probably ,roman4 ,bankfield ,museum4 7,received from ,prof4 ,flinders ,petrie74 ,another form of warp weight1 of burnt clay1 is somewhat frequently met with1 ,fig4 #ah1 but it is described as appertaining to ,roman times1 and may therefore be either a ,greek or ,roman article4 ,similar weights from ,cyprus and ,north ,africa1 c41 can be seen in the ,british ,museum4 ,wooden pegs have been found at ,gurob1 which may possibly have been used for holding the warp and breast beams in position1 ,fig4 #ai4 ,these pegs may appear to be rather short for the purpose1 but in very primitive looms the warp is not kept so taut as might and should be1 and hence there is not the same heavy strain on the pegs as we should deem necessary4 ,the way to settle their use would be to fix them in solid ground and test them4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ai4--,wooden ,peg1 possibly used for holding the warp and breast beams4 ,length #ac4e to #aj4b cm4 7#e-ac_/af in4 to #d in47 ,gurob ,,xviii4-,,xix4 ,dyn4 7about #aehj-abje ,b4,c47 ,manchester ,museum4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #bj4--,long straight lath with notches at each end1 probably a laze rod4 ,length #a m4 #bd 7#d ft4 #ac_/af in47 ,breadth #e4b cm4 7#b in47 ,thickness #b4b cm4 7#g_/h in47 ,kahun4 ,manchester ,museum4 ,illustration3 #a_/b size section of ,fig4 #bj4 ,illustration3 #a_/b size section of ,fig4 #ba4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ba4--,long curved lath4 ,probably a beater-in4 ,length #a m4 #bj 7#c ft4 #aa-a_/d in47 ,breadth #f4e cm4 7#a-aa_/cb in474 ,thickness #a cm4 7#c_/h in47 ,kahun4 ,,xii4 ,dynasty about #bjjj-aghh ,b4,c4 ,manchester ,museum4 ,at ,kahun a long straight lath1 ,fig4 #bj1 was found which is probably a laze rod1 the notches being apparently for a nooze to slip into and so prevent the rod working towards the weaver which it has a tendency to do4 ,another long but curved lath1 ,fig4 #ba1 also found at ,kahun is probably a beater-in4 ,most large ,egyptian collections contain one or more specimens of wooden combs1 which are generally called weavers combs1 and ascribed to ,roman times4 ,but one at least1 ,fig4 #bb1 has been found with ,x,v,i,i,ith to ,x,i,xth ,dynasty articles at ,gurob1 that is belonging to the period #aehj-aaej ,b4,c41 which is long before ,rome existed4 ,none of these so-called combs1 for they are really embryo reeds1 are shown on the wall illustrations so that they no doubt belong to a later date than that of the ,x,i,ith ,dynasty4 ,if1 as ,i take it1 these combs are the forerunners of the reed and were used to drive the weft threads home1 and if also the ,romans had upright looms provided with warp weights instead of the breast beam1 then ,i think the comb may not be ,roman but may be a late ,egyptian invention4 ,for1 on trying to use such a comb on a replica of a ,scandinavian upright loom provided with warp weights 7instead of with the breast beam7 ,i can get no good result1 in fact rather the opposite1 but tried on a primitive horizontal loom provided with a breast beam the comb is found to be of some assistance1 especially if the warp is not very taut as is generally the case with primitive looms4 ,at ,bankfield we have an ,indian rug loom1 already referred to1 with warp and breast beam on which a somewhat similar instrument1 but of iron1 was used4,d ,illustration3 ,fig4 #bb4--,weaver's ,comb--a ,beater-in4 #ai4e cm4 x #i4h x #d4b 7#g-c_/d in4 x #c-g_/h in4 x #a-e_/h in47 ,gurob4 ,manchester ,museum4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #bc4--,possibly a warp spacer1 somewhat similar in object to the raddle of modern hand loom weaving4 ,height #b4h cm4 ,width #b4e cm4 7#a-a_/h in4 x #a in47 ,the slots are #f mm4 7#a_/d in47 apart1 #c mm4 7#a_/af in47 wide1 and about #aj mm4 7#c_/h in47 deep4 ,from ,gurob but probably ,roman4 ,bankfield ,museum4 7,received from ,prof4 ,flinders ,petrie74 ,an article which ,prof4 ,flinders ,petrie describes as a warp spacer is shown in ,fig4 #bc4 ,from fragments in the ,egyptian ,collection1 ,university ,college1 ,london1 it would appear to have been originally more than a meter 7three feet7 long4 ,it may have been used as a sort of a raddle1 a tool used for assisting to keep the warp threads in position when being beamed1 i4e4 put on to the loom4 ,at ,bankfield we have an old local hand loom the warp beam of which is provided with a series of holes in which pegs were once inserted to keep the coloured warp threads in position4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #bd4 #a_/b size of end of ,fig4 #bd4 #a_/b size section of ,fig4 #bd4 ,a long piece of perforated wood described by ,prof4 ,flinders ,petrie1 ,kahun1 p4 #bi1 as a ,weaver's ,beam for making rush mats4 ,length #if4h cm4 x #h4j x #c4j 7#c ft4 #a-a_/d in4 x #c-a_/d in4 x #a-c_/af in47 ,from ,manchester ,museum4 ,a piece of frame1 ,fig4 #bd1 has been described as a weaver's beam for making rush mats like the modern hasira4 ,it is provided with #bh holes which are arranged about #bg to #dj mm4 apart4 ,the holes may have been more or less circular originally1 and worn into present shape by threads1 etc41 and look more irregular inside than they really are1 as the inside surface of the holes is fairly smooth2 the holes are slightly larger1 on an average about #d mm41 on the face shown than on the other face4 ,prof4 ,flinders ,petrie seems to think it resembles the frame on which the modern ,egyptian mat is made4 ,we now come to the two reeds in the ,museum of the ,liverpool ,institute of ,archaeology1 which ,dr4 ,john ,garstang discovered near ,abu ,kirkas1 tomb ,no4 #fic1 of which he tells us3 ,they are #bg and #bi inches 7#fh4f and #gc4g cm47 in length respectively1 and are precisely similar in general form4 ,they are constructed on a system of nineteen or twenty reeds to the inch1 and they may be seen to be exactly similar to the modern reed taken from a loom in the village of ,abu ,kirkas4 ,it is not possible1 unfortunately1 to assign a precise date to these objects4 ,they were found in a tomb which contained no other remains2 this tomb was surrounded by others1 all of them likewise very much disturbed1 but equally characteristic of the general nature of the ,middle ,empire tombs1 and containing nothing but ,middle ,empire objects4 ,since1 in general1 few tombs of this site show signs of intrusive burial of a later age1 there is no reason to suppose that these objects are of any date later than the ,,xii4 ,dynasty 7,the ,burial ,customs of ,ancient ,egypt1 ,london1 #aijg1 pp4 #acd-acf74 ,the horizontal looms we have been describing belong to this period1 and the artists have not shown any reeds with them4 ,my studies of primitive looms lead me to think that these ,egyptian looms are of a date far anterior to the invention or the application of a reed4 ,it has also1 ,i believe1 been remarked by those who have examined cloths of this date1 that the irregular array of the warp threads is good proof that reeds could not have been in use4 ,i have already pointed out that in the evolution of the loom the reed puts in a late appearance1 but apart from this fact1 ,i do not think the artist would have omitted such an important tool had it been in use in his