Weaving Experiments with the Rigid Heddle: Woven-in Metal Spirals from Siksälä and ‘Auleja’ Technique

Abstract

Throughout history, various band weaving techniques were used to create ribbons, bands or girdles that comprise a specific group in the archaeological evidence of textile artefacts. Quantitatively, tablet weaving is among the main techniques, but there is also evidence for other weaving techniques. For example, rigid heddles were used to create different weave structures and patterns, from simple repp or tabby weaves to complex geometric designs. This contribution examines weaving on a rigid heddle using an experimental approach, with textile finds from the site of Siksälä in Estonia dating from 800 to 1475 AD serving as the basis for archaeological weaving experiments. In addition, a weaving technique called ‘Auleja’ is used to recreate ribbons with geometric colour design. From as early as the tenth century AD, narrow bands play a central role in the textile tradition around the Baltic Sea and a wider area in Scandinavia. Written sources and folk beliefs passed on in oral history tradition, as well as ethnographic comparisons shed light on the production and also on symbolisms connected with the bands and their patterns.