projects
Textile culture in the cities of Ionia
(PhD Project)
Textiles are a fundamental component in the daily lives of modern and ancient people alike. From what we wear to what we furnish our houses with, textiles have played a crucial role in defining individual and collective identities throughout history.
Despite their importance, very little is known to this day about the Textile Culture of Ionia. Researching textiles in the region is particularly interesting given its nature, which has been compared to a colourful “mosaic”. The Greek settlements located along its coastlines were conveniently placed not only on the Aegean Sea, but also alongside valleys and rivers stretching alongside the east-west axis. As such, Ionian communities had a unique opportunity to interact with Greek and Anatolian communities, shaping them and being shaping by them.
Such peculiar position helped define Ionia as the meeting point between the Greeks and “the East”, developing a unique identity and material culture. What role did textiles play in these processes? How much did the women weaving them contribute to cultural exchanges in the region? As “Ionian Fashion” spread throughout the Greek World in the Archaic Period, we ought to think more about these questions and try to answer them at the best of our capabilities.
Ancient representations of clothed bodies give us a general idea of what it meant to “dress Ionian”, but it is is difficult to grasp the materiality of the textiles inspiring these representations, not to mention the skilful hands weaving them. Nearly all textiles have vanished, while the people making them have long been forgotten. The evidence at our disposal is limited, but careful analysis can help us shed new light on this topic, weaving together a new picture of Ionia and its textiles.
Doctoral Research
Federico Di Salvo, PhD Fellow, Scuola di Dottorato in Archeologia, Sapienza University of Rome, PhD Supervisor M. Galli, A3TEX Research Center.
Collaboration
In cooperation with Musa Kadıoğlu, full professor of Classical Archaeology, Ankara University, Ankara, Director of Teos Archaeological Mission.
In cooperation with Christof Berns, full professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, and Director of the Miletus Archaeological Mission.
Subject and Aims
This projects aims to investigate textile culture in Ionia as a whole, with a special focus on the cities of Miletus and Teos. Applying a multidisciplinary approach to never-before analysed material from these cities, the research aims to provide new insights into the technological, economical and anthropological aspects of local Iron Age textile culture. Collecting and analysing data from other Ionian communities investigated in the past, the project will situate Miletus and Teos within the Ionian landscape and, on a greater scale, Ionia within the Greek and Mediterranean landscape.
Methodologies
Study of Textile Tools
Technical drawing, photographic and morphometric documentation of the tools, catalogued according to a morphologic typology. Archaeometric analysis (petrographic, XRF, XRD) for a better understanding of the tools’ production.
Experimental Archaeology
Development of experiments to directly investigate the production and use of analysed tools. The experiments will also lead to the creation of a collection of experimental tools for traceological analysis.
Context study
Spatial and chronological contextualisation of the tools, identifying and characterising both the production spaces and the actors involved in the production process.
Ionia Textile Database
Systematic digitization of the published information on textiles in the region with a common standard. Integration of the data from the region with the newly gathered data from Miletus and Teos.
Research Collaboration and Supervision
Federico Di Salvo (PhD Fellow, Scuola di Dottorato in Archeologia, Sapienza).
Marco Galli (Supervisore, with Prof. Dr Musa Kadoğlu, University of Ankara, Prof. Dr Christof Berns, University of Hamburg).
Selected Publications
Andersson Strand et Al. 2010: E. Andersson Strand, K.M. Frei, M. Gleba, U. Mannering, M.-L. Nosch, I. Skals, «Old Textiles – New Possibilities», in Eur. j. archaeol. 13, 2, 2010, pp. 149–173.
Kadioğlu et Al. 2016: M. Kadioğlu, C. Özbil, M. Adak, Ç. Gençler Güray, Y. Polat, H. Egin, R. Tamsü Polat, G. Yenice, C. Pala, «2015 Yılı Teos Kazı Çalışmaları (6.Sezon)», in KST 38, 2, 2016, pp. 485–508.
Lawall 2014: M.L. Lawall, «Transport Amphoras and Loomweights: integrating elements of ancient Greek economies?», in M. Harlow, M.-L. Nosch (a cura di), Greek and Roman textiles and dress: an interdisciplinary anthology, Oxford 2014, pp. 150–189.
Waschek 2008: F. Waschek, «Fikellura-Amphoren und -Amphoriskoi von Milet. Ein Gefäßlager am Kalabaktepe?», in AA 2, 2008, pp. 47–81.