time4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #be4--,reed in ,cairo ,museum4 ,length #ff cm4 7#bf in47 ,it consists of two wooden frames fitted with flat iron wires4 ,string is wound round the frames binding them together4 ,then a kind of canvas787 cover in placed over the frames to cover up the projecting ends of the wires1 but this has disappeared in places4 ,dr4 ,garstang points out that although the surrounding tombs contained ,middle ,empire objects1 the reeds were found in a tomb without any other remains4 ,this can hardly be considered evidence tending to prove that they belonged to the period named1 and it is certainly weakened by the accompanying statement that the reeds are exactly similar to the modern reed1 for that is almost sufficient to prove that they are not #cijj-cgjj years old4 ,to me they seem comparatively modern and very similar to one in the ,cairo ,museum which ,,mm4 ,brugsch and ,quibell are inclined to think is ,coptic with this difference1 that in ,dr4 ,garstang's reeds the divisions appear to be of cane or wood1 while in the ,cairo reed they are of iron 78steel74 ,the sketch of this ,coptic reed1 ,fig4 #be1 has been drawn specially for me1 and ,miss ,w4 ,m4 ,crompton1 ,assistant ,keeper in ,egyptology in the ,manchester ,university ,museum1 has kindly examined the sketch with the article and pronounced it correct4 ,we may1 ,i think1 safely conclude that the reed found by ,dr4 ,garstang is ,coptic and not ,ancient ,egyptian4 ,as regards the actual work of weaving1 balls of thread have been found and so have very flat bobbins and pieces of stick with thread wound round which may have been spools as indicated in the drawing1 ,fig4 #g4 ,there is no reason why balls of thread should not have been used as they are in uncivilised countries at the present day1 as1 for instance1 in ,tibet1 as reported by ,w4 ,w4 ,rockhill in ,diary of a ,journey through ,mongolia and ,thibet1 ,washington1 #ahid1 p4 #da4 ,,diagonal ,,weaving4 ,i am unable to agree with a recently made statement published in ,the ,labyrinth1 ,gerzeh and ,marghuneh1 by ,prof4 ,flinders ,petrie1 ,e4 ,a4 ,wainwright and ,e4 ,mackey1 p4 #f1 which runs3 ,the fact of the weft not being at right angles to the warp1 if one may conclude by the fabrics1 does not1 ,i think1 imply that such weaving is of inferior quality4 ,when ,i noticed the peculiarity first1 ,i thought it might have arisen through distortion by stretching over the body1 but repeated examples of the same fact have led me to consider other causes4 ,we know how closely analogous to 'darning' was the early weaving2 and in our days it is not unusual to find stockings not darned at right angles1 and it may be the women weavers of old sometimes put in the weft more or less out of true right angle4 ,in the childhood of weaving we should expect different methods1 and it may be1 seeing that we have no selvedged cloth until very long after this time1 that they experimented with a diagonal weft to see if it would not reduce the tendency to fray out at the sides4 ,the amount the warp and weft are out of the right angle is stated to be about #bj deg4 ,the specimen shown me under the microscope indicated clearly that the warp and weft were not at right angles and that the interstices were not square but diamond shaped4 ,it is possible to arrange the warp threads diagonally from beam to beam1 but with continuous weft 7that is in weaving so as to get selvedges7 the weft has the tendency to slip up on one side and down on the other1 hence the weaving is made laborious4 ,with a separate weft for each pick1 i4e41 for every once the shed is opened1 there is naturally not this tendency1 but this alleged diagonally woven cloth frays just as easily as any other piece of cloth without selvedge1 so in either case there is not only no advantage but distinct disadvantage taking the diagonal beaming into consideration4 ,we must give the ,egyptians credit for using the least laborious of two methods1 that is if the second one were known to them4 ,apparent diagonal weaving can be produced by anyone taking an ordinary piece of linen or cotton cloth1 cutting off the selvedge and stretching the cloth in a direction diagonally to the direction of the warp and weft1 and a piece of diagonally woven cloth is the result6 ,the probability is that the specimen of cloth1 without a selvedge1 having been stretched over the body for a long period of time1 has1 in the course of that time lost its nature and when removed it has retained its altered form and gives us the impression of having been woven diagonally4 ,,the ,,linen ,,girdle ,,of ,,rameses ,,iii4 ,in the foregoing ,i have shown how extremely simple was the whole apparatus for weaving in use by the ,ancient ,egyptians1 and one is rather surprised to be told that about ,b4,c4 #abjj1 in the time of ,rameses ,,iii41 the ,egyptians built and used looms very much more complicated than has hitherto been believed to be the case1 or to be referred to the really complicated form of loom used4 ,yet this is what ,mr4 ,thorold ,d4 ,lee tells us 7pp4 #hd and #hf7 in his paper on ,the ,linen ,girdle of ,rameses ,,iii4 7,ann4 of ,archaeology and ,anthropology of the ,liverpool ,institute of ,archaeology1 ,july1 #aiab1 ,v47 ,the characteristics of this girdle are its great length1 #ag feet 7#e m4 #b71 its even taper diminishing from #e in4 7#ab4g cm47 in width to #a-g_/h in4 7#d4h cm47 in width1 its elaborate design and excellent workmanship4 ,perhaps the chief of these characteristics is the taper4 ,it is most probable1 as ,mr4 ,lee points out1 that in the weaving the warp threads have been gradually dropped out to make the taper1 rather than that additional warp threads have been added4 ,as it is easy to drop a warp thread1 and almost impossible to add one while weaving is in progress1 ,mr4 ,lee's view is confirmed by this4 ,it would also be almost impossible to keep the warp taut if the number of warp threads were increased as the work went on4 ,this means that the girdle was commenced at the wide end and finished at the narrow end4 ,it is common knowledge that when a warp thread drops out1 its place is indicated by a thinness or fine opening for the whole length of the missing warp1 and this is so because the reed1 besides pushing the weft into position1 also acts as a warp spacer1 that is to say it keeps the warp threads properly apart1 every one being properly aligned4 ,when no reed is used the warp threads are not so evenly placed--they are not so parallel to one another for there is nothing but their tautness to keep them in position4 ,hence there is every reason to conclude that when1 on a loom provided with a reed1 warp threads have been removed their position must be indicated1 and vice versa if no reed has been used the position of the removed threads will not be so clearly indicated1 but there will be a more marked shrinkage in the width of the cloth as well as in the pattern1 and this is what has taken place in the girdle giving us the diminishing taper4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,linen ,,girdle ,,of ,,rameses ,,iii4 ,reproduced by kind permission of ,dr4 ,clubb1 ,director1 ,the ,museums1 ,liverpool4 ,if this diminishing taper were indicated by a