Untwisting Beycesultan Höyük

The earliest evidence for nålbinding and indigo-dyed textiles in Anatolia

Bibliographic Data

ID3380085
AuthorsÇiğdem Maner (0000-0001-5596-0963, Koç University, corresponding author), E Abay (0000-0002-7545-6825, Ege University), Recep Karadag (0000-0003-0333-6071, Istanbul Aydın University), Emine Torgan Güzel (0000-0002-2539-9738, Heritage Preservation)
Year2025
Volume99
Issue403
Pages118-134
Publication date2025-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAntiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-598X • E-ISSN: 1745-1744
PublisherAntiquity Publications (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.15184/aqy.2024.194
OpenAlexW4404417526
LanguageDE
References cited17

Cuneiform tablets indicate the importance of textile manufacturing in the Bronze Age Old Assyrian Colony Period and Hittite Empire, yet the organic traces of this industry rarely survive. Two burnt textile fragments found at Beycesultan offer an unexpected insight into the Bronze Age textile industry in Anatolia. Here, the authors present the results of chromatographic and microscopic analyses that indicate one fragment was made from hemp using the nålbinding, or single-needle knitting, technique and was dyed with the woad or indigo plant, while the other was a natural tabby weave. Both add to our understanding of the diversity of textile production in the Bronze Age

Ancient history · Art · Composite material · Dyeing · Indigo · Polymer science · Visual arts · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · History · Materials Science