Textiles, Cordage and Raw Fibre from 16-22 Coppergate
Item
- Title
- Textiles, Cordage and Raw Fibre from 16-22 Coppergate
- list of authors
- Penelope Walton Rogers
- Is Part Of
- The Archaeology of York [Series]
- The Small Finds [Volume]
- volume
- 17
- issue
- 05
- Publisher
- Council for British Archaeology for York Archaeological Trust
- Date Copyrighted
- 1989
- Date Available
-
Metadata available on 4th August 2023
Full text available on 27th August 2025 - Abstract
-
211 examples of raw fibre, cordage and wool, silk and linen textiles were recovered, 162 from Anglo-Scandinavian levels, 47 from medieval; and two unstratified. The presence of raw fibre, spinning and weaving implements and dye plants suggests that wool and linen cloth were being produced on the site.
The Anglo-Scandinavian finds include a sock in nålebinding technique, a piece of twill and a combed-wool binding, all of which betray a Scandinavian influence if not a Scandinavian
origin. The majority of the finds, however, have more in common with the textiles of Anglo-Saxon England and the Continent. Among the wool finds are some fine broken chevron twills, one of which has been dyed with lichen purple: these are probably traded goods, possibly imported from Frisia. A group of patterned linens, including a honeycomb weave, may originate in the Rhineland. However, the fabrics with a darned-in pile are likely to be a local product and the same may be true of some of the broken diamond weaves as well as the coarser tabbies and twills. A hairy type of wool, probably a local fleece, has been used for many of the coarser products.
Tabby weave silks appear to have been cut up and sewn on the site, probably for silk head-dresses. One complete example of a head-dress was found, which has parallels in another York site and in Lincoln and Dublin. Other silks include the remains of a narrow tablet-woven braid, ribbons dyed with madder and kermes and a small pouch-reliquary with an outer covering in compound twill.
The medieval textiles include 2/1 twills and fulled tabbies, both of which were prevalent in north-west Europe at this time; a striped piece, probably woven in Flanders; and remains of a possible piece of tapestry. The differences between these and the earlier group of textiles reflect the changes in the tools, techniques and organisation of the textile industry over the 9th–15th centuries. - Rights Holder
- Penelope Walton Rogers ; The Anglo-Saxon Laboratory
- Rights
- Made available for non-commercial use by kind permission of the Estate of Penelope Walton-Rogers
- Format
- Portable Document Format (PDF)
- Is Format Of
- Paper publication
- Identifier
- GB2837-PUB-AY-17-5
- oclcnum
- 22198868
- Relation
- University of York Library
- isbn10
- 0906780799
- isbn13
- 9780906780794
- Type
- Text
- Language
- English
- page start
- 283
- page end
- 454
- number of pages
- 172
Position: 41 (1052 views)