decrease in the width of the pattern commencing at the selvedges1 then it might be presumed that a reed had been used for the central portion only--a very clumsy even if feasible arrangement1 but the pattern begins to decrease along the middle and hence no reed could have been used4 ,it does not follow that because a loom was not provided with a reed it was without heddles4 ,anyone who will examine the large series of primitive looms at ,bankfield ,museum1 will observe that heddles preceded reeds2 this must necessarily be so as the making of the shed is the first step in weaving1 while the reed's work is more that of a finisher4 ,but the heddles are all extremely primitive1 and in my experience do not exceed four in number where there is no reed4 ,such a quantity of heddles with its complicated harness as ,mr4 ,lee considers necessary is quite out of the question with a loom so undeveloped as not to be provided with a reed4 ,hence the indication is that the girdle was woven on a loom of a primitive character4 ,in carrying out the work the weaver has made many mistakes4 ,on the left hand side of the right hand row of red crosses 7they come out black in the photograph7 there is an end down for a considerable distance--that is a thread has been missed4 ,on the same row of crosses three white threads show above and below1 while on the left hand row of crosses there are five white threads above and below4 ,the crosses are neither the same size nor shape in the two columns and curiously their white hafts in both columns point to the left instead of one row pointing to the left and the other to the right4 ,then again the white point at the right apex of the zigzag on the left corresponds to a red point at the left apex of the right hand zigzag1 but if the girdle had been woven on an advanced loom with dobby and harness these points would have been red in both places4 ,as regards the large number of warp threads to the inch which ,mr4 ,lee puts down as #bgb-cdj 7#ajg-acd per cm471 this does not by any means indicate a complicated piece of machinery for the weaving of this belt or any other fabric4 ,the greater the number of threads to the inch the finer must the threads be in order to get them into the allotted space1 and in the weaving there will be so many more threads to raise and lower in order to make the shed opening4 ,it means multiplying the work but does not necessarily mean that a more complicated loom must be used in the weaving4 ,it is not possible without opening the fabric to be quite positive on the many points which are raised1 but there seems nothing about it which should prevent its having been made on a simple loom4 ,although superior to most1 but not all1 of the well known ,coptic cloths in ,bankfield and in many other museums1 it very closely resembles some of them in many respects excepting in the taper4 ,i should add that in making my examination of this girdle ,i was kindly assisted by ,mr4 ,c4 ,a4 ,trigg1 a well known ,halifax mill manager and designer4 ,we made the examination independently and on comparing notes afterwards found that we agreed in all essential points4 ,,an ,,examination ,,of ,,fifteen ,,specimens ,,of ,,mummy ,,wrappings4 ,by ,w4 ,w4 ,,midgley1 ,curator1 retired1 ,the ,museums1 ,bolton4 ,so far back as #ahcd1 ,mummy cloths occupied the attention of ,james ,thompson1 ,f4,r4,s41 who1 after researches into their characteristics and structure wrote a paper on the subject1 which appears in the ,london and ,edinburgh ,philosophical ,magazine1 ,vol4 ,v41 page #cee4 ,from that time until quite recently1 little additional knowledge on the subject has appeared4 ,in the early part of #aiaj1 ,prof4 ,w4 ,m4 ,flinders ,petrie1 ,f4,r4,s41 expressed a desire that the writer should undertake microscopic investigation of the body-wrappings of cloths of the ,,iii4 and early ,,iv4 ,dynasties 7circa #bihj-bgej ,b4,c47 which he had brought home from excavations made at a cemetery near ,meydum1 ,upper ,egypt4 ,the report upon them forms part of the ,historical ,studies1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 of the ,british ,school of ,archaeology in ,egypt4 ,when ,mr4 ,ling ,roth suggested that some of the examples of ,egyptian ,mummy cloths in ,bankfield ,museum should be examined on similar lines1 describing the construction of the fabrics and yarns1 together with the characteristics of the fibres used1 ,i undertook to carry out the work and forward to him the results for permanent reference4 ,each of the fifteen cloths submitted was first examined by mounting about #c_/d x #e_/h 7#bj mm4 x #af mm47 of the cloth on #c x #a 7#gf mm4 x #be mm47 glass slips1 and covering with thin glass1 so as to find out its plan of composition and the number of warp and weft threads per linear inch4 ,afterwards1 a little of the warp threads as well as of the weft1 was untwisted and the fibres separated1 and these mounted apart on another #c x #a slip 7#gf x #be mm471 so that the kind of textile fibre used and the diameter of the fibres could be measured4 ,these microscopical preparations will be kept in ,bankfield ,museum1 as they may be of interest to microscopists in the locality4 ,the cloths are from three sources3--,nos4 #a and #b being from the private collection of ,dr4 ,wallis-,budge1 who has given the specimens to ,bankfield ,museum2 ,nos4 #c to #h are from the old ,meyer collection in the ,liverpool ,museum 7unfortunately the origin of them is unknown72 and those marked #i to #ae were taken from a mummy of the ,,xxvi4 ,dynasty1 brought to this country by ,lord ,denbigh1 and now also in the ,liverpool ,museum4 ,a4--,specimens of ,mummy cloths from ,theban ,tombs date about ,b4,c4 #adjj1 presented by ,dr4 ,wallis-,budge4 #a4 ,a plain one-up-and-one-down linen cloth4 ,the yarns in this example are more irregular in diameter than usual--the warp strands varying from #a_/beth to #a_/gast 7#a mm4 to 4#b_/h mm47 ,the warp has about half its strands doubled 7that is twined together71 whereas the weft has only about one in twenty doubled4 ,see ,fig4 #bf4 #b4 ,this is a coarser fabric1 has been dyed with saffron1 and is somewhat brittle to tease out the fibres4 ,both these cloths had evidently absorbed some of the gums or balsams used in the process of embalming1 and hence the difficulty of separating the fibres for identification is increased4 ,the structure of the fabric is peculiar1 and1 indeed1 the only instance ,i have seen in ,egyptian cloths4 ,a portion1 near the middle of the piece sent1 has the warp strands in pairs parallel to each other1 a few of them being double yarns1 while all the remainder are doubled4 ,of the weft1 nearly half are double yarns4 ,see ,fig4 #bg4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #bf4--,magnified #aj diameters4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #bg4--,magnified #aj diameters1 showing the warp yarn in pairs4 ,b4--,specimens from the ,meyer ,collection1 marked ,no4 #aajhh4 7,date of acquisition about #ahef2 date and place of origin unknown74 #c4 ,this is a beautifully soft1 fine ,wool fabric1 containing no size or balsam4 ,from the fineness of the yarn and of the individual fibres ,i have no doubt that the wool has been imported from ,india1 or1 more