Things are definitely interesting here in Germany at the time. To my great relief, the Bundestag has not voted for the absolutely insane new immigration law that Merz had proposed - and gotten backed by the AfD.

We will see how things are going to be, but at least that is not the all-out slide into the repetition of history that I had feared for.

So now: Weekend, including some demonstration against the far right and their utterly bullshit ideas. 

Well, I can tell you what is up here... I had a little medical check-up today, which ate basically all my morning. (They did a "function test", which sounds fancy but means you lie on a recliner for close to 1.5 hours doing exactly... nothing. Well, there's three blood draws and two administrations of stuff, but that's it.) The cat then was adamant that I sit down and do computer work instead of running around sorting stuff and finishing prep for the online sewing workshop tonight (because then she can nap on my arm...)  which means I am now doing the paperwork first, running-around-work later. 

Part of the paper- (or almost-paper)-sorting included some updating of the literature database, and that led to a little bit of software installation as an old converter that I always used is no longer working. Yay technological progress. Not. 

So after some looking and trying to re-activate the old method, I've found a new way now (which included installing a second opensource reference manager called JabRef). Now on to finish that bit of housekeeping, and then on to other work!

If you are into historical tablet weaving, you might know the tablet-woven band found in Hallstatt. Now a new find has been made and analysed, and it might be from the same workshop or even a part of the same band - at least the colour pattern and the thread number all match so that you can weave both motifs on the same warp.

Want to read more? The new piece has been published in an article in the newest Archaeological Textiles Review for 2024, and you can download the full issue (and all the others, too) on their website.

You all know the tangible heritage we have - old buildings, old cities, old items. And most probably, you have heard of intangible heritage, which is cultural practices and knowledge. Knowledge, for instance, on how to make the items that we have preserved as tangible heritage, made in times long past.

The Unesco is keeping, and extending, a list of this heritage, and you can find it here. Even better, each item on the list can be clicked to tell you more about it, usually with a short and well-made explanatory video. So if you want to see some beautiful Portuguese horseriding, or some amazing fibre arts - go there and enjoy!

I am back home, now enjoying (more or less) the German rain as opposed to the Italian rain last week...

The Winter School was a wonderful experience, and I got to meet and spend a little time with so many of my colleagues that I see way too rarely! The practical part of the school itself was more like "Textile Technique Speed Dating", as there was only very little time for each small group in each technique. We knew that beforehand and had planned accordingly, so I had compressed the "how to spin" as much as possible, and prepared a lot of spindles so everyone could have a try straight away, with no time lost to prep. That worked almost als well as imagined, except I had counted on a bit of breathing time while everybody span, and had planned to use those two or three minutes to reset the first batch of spindles while the second one was in use. Well, that plan went down the drain almost immediately, because there were too many questions and too much to show - which meant that it got a little more stressful than anticipated. 

It was great fun, though, and also an interesting experience regarding of how much you can teach in the shortest time possible, and where the pitfalls are. 

The programme of the International Winter School "Textiles Make the World go Round" was topped off by a spectacular closing event: A "Catwalk to the Past" in the magnificent Sala dei Giganti of the Uni of Padova. This prehistoric fashion show was planned and organised by Karina Grömer, who has done similar events in the past a few times, and her team Kayleigh Saunderson and Ronja Lau, plus the many volunteer models who took part in the show.

And in case you missed the thing on site and also the livestream, fortunately there is a video recording of the Catwalk to the Past! Unfortunately I was not able to embed it here directly, but you can click this link, which brings you to the point after the Italian opening speeches and right to the start of the presentation.

I hope you enjoy it!

No more blogposts for the rest of this week, as I'm in beautiful Italy to teach at the Winter School for Textiles organised at the University of Padova. If you're curious and want to read more, you can do so in Italian here. 

I have managed to get myself involved in yet another conference, which I'm very much looking forward to - and the Call for Papers is now out and open:

CALL FOR PAPERS

Instrumentum International Meetings

From fibre to fabric. Multidisciplinary approaches to spinning and weaving in preindustrial European societies

Clermont-Ferrand, FR, October 7-9, 2025

The upcoming Instrumentum International Meetings focus on fibers, thread, textiles, and the loom in pre-industrial European societies. The increasing number of discoveries of archaeological textile fragments and the development of technical methods for their study (among others, Moulherat 2008; Gleba, Mannering 2012) indeed reveal a great diversity in the ways threads were prepared and handled.

Following on from the research carried out in 1999 by the Lattes (F, 34) colloquium "Archéologie du textile des origines au V^e siècle" (Cardon, Feugère 2000) and by subsequent European colloquiums (notably Gillis, Nosch 2014; Bustamante-Álvarez, Sánchez López and Jiménez Ávila 2021; Lipkin, Wright and Ruhl 2023), the 2025 Instrumentum Association Meetings propose to bring together researchers and specialists to provide an updated overview of current knowledge. This time, the focus is on the reconstruction of operational chains related to textile manufacturing, from raw material acquisition to the finished product, including spinning and weaving.

The conference is organizing with partners : Maison des Sciences de l'Homme and University Clermont-Auvergne UR 1001 CHEC, UMR 5140-ASM Montpellier, Bargoin Museum and Clermont-Ferrand Métropole, Ville de Clermont-Ferrand, Conseil départemental du Puy-de-Dôme, Service régional de l'Archéologie et Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, INRAP and association MOIRES.

