engleski

Weaving in Roman antiquity: between a female virtue and economic reality

This paper deals with a Roman weaving tablet (rigid heddle) of bone, recovered from the grave of a young male adult in the Roman cemetery at the site of Štrbinci near Đakovo in 1993. In spite of the prevailing opinion that weaving was predominantly a female remit during the whole of antiquity, this paper reminds that spinning has always been a female domain endowed with engendered symbolism, while weaving as a commercial craft developed already at the turn of the Republic and early Empire, mostly employing male workers. Therefore, the heddle from Štrbinci should be interpreted as first and foremost symbolic of its owner’s activity during life.

late Roman cemetery; Štrbinci; rigid heddle; weaving; economy

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