likely1 that the cloth was made in ,cashmere4 ,the texture is a plain weave1 has a selvedge edge1 the warp yarns are doubled1 while the weft is single yarn4 ,it is much to be regretted that the particulars of locality1 of burial1 and the period of time to which this interesting fabric belongs has been lost4 ,i assume from the general characteristics that it is of a late period--probably not earlier than the ,ptolemaic4 #d4 ,this linen cloth has a plain selvedge1 regular weave1 and contains no size4 ,about #be of both warp and weft yarns are doubled1 and all are very even in diameter4 #e4 ,a coarse linen cloth with plain selvedge4 ,all the yarns are single and even in diameter4 #f4 ,this is a coarse1 highly-sized linen cloth4 ,the yarns are agglutinated1 are brittle1 and it is difficult to separate the fibres4 ,the sample submitted has been cut from the end of the piece and shows the warp ends4 #g4 ,a coarse linen cloth1 sized and brittle4 ,no selvedge on the piece sent4 ,both warp and weft yarns are single1 and even in diameter4 #h4 ,this is a very coarse linen fabric heavily sized and brittle4 ,both warp and weft yarns are single and very irregular in diameter4 ,c4--,lord ,denbigh's3 ,,xxvi4 ,dynasty4 #i4 ,a soft-spun linen cloth containing no size4 ,specimen has been cut from the body of the fabric1 showing no selvedge4 ,about half of the warp is composed of doubled yarns of irregular diameter2 the weft is of doubled yarns and more regular in diameter4 #aj4 ,the selvedge of this linen fabric is peculiar and somewhat elaborate4 ,the outer margin is composed of four sets of ten yarns parallel to each other1 forming one strand of warp2 then comes a space of #a-i_/aj 7#dh mm47 where the warp yarns are dyed red2 then occurs three more sets of ten parallel yarns 7the object being to strengthen the selvedge71 followed by the general body of the fabric4 ,the entire selvedge is #b-a_/d 7#eg mm47 wide4 ,about half the warp yarns are doubled1 while all the weft are composed of doubled yarns1 both being fairly even in diameter1 and not sized4 #aa4 ,a fine1 soft1 linen cloth1 with selvedge #a-a_/h 7#bi mm47 wide2 the three outer and the two inner strands of the warp are made up of many parallel yarns1 as in ,no4 #aj1 with an interspace of #c_/h 7#aj mm47 ,all the warp yarns are dyed red1 about #be of them being doubled2 the weft is peculiar in having five or six strands of single yarns alternating with six or seven double yarns1 giving a faint stripe in the fabric4 #ab4 ,a linen cloth1 with no selvedge edge4 ,it has been dyed red1 probably ferum1 a dye which ,i find uniformly associated with friable or decomposing fibres4 #ac4 ,a peculiarly coloured fine linen cloth2 the pattern is caused by some of the warp yarns being dyed1 and occurring sometimes of four1 two1 or one red strands1 with grey ones intermixed4 ,a few of the warp yarns are doubled4 ,the weft is composed of single yarns and are all in the grey4 #ad4 ,a coarse soft-woven linen fabric1 containing no size4 ,lines are indicated at irregular distances along the cloth1 varying from #e_/af to #i_/af 7#h to #ad mm472 these are caused by the introduction of three strands of doubled yarn in the warp while the remainder are single yarns4 ,the weft is all of doubled yarns2 both warp and weft are very regular in diameter4 #ae4 ,this is a variegated linen fabric with warps coloured something like ,no4 #ac1 but the red strands of warp are more irregular in distribution4 ,like it1 a few of the warp yarns are doubled1 both the red and the grey2 while the weft is all of single yarns and in the grey4 ,a considerable quantity of specimens of the cloths which were woven by the ,ancient ,egyptians has been examined both in this country and abroad4 ,i may1 however1 call special attention to the results of examination published in ,miss ,m4 ,a4 ,murray's excellent little work ,the ,tomb of ,two ,brothers1 ,manchester ,museum ,publications1 ,no4 #fh1 #aiaj4--;,h4,l4,r4 ,,details ,,of ,,the ,,composition ,,of ,,the ,,body ,,wrappings4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------- ,specimen,nature ,warp ,weft ,micro ,measurements of ,ten ,fibres4 ,no4 of ,ends ,picks---------------------------------- ----- ,textileper per ,weft4 ,warp4 ,mean of4 ,fibre4inch4inch4 ,max4 ,min4 ,max4 ,min4 ,weft4 ,warp4 in4 in4 in4 in4 in4 in4 ,a4 #a ,linen #dd #cb #a_/adjja_/cccca_/adbda_/cccja_/agfha_/a ghf #b #aj #ag #a_/aghfa_/cccja_/aghja_/bhfja_/bjbja_/a ije #c ,wool #bbd #dj #a_/hcc #a_/bejja_/hcc #a_/bjjja_/aceaa_/adbi #d ,linen #fd #cb #a_/adbia_/bejja_/abeja_/ejjja_/ahaha_/a ged #e #ef #bj #a_/abeja_/cccca_/abeja_/bejja_/ageda_/a gbd ,b4 #f #dh #bd #a_/abeja_/bejja_/ajjja_/bejja_/afdja_/a eid #g #dh #bj #a_/aaaaa_/bejja_/ajjja_/bejja_/adjha_/a dbh #h #cf #af #a_/hcc #a_/cccca_/aaaaa_/bejja_/adefa_/afac #i #dh #bd #a_/afffa_/cccca_/afffa_/cccca_/bbbba_/a hfj #aj #cb #fj #a_/hcc #a_/cccca_/ijh #a_/cccca_/agbda_/afac #aa #hj #cf #a_/adbia_/cccca_/ajjja_/cccca_/ahhga_/a ghd ,c4 #ab #if #dj #a_/aaaaa_/bejja_/abeja_/bejja_/agbda_/a fie #ac #hj #cf #a_/aaaaa_/bejja_/adbia_/bejja_/afdja_/b jdj #ad #ef #bd #a_/iji #a_/cccca_/abeja_/bejja_/aeida_/afie #ae #fd #cf #a_/abeja_/bjjja_/adbia_/bejja_/agbda_/a hah ---------------------------------------- --------------------- ,,the ,,above ,,converted ,,into ,,metrical ,,measurements4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------- ,micro ,measurements of ,ten ,fibres ,specimen,nature ,warp ,weft in ,millimetres4 ,no4 of ,ends ,picks --------------------------------- ,textile per per ,weft4 ,warp4 ,mean of ,fibre4 ,centim4 ,centim4 ,max4 ,min4 ,max4 ,min4 ,weft4,warp4 #a ,linen #ag #ab4f 4#jaha4jjgf4jagh4jjgf4jadd4jadb #b #d #f4g 4#jadb4jjgf4jadc4jjhi4jabf4jacc #c ,wool #hh #ae4f 4#jcje4jaja4jcje4jabg4jahh4jagh #d ,linen #be #ab4f 4#jagh4jaja4jbjc4jjej4jadj4jade #e #bb #g4h 4#jbjc4jjgf4jbjc4jaja4jade4jadg #f #ai #i4e 4#jbjc4jaja4jbed4jaja4jaee4jaei #g #ai #g4h 4#jbbi4jaja4jbed4jaja4jahj4jagh #h #ad4a #f4c 4#jcje4jjgf4jbbi4jaja4jagd4jaeg #i #ai #i4e 4#jaeb4jjgf4jaeb4jjgf4jbjh4jacj #aj #ab4f #bc4f 4#jcje4jjgf4jbgh4jjgf4jadg4jaeg #aa #ca4e #ad4a 4#jagh4jjgf4jbed4jjgf4jace4jadb #ab #cg4d #ae4f 4#jbbi4jaja4jbjc4jaja4jadg4jadi #ac #ai #ad4a 4#jbbi4jaja4jagh4jaja4jaee4jabd #ad #bb #i4e 4#jbgh4jjgf4jbjc4jaja4jaei4jadi #ae #be #ad4a 4#jbjc4jabg4jagh4jaja4jadg4jadj ---------------------------------------- --------------------- ,it is very obvious they had no scale to work to4 ,,footnotes3 ,a ,to the uninitiated ,i may explain that in a horizontal loom the plane of the warp is more or less parallel with that of the floor1 while in an upright or vertical loom the plane of the warp is at right angles to that of the floor4 ,b ,to avoid indistinctness through over reduction1 ,i have endeavoured to keep all reproductions in this paper as large as possible1 and think ,i have succeeded in not losing any detail in the necessary reduction4 ,c ,hay's drawings are not published but can be seen in the ,brit4 ,mus41 ,add4 ,,mss4 ,no4 #bihbc1 ,fol4 #cb4 ,d ,olafsson1 to be referred to later on1 remarks that while in ,ovid's time the spathe was used for beating-in the weft1 in ,seneca's time the weft was beaten in by a toothed instrument4 ,in other words a weaver's comb--the