Object type
whorl
Culture/period
Protohistory and Iberian world
Materials
terracotta
Technique
handmade, incising
Mint
Production date
-400 / -200
Current location
Reserva provisonal
Archaeological site
Tossal de les Tenalles
Township
Sidamon (Europa, Espanya, Catalunya, Lleida, Pla d'Urgell)
Dimensions
30 x 21 mm
Description
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Spindle whorl from the Iberian settlement of Tossal de les Tenalles (Sidamon, el Pla d'Urgell, Lleida). The object was recovered in summer 1915 in the excavations carried out by the Institut d'Estudis Catalnas. A frustoconical ceramic piece with a central hole and complex decoration of incised lines combined with a continuous line forming a zigzag motif of triangles.
A spindle whorl is one of the parts of the spindle that was used to spin vegetal or animal fibres. The central hole of the whorl was inserted in a small wooden stick -the spindle- where the whorl would act as a counterweight facilitating turning the whole and thus twisting the yarn – the action of spinning. This then would be used for weaving as threads for the weft or the warp.
Image
3D Model
© Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya - Barcelona
Omeka ID
2568