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The diversity of discovery contexts shows that the use of textiles in ancient European societies was multifaceted and ubiquitous, taking on various forms. However, the role of their manufacture and consumption in daily life activities—whether domestic, artisanal, funerary, or ritual—is only partially perceptible, mostly through non-perishable tools or instruments. Textiles and production structures are rarely preserved, reaching us either through impressions (negative forms) or altered organic remains (mineralized, calcified, carbonized) or unaltered. These remains are sparse, struggling to convey their importance and complexity. A search for the presence of looms in European archaeological contexts is all the more necessary when considering the significance of this instrument in non-European cultures (Brumfiel 2006), both in its omnipresent use and its social symbolism.

The chronological and geographical frameworks are broadly open and concern all pre-industrial societies on a European scale. This openness allows for a larger cross-referencing of available sources and for confronting and enriching data from archaeology, social anthropology, history of techniques, and experimentation. This enables the observation of the continuity or evolution of techniques and artefacts related to textiles, as well as the textiles themselves, through time and geographic space. Moreover, highlighting natural raw materials, ancient techniques and low environmental impact production methods aligns this scientific event with current sustainable development issues.

The first section is dedicated to threads, of animal, vegetable, metallic, or mineral origin, and spinning. It will provide an opportunity to:

-Review the instruments/tools and processes for acquiring, transforming, and dyeing raw materials;

-Present new findings on methods for identifying and preserving archaeological fibers and threads;

-Highlight potential choices of threads or weaving methods in creating finished products meeting specific creative criteria;

-Discuss studies aiming to define the gender and social status of those practicing spinning;

-Explore the symbolism associated with spinning objects (distaffs, spindles, whorls, spinning wheels, etc.).

The second section concerns looms, which occupy a central place among the means and tools used in fabric production, and other weaving instruments. The topics addressed include:

-Their identification (remains, negative impressions, non-preserved remains whose absence does not reflect reality) in light of the diversity of elements known through textual sources (literature), epigraphy and iconography;

-The current state of typological studies (morphologies, dimensions, constituent materials, shapes of finished products);

-Their place in the living spaces, whether domestic or artisanal (workshop);

-The gender and social status of those who make and/or use them, as well as the transmission of knowledge and craft functions within a community;

-The symbolic dimensions of the objects.

References

Brumfiel 2006: E. Brumfiel, Cloth, Gender, Continuity, and Change Fabricating Unity in Anthropology, American Anthropologist, New Series, 108-4, 2006, 862-877.

Bustamante-Álvarez, Sánchez López et Jiménez Ávila 2021: M. Bustamante-Álvarez, E. H. Sánchez López et J. Jiménez Ávila (dirs), Purpureae Vestes VII. Redefining Textile Handcraft. Structures, Tools and Production Processes, Proceedings of the VII the International Symposium on Textiles and Dyes in the Ancient Mediterranean World (Granada, Spain 2-4 October 2019), Université de Grenade, Grenade, 2021.

Cardon, Feugère 2000: D. Cardon, M. Feugère (dirs.), Archéologie des textiles des origines au V^e siècle. Actes du colloque de Lattes, octobre 1999. Monographies Instrumentum, 14, M. Mergoil eds, Montagnac, 2000.

Gillis, Nosch 2014: C. Gillis, M.-L. Nosch (dirs.), Ancient textiles : production, craft and society : proceedings of the First International Conference on Ancient Textiles, Oxbow Books, 2014.

Gleba, Mannering 2012: M. Gleba, U. Mannering (dirs.), Textiles and textile production in Europe from prehistory to AD 400, Oxbow Books, 2012.

Lipkin,Wright et Ruhl 2023: S. Lipkin, K. Wright et E. Ruhl (dirs.), Interdisciplinary Approaches to Textile Research: Northern and Central European Textile Production and Use of Textiles and Clothing from the Neolithic to the Modern Period. The Proceedings of NESAT XIV. 23. - 26. August 2021, Oulu, Archaeological Society of Finland, Helsinki, 2023.

Moulherat 2008: C. Moulherat, Archéologie des textiles : une nouvelle méthodologie appliquée à l'étude des tissus minéralisés, Nouvelles de l'Archéologie, 114, 2008, 18-23.

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The colloquium is open to archaeologists, historians, art historians, anthropologists, and craftspeople working with historical or reconstructed techniques. Presentations (20 minutes) and posters may be drawn from artefacts (instruments, thread and weaving tools, textile remains), iconographic representations, documentary studies, imaging and physico-chemical analysis results, reconstructions or experimental results, craft pratices, comparative ethnological and anthropological research, and studies of textual and epigraphic sources. The presentations will focus on ancient European societies from Protohistory to the pre-industrial modern era. The authorized languages are French and English.

Organizing Committee (FR)

Isabelle Bertrand, Nicolas Delferrière, Elsa Desplanques, Stéphanie Raux et Emeline Retournard

Scientific Committee

The Organizing Committee members and Catherine Breniquet (FR), Macarena Bustamente-Álvarez (ES), Dominique Cardon (FR), Elisabeth Dospel Williams (US), Margarita Gleba (IT), Francisco B. Gomes (PT), Audrey Gouy (FR), Katrin Kania (DE), Christina Margariti (GR), Fabienne Médard (FR), Louise Quillien (FR), Laurence Riviale (FR), Stella Spantidaki (GR), Agata Ulanowska (PL)

Location

Maison des Sciences de l'Homme

4 rue Ledru, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand

The CfP is open until April 30; you find the contact data and a form for application via the website of Instrumentum Europe, or click this link to directly download the CfP and form in French and English.