embryo reed--had been introduced4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,greek ,,loom4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #bh4--;,a ,bushongo weaver at work4 ,from ,torday and ,joyce1 ,notes ,ethnographiques1 ,ann4 du ,congo1 p4 #ahb4 ,we have now to say a few words about an upright loom which differs very materially from the ,egyptian loom already described4 ,whether the horizontal loom is a later product than the vertical loom1 or was evolved from it1 or whether both were independent inventions cannot be discussed here1 but ,i may point out that there is an intermediate form between the two4 ,it is doubtful as to whether this is a transition form4 ,it was first brought to my notice by ,mr4 ,t4 ,a4 ,joyce1 as in use amongst some negro peoples in ,central ,africa possessing an old1 high and possibly introduced civilisation1 and is figured in ,messrs4 ,torday and ,joyce's ,notes ,ethnographiques 444 ,bakuba 444 et ,bushongo 7,annales du ,congo7 pp4 #bd and #ahb4 ,in this loom the warp is stretched between an upper beam and a lower beam at an angle of about #ij degrees1 and the weaver sits underneath at his work1 ,fig4 #bh4 ,it is not at all uncommon to meet with illustrations showing the warp stretched at an incline1 and apart from the fact that in many the weavers are posing for illustration1 and therefore1 are most probably not exactly in their natural positions1 the tilted arrangement has this advantage1 namely1 that the work of beating-in is improved by the fall given to the sword which1 with less exertion by the weaver1 drives the weft home more effectively4 ,in all these cases1 however1 the weaver sits or stands in front of the loom1 but in the case of the ,bushongo the loom is tilted to such an extent that the weaver finds it more convenient to sit underneath the warp4 ,the discovery by ,messrs4 ,alan ,gardiner and ,n4 de ,g4 ,davies of illustrations of ,egyptian upright looms1 confirms ,wilkinson in his statement and illustration that the ,egyptians had this class of loom as well as the horizontal one4 ,the vertical loom is found in ,europe1 ,asia1 ,africa and ,america1 and is1 probably1 ethnically as old if not older than the horizontal loom4,e ,but this ,egyptian upright loom differs from another1 the ,greek1 or ,central ,european1 or ,scandinavian form of the upright loom1 in having an upper and a lower beam so that the warp is made taut between two beams1 while in the ,greek loom there is only one beam4 ,the warp hangs from this beam1 the warp threads being made taut by means of weights attached at the lower ends4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #bi;a4--,illustration on a small lekythos of an ,athenian girl at work on a tapestry loom1 together with a full size tracing of the tapestry loom4 ,british ,museum4 ,b4,c4 #ejj4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #bi;b4--,illustration of a ,greek woman with a tapestry loom4 ,from ,stackelberg's ,graeber der ,hellenen1 pl4 xxxiii4 ,the ,greeks were1 however1 acquainted with the tapestry loom1 for there exists in the ,british ,museum a small lekythos with an illustration1 ,fig4 #bi;a1 of such an article resting on the knees of a lady weaver4,f ,illustration3 ,fig4 #cj4--;,greek woman at work on a loom4 ,from ,c4 ,robert ,eph arch #ahib1 pl4 xiii41 p4 #bdg4 ,it is not possible to say from this illustration whether this is a warp weighted loom or not4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ca4--,penelope at her loom4 ,illustration on an ,athenian skyphos found in an ,etruscan tomb at ,chiusi1 and at present in the museum there4 ,the illustration is taken from ,monumenti d4 ,inst4 ,archeologico1 ,,ix41 pl4 xlii4 ,it has been described by ,mr4 ,h4 ,b4 ,walters in ,jour4 ,hellenic ,studies1 ,,xxxi41 #aiaa1 p4 #ae1 who says3 ,in front of her1 ,fig4 #bi;a1 is a white wool basket 7,kalathos7 and on her lap is a frame somewhat in the form of a lyre1 being formed by two upright pieces with knobs at the top1 diverging slightly towards the top1 across between which are stretched two threads at the top and two at the bottom1 seven vertical threads being also visible4 ,her hands are placed on the threads1 which she is engaged in manipulating4 ,this object can only be intended for a hand loom1 though there is apparently no evidence for the use of such objects in ancient times or among ,oriental races either in the past or the present day4 ,the only other parallel to the representation on this vase is one published by ,stackelberg1 ,fig4 #bi;b1 where a woman holds a similar frame and is similarly occupied with her hands4 ,the writers of the articles ,sticken in ,baumeister and ,phrygium ,opus in ,daremberg and ,saglio1 misled by the likeness of the object to the modern crewel-frame1 interpret the process as embroidery4 ,but this kind of work implies cloth or other textile substance already woven1 on which patterns are worked in1 whereas in both vase paintings the textile is obviously in course of construction4 ,he is right in so far as he goes1 but both representations are those of tapestry looms which fact is indicated by the warp threads in both cases1 and by the design marked on the warp threads of ,fig4 #bi;b--a method of preparing their work in use to this day by tapestry weavers4 ,some authorities consider that tapestry weaving is more closely related to mat making than to true weaving4 ,in other words1 ,i take it tapestry is an early stage in the development of weaving4 ,from this we get some idea as to how far the ,greeks had progressed in the textile arts4 ,as pointed out by ,,mm4 ,daremberg and ,saglio1 ,dic4 des ,antiquites ,grecques et ,romaines pt4 #df1 p4 #afd1 illustrations of ,greek or ,roman methods of weaving are very rare1 they are much reduced and in so far as the art is concerned purely diagrammatic4 ,on the other hand if there are numerous references in the texts of classic authors1 these references seem rather to obscure than elucidate the method of working4 ,however1 there are three illustrations--the ,penelope loom1 ,fig4 #ca1 and two ,boeotian looms1 one of which is illustrated in ,fig4 #ae--quite sufficient to explain the principle of the upright loom as used with warp weights by the ,greeks1 and the discovery of numerous articles1 considered to be the warp weights1 confirm the illustration4 ,the principle is the same throughout1 viz43 the looms are vertical1 there is a warp beam on top1 there are two cross rods one of which is a laze rod and possibly the other is a heddle2 and the warp threads are all kept taut by means of attached weights4 ,on one of the ,boeotian looms a bobbin or spool is shown4 ,along the top of ,penelope's loom there are indications of nine pegs1 on six of which balls of coloured thread have been placed1 evidently for working out the designs1 very much the same as shown on the rug loom in ,bankfield ,museum already referred to4 ,the warp weights on this ,athenian illustration are triangular in shape1 and perhaps resemble the pyramidic weights found in ,egypt and attributed to ,roman times4 ,assuming these pyramids are ,roman warp weights it would appear that both ,greeks and ,romans had vertical looms on which the warp threads were kept taut by means of weights4 ,in one of the few clearly expressed technical classical references1 ,seneca speaks of the warp threads stretched by hanging weights4 ,in the above classical illustrations which are after all only rough diagrams1 the warp weights appear to hang from a single thread only1 but this can not have been correct4 ,the warp threads must have been bunched1 because a single suspended thread with a tension weight immediately begins to unravel1 and so loses the advantage of its having been spun1 as any one can ascertain for oneself4 ,as regards the same point on the ,lake ,dwellers looms1 ,cohausen was the first to surmise that the warp threads were bunched to receive the weight1 and ,messikommer proved it by practical experiment4,g ,as can be surmised with this class of loom the weaving begins at the top1 working downwards1 and the beating-in of the weft is upwards--the exact opposite to the method adopted with other looms--for the pendant warp ends1 although weighted to keep them taut1 do not appear to have been further fixed in position1 so that to commence weaving at the lower end made the operation so extremely difficult as to be almost impossible4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #cb4--;,illustration of a ,scandinavian warp weighted loom in the ,copenhagen ,museum4 ,the illustration is taken from ,montelius' ,civilisation of ,sweden in ,heathen ,times1 translated by the ,rev4 ,f4 ,h4 ,woods1 ,london1 ,macmillan ,co41 #ahhh1 p4 #afj4 ,in the illustration of this loom published by the ,trustees of the ,british ,museum1 in their ,guide to the ,antiquities of the ,early ,iron ,age1 ,london1 #aije1 p4 #aci1 the shape of the warp weights has been altered to suit the shape of such weights in the ,british ,museum collections4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #cc4--;,icelandic ,loom after ,olafsson4 a a ,beam on which the warp is fixed4 b b ,weights to make the warp taut4 c c ,brackets which support the beam and on which it can be revolved by means of the spoke e when the warp has to be lengthened1 on account of the weft f working downwards and so shortening the finished portion of the woven cloth4 g ,a sharp bone or tough piece of wood to beat the weft into proper position4 h ,the wound up weft which is pushed through the warp with the fingers4 i i ,the unbeamed warp4 k k ,the heddles or shed openers4 l l ,the supports on which the heddles rest when the pick is made i4e41 the pushing the weft through4 m ,the beater-in4 n and o ,laze rods4 q ,the template for regulating the width of the cloth4 r r and s s ,beam on to which the loom is fixed4 ,some of the descriptions are not as clear as could be wished4 ,it is probable that g is a preliminary to m4 ,n4 ,annandale mentions that he obtained in the ,faroes a beater-in made of a whale's jaw or rib2 while in ,iceland he saw some of the perforated stones to which the warp threads were attached 7,the ,faroes and ,iceland1 ,oxford1 #aije1 pp4 #aie-f74 ,the ,scandinavian form of the ,greek loom from the ,faroes ,fig4 #cb1 is made known to us through the article itself in the ,copenhagen ,museum1 illustrated by ,montelius1 ,civilisation of ,sweden in ,heathen ,times1 ,lond4 #ahhh1 p4 #afj1 and through the very clear illustration and description given us by ,olafsson in his ,oeconomische ,reise durch ,island1 #aghg1 translated from the ,danish edition of #aghj4 ,the loom figured by ,olafsson1 ,fig4 #cc1 shows an advance on that of ,montelius1 in being provided with heddles4,h ,upright looms with a lower beam instead of with warp weights and furnished with heddles1 are not uncommon4 ,there are the well known ,indian and ,persian rug looms1 and ,du ,chaillu figures one in his ,journey to ,ashango ,land1 ,london1 #ahfg1 plate facing p4 #bia4 ,randall-,maciver and ,wilkin illustrate a vertical loom in use among the ,kabyles1 ,libyan ,notes1 ,london1 #aija1 ,pl4 ,,ix41 and although the details of the illustration are not clear the text indicates the existence of one heddle3 ,the warp is decussated by means of a horizontal rod and leashes4 ,dr4 ,washington ,mathews figures several ,navajo looms with heddles1 ,third ,ann4 ,rep4 ,bureau of ,ethnology1 p4 #bia2 ,ancient ,peruvians also used them1 as shown by ,dr4 ,max ,schmidt1 ,baessler ,archiv1 ,i4 pt4 #a1 and so on practically ad4 lib4 ,but to work an upright warp-weighted loom with heddles is attended with great practical inconvenience1 and this difficulty has1 no doubt1 been one of the chief causes of the complete discardance of this class of loom4 ,in spite of the evidence in favour of the existence of warp weighted looms1 the ,director of the ,hermannstadt ,museum1 ,dr4 v4 ,kimakovicz-,winnicki1 sees fit to deny their existence4 ,he found that in some parts of ,transylvania the peasants use wooden pyramids 7see ,fig4 #ah7 similar to the ,roman warp weights for winding the thread from the spindle on to the shuttle4 ,for this purpose sockets are bored into the thin or top end of two pyramids1 which are placed just so far apart that a spindle can rest horizontally with one end in the socket of one pyramid1 and the other end of the spindle in the socket of the other pyramid1 and the thread in being wound off on to the shuttle causes the spindle to revolve in the sockets4 ,from this he argues that what we have hitherto taken to be warp weights are not warp weights at all 7,spinn-u4 ,webewerkzeuge1 ,wuerzburg1 #aiaa71 and having denied these articles to be warp weights he gets over the difficulty presented by the illustration of ,penelope at her loom1 by attempting to prove that what we take to be a loom is no loom at all but a flechtrahm1 i4e4 plaiting frame6 ,he then attempts to pull to pieces the idea that the ,scandinavian loom in the ,copenhagen ,museum is a loom and condemns it as unworkable4 ,there can be no doubt about his meaning as he defines his terms4 ,the principle of weaving 7,weben7 he describes as the absorption of two groups of parallel material elements 7warp and weft7 at right angles to each other1 and the principle of plaiting 7,flechten7 as the absorption by itself in one plane of one group only of material element1 7warp7 and he gives diagrammatic illustrations showing clearly what he means 7op4 cit4 p4 #ca74;,i ,judging from his remarks one must conclude he has not seen a primitive loom of any sort1 and were it not for the official position he holds1 his remarks would not need answering4 ,it has1 ,i believe1 been suggested more than once that some of the perforated stones1 pieces of burnt clay1 pieces of chalk and like objects may be and are net-sinkers1 and there is some justification for ,dr4 ,kimakovicz-,winnicki's statement that the pyramidic forms are not warp weights2 but it does not follow that all the perforated articles are either spindle-holders or net-sinkers1 yet that is what his subsequent statements lead one to infer4 ,it is1 however1 difficult to prove that these perforated articles are warp weights4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #cd4--,side view and section of chalk warp weight found at ,great ,driffield4 ,of three of the weights the following dimensions were taken3 #g-c_/d 7#ai4g cm47 long1 #b lbs4 #c oz4 7#a4j k7 #f 7#ae4b 7 #a lb4 #h oz4 7#j4g k7 #f-c_/h 7#af4b 