PhD ceremony Ms. J.H. Boertien: Unravelling the fabric. Textile production in Iron Age Transjordan
| When: | Th 12-12-2013 at 12:45 |
| Where: | Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen |
PhD ceremony: Ms. J.H. Boertien
Dissertation: Unravelling the fabric. Textile production in Iron Age Transjordan
Promotor(s): prof. M. Popovic, prof. E. Noort
Faculty: Theology and Religious Studies
Textiles are rarely found in archaeology because they decay due to climate and soil conditions. Objects that were used to make thread and fabric and that are found in excavations do, however, enable reconstructions of textile production. In Jeannette Boertien's study the data from 1480 loom weights and a number of textile fragments from four Iron Age sites in Transjordan - dated between 800 and 332 BC - were used as a starting point to reconstruct the economic and cultic aspects of textile production. This opened up new insights into the availability and use of raw materials, production techniques, labour investment, producers, consumers and the market. The approach of this study, placing textile research in the context of text analysis, has enabled new interpretations of archaeological finds, unveiling aspects of the economic, social and religious fabric of Iron Age society, and simultaneously it sheds new light on texts from the southern Levant, resulting in a new kaleidoscopic approach to biblical archaeology.