7 #a lb4 #c oz4 7#j4f k7 ,hull ,museum4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ce4--;,chalk weight1 #f x #d x #b 7#ae4b cm4 x #aj4b x #e4a71 similar to those found in pits1 at ,mount ,caburn and ,cissbury near ,worthing1 ,sussex4 ,found with eighteen more in the filling of pit #g1 ,winkelbury ,hill4 ,excavations in ,winkelbury ,camp1 by ,lieut4-,gen4 ,pitt-,rivers 7,excavations in ,cranbourne ,chase1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 #ahhh74 ,as ,pitt-,rivers also found at ,winkelbury the fragment of a comb and a chalk spindle whorl1 which are textile tools1 we may safely presume these fashioned pieces of chalk are warp weights4 ,in #ahge several flat irregular oblong perforated pieces of soft chalk were found in enlarging the cattle market in ,great ,driffield1 ,yorkshire2 they were found in a hole about three feet deep with ,anglo-,saxon potsherds1 animal remains1 and bits of iron4 ,they can now be seen in the ,mortimer ,collection in the ,hull ,museum4 ,they consist of pieces of chalk1 similar to those which drop annually in thousands upon thousands down the cliffs from the boulder clay between ,bridlington and ,flamborough4 ,on some a shoulder has been cut1 ,fig4 #cd1 most have one perforation1 but in a few specimens1 where the thin portion above the hole has been broken off1 a second hole has been made4 ,none of them can stand unsupported4 ,owing to the soluble nature of the chalk they could not have been used as net-sinkers in the sea 7about nine miles off7 for they would quickly dissolve in salt water1 and the same holds good in regard to fresh water1 although in a lesser degree4 ,but ,i do not think they were used even in fresh water as net-sinkers1 for it was a characteristic of primitive peoples1 with whom time was of no account1 to do their work thoroughly--what they made was intended to last1 and chalk net-sinkers would not have lasted4 ,that these were found in a limited quantity1 ,i believe about seventeen in number1 tends to show that they are warp weights1 for only a few are required for every loom1 in spite of the considerable number shown in the non-technical illustration of ,penelope's loom4 ,not being able to find any other use for these pieces of chalk1 and judging that they are suitable for the purpose1 ,i should say they are warp weights4 ,in this case the weaver has made the most of what nature has given him2 in other parts of ,england he has had to fashion the weight out of the rough chalk1 ,fig4 #ce4 ,in the ,museum at ,devizes there are several hard pieces of perforated and fashioned chalk which offer more conclusive evidence4 ,of these ,mrs4 ,m4 ,e4 ,cunnington1 the ,curator1 writes me3 ,all the weights here have holes bored right through4 ,two large ones stand easily on the floor4 ,others are more irregular in form and will not stand upright4 ,this latter type is1 as far as ,i am aware1 the more usual in this part of the country4 ,they are commonly cut out of the hard chalk1 and weigh about #c or #d lbs4 7#a4e-b ,kilos74 ,we think these weights are loom weights because we find them with ,romano-,british remains1 as at ,westbury1 and late ,celtic remains on our chalk uplands1 far from water where fishing could have been carried on4 ,with the same remains we find weaving combs1 numerous spindle whorls and other tools of bone that were also probably used in weaving operations4 ,the ,westbury1 in ,wiltshire1 referred to1 is some thirty miles in a straight line from the mouth of the ,severn1 and about forty miles from the ,english ,channel4 ,these pieces of chalk cannot therefore have been used as net-sinkers1 leaving out of consideration their composition2 they were found with weaving tools and they fit the position4 ,so far the ingenuity of our ablest archaeologists at home and abroad has not succeeded in ascribing the use of these objects to anything else than net-sinking or warp tension4 ,the adaptability of the articles for use as warp weights1 the small groups in which they are found1 the discovery of weaving implements in the closest proximity1 our knowledge of the ,greek representations of warp-weighted looms1 the ,olafsson illustration1 and the loom in the ,copenhagen ,museum all tend to prove that these articles are really warp weights4 ,as regards the practical possibility or impossibility of working a ,greek loom1 ,i had a simple frame made in the ,museum and showed ,mr4 ,j4 ,smith1 a mill ,overlooker at ,messrs4 ,wayman and ,sons1 ,ld41 ,halifax1 the illustration in ,montelius' book already referred to1 and asked him to weave me a small piece of cloth on it4 ,in the course of a few hours he did the warping1 beaming and weaving1 making the pick with his fingers and using a ball of weft thread instead of a spool or shuttle4 ,the result is shown in the accompanying illustration1 ,fig4 #cf1 conclusively proving that weaving on such a frame is quite feasible1 and practically proving that ,olafsson's and the ,copenhagen warp weighted looms are properly constructed workable looms4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #cf4--;,a warp weighted loom made at ,bankfield ,museum1 to show the possibility of weaving by this method4 ,there is no heddle nor shuttle used4 ,the weaver made the shed and pushed the weft through with his fingers4 ,he naturally worked downwards4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #cg4--;,diagram to show how the warp is kept taut on a ,syrian loom4 ,finally1 it may not be out of place here to point out that there are other looms1 besides the ,greek and ,scandinavian1 on which the warp is made taut by means of warp weights4 ,the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,harvey ,porter1 of the ,american ,college1 ,beyrout1 ,syria1 writing about the year #aija1 thus describes the common loom of the country4 ,he says3 ,two upright posts are fixed in the ground1 which hold the roller to which the threads of the warp are fastened1 and upon which the cloth is wound as it is woven4 ,the threads of the warp are carried upward towards the ceiling at the other end of the room1 and pass over rollers1 and are gathered in hanks and weighted to keep them taut 7,dic4 of the ,bible1 ,edinburgh1 #aijb1 ,,iv41 p4 #ija74 ,he has kindly sent me an illustration of this loom1 but unfortunately the weights are not clearly shown1 and the same is the case with an illustration of a loom from ,cyprus4,j ,the diagram1 ,fig4 #cg1 shows the principle4 ,in a ,shan loom illustrated by ,mrs4 ,leslie ,milne1 in ,the ,shans at ,home1 ,london1 #aiaj1 p4 #abj1 the warp makes a somewhat similar detour over the head of the weaver1 it is1 however1 not weighted but tied to a beam4 ,the point to be observed is that these warp-weighted looms are horizontal and not perpendicular1 and also that the weaving is the reverse of that on the ,greek loom but similar to that on our horizontal looms1 so that the present ,syrian and ,cyprian looms have nothing in common with the old ,greek loom4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #ch4--;,hand of ,penelope clutching her shuttle4 ,from a corner of a piece of sculpture discovered by ,o4 ,kern and described by ,c4 ,robert1 7,the ,feet ,washing of ,odysseus1 fifth ,century ,b4,c41 ,mitt4 ,kais4 ,deutsch4 ,arch4 ,inst41 ,athens1 ,,xxv41 #aijj1 pp4 #ccb-c74 ,the author considers ,penelope to be in the act of unravelling what she has woven3 ,we see her holding the spool with her right hand1 while the left hand1 half closed1 is raised to about shoulder high1 and the fingers1 if ,i read the traces correctly1 are posed as though she held a thread4 ,the ,greeks evidently used a spool in weaving1 that is a piece of stick round which was wound the thread that became the weft1 as is shown in the hand of ,penelope1 ,fig4 #ch1 and in ,kirke's loom1 ,fig4 #ae4 ,,footnotes3 ,e ,i find frequent references1 by various writers1 to an upright loom mentioned by ,e4 ,h4 ,palmer as used by a ,bedawin woman near ,jebel ,musa1 but on looking up his description 7,the ,desert of the ,exodus1 ,i4 p4 #abe71 ,i find it to be so indifferent as to be quite useless for purposes of comparison4 ,f ,my attention to this was kindly drawn by ,mr4 ,f4 ,n4 ,pryce1 ,assistant in the ,dept4 of ,greek and ,roman ,antiquities4 ,g ,the existence of warp weighted looms amongst the prehistoric ,lake ,dwellers of ,switzerland was first surmised by ,pauer 7,keller's ,lake ,dwellings7 from the discovery of the weights1 and was made practically certain by ,messikommer and ,jentsch4 ,h ,comparing the loom ,olafsson saw with the description in the ,nial ,saga1 he concludes this sort of loom was in use ,a4,d4 #ajad1 in the ,north of ,scotland4 ,i ,he criticises the detail of the illustration of ,penelope's loom4 ,it must be remembered this illustration is not a technical drawing1 but an artist's representation where correctness of detail cannot be expected4 ,in his own drawing of the ,egyptian horizontal loom many of the warp threads are shown over instead of under the laze rods1 and yet this is supposed to be a correct technical drawing6 ,j ,since writing ,dr4 ,porter has sent me photograph of another sort of loom in which weights are used as counter balances to keep the heddles raised4 ,the subject requires further elucidation4 ,,iii4 ,,conclusion4 ,from the foregoing we gather that the ,ancient ,egyptians had two forms of looms4 ,the earlier or horizontal form1 date about ,b4,c4 #bjjj1 has in a modified way survived to the present day in desert ,egypt and is also found in ,seistan4 ,it required a large area of ground for working and probably in earlier times when there was plenty of space this did not much matter4 ,but as the population in the towns increased and with the increase of civilisation and its concomitant increased demand for cloth1 probably out of proportion to the increase of population1 space would be begrudged and this may have caused the invention or the introduction of the vertical form of loom which we find in use some #ejj years later4 ,in ,egypt therefore the horizontal loom preceded the vertical loom but it does not necessarily follow that such was the case elsewhere4 ,in so far as we can gather from the small amount of information at our disposal1 in the earlier days the women were the weavers1 and later on with the introduction of the upright loom the men were the weavers with an occasional female weaver4 ,in the ,egyptian ,desert and in ,seistan in the present day with horizontal looms the weavers appear to be males1 but among the nomads of ,persia who likewise use horizontal looms the weavers are females4 ,in the use of either form of loom the ,egyptian weavers beat the weft downwards or towards themselves and not upwards or away from themselves4 ,they had the heddle in one of its earliest forms and had consequently made the first great step in the evolution of the loom as we now know it4 ,in the beginning they made no selvedges so that for every pick a separate length of weft thread was used4 ,the adoption of the selvedge was another improvement and until it was introduced the weft would no doubt have been put through with the fingers1 later on a spool being used4 ,it is possible also that in very late times the weavers' comb was introduced4 ,it is safe to say that the ,egyptians had no knowledge of the reed4 ,both forms of looms were simple1 without harness or other complicated pieces of mechanism4 ,the ,egyptians accomplished fairly good work and judging these people from their looms alone we must conclude they were a progressive race4 ,the ,greek form of loom was an upright one on which the warp threads were kept taut by means of weights and similar to the form which existed in ,central and ,northern ,europe 7in the latter until recent times7 but of which so far there is no trace to the east1 or south1 or west4 ,the ,greek loom may have been furnished with a heddle but the drawings are not clear on this point4 ,a spool was used4 ,the weavers were women and the weft was beaten upwards or away from the weaver4 ,it was not a form of loom so capable of improvement as the ,egyptian forms and there appears to be no connection between the forms used on either side of the ,mediterranean4 ,the ,greek tapestry loom could hardly have been more primitive4 ,in respect to the forms of looms used by the two peoples the ,egyptians were considerably in advance of the ,greeks4 ,,finis4 ,transcriber's ,note ,punctuation errors have been repaired4 ,the author uses some archaic and alternative spelling1 for example1 nooze for noose1 gramms for grammes4 ,these have been retained as printed4 ,the original text contained an erratum1 as follows3 ,erratum3--,page #ci1 ,line #e1 for ,dr4 ,henry ,porter1 read ,dr4 ,harvey ,porter4 ,the error has been fixed in this e-text4 ,the following amendments have been made3 ,page #h--;,calliaud amended to ,cailliaud--444 as well as those of ,cailliaud and ,rosellini show that 444 ,page #aa--,tehuti-hotep amended to ,tehuti-hetep--444 from the tomb of ,tehuti-hetep circa #aich-ahdi ,b4,c41 444 ,page #ah--netsinker amended to net-sinker--444 the material is not suitable for a net-sinker1 444 ,page #ai1 ,fig4 #ba caption--cm4 amended to in4--444 ,breadth #f4e cm4 7#a-aa_/cb in474 ,page #bc--pecularity amended to peculiarity--,when ,i noticed the peculiarity first1 444 ,page #bc--;analagous amended to analogous--,we know how closely analogous to 'darning' was 444 ,page #bg--safron amended to saffron--#b4 ,this is a coarser fabric1 has been dyed with saffron1 444 ,page #bi--,millemetres amended to ,millimetres--,micro ,measurements of ,ten ,fibres in ,millimetres4 ,page #cb1 ,fig4 #ca caption--,etrusian amended to ,etruscan--444 an ,athenian skyphos found in an ,etruscan tomb 444 ,page #cb--repeated instance of use deleted--444 there is apparently no evidence for the use of such objects 444 ,page #ce1 ,fig4 #cc caption--templete amended to template--,the template for regulating the width of the cloth4 ,page #cg1 ,fig4 #ce caption--whorle amended to whorl--444 the fragment of a comb and a chalk spindle whorl1 444 ,page #ch--;commonally amended to commonly--,they are commonly cut out of the hard chalk1 444 ,page #ch--;archaeologists amended to archaeologists--444 the ingenuity of our ablest archaeologists at home and abroad 444 ,page #ch--;impossibilty amended to impossibility--,as regards the practical possibility or impossibility 444 ,the ,figures have been moved1 where necessary1 so that they are not in the middle of a paragraph4