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edited by
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Oxbow Books
2007-
18 The Use of Wool for the Production
of Strings, Ropes, Braided Mats,
and Similar Fabrics
by Hartmut Waet^oldt
*—' Vs
In Mesopotamia, modern Iraq, aronnd 2000 BC, there were large textile milis where thousands of
female weavers and children produced large quantities of textiles, botbfor local use and for export.
In this paper anotherprofessional branch, the so-calkd tug7-duB workers, mil be discussed, They used
mainjy wool andgoat hair to produce stiings, ropes, hamers, síraps and many other kinds of braided
mateñals. These served,for Ínstame, as seáisfor chairs or as webbingsfor bedfrajftes, while otbers mre
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More than thirty years ago, in my PhD specializedhandbooks concerning the methods
dissertation, I discussed all aspects of textile of the textile industry. My research is based on
milis and the work of the female weavers in cuneiform texts and archaeological finds.
Mesopotamia.1 Around the year 2000 BC, In the specialist literature, the ñame of
there were many large weaving milis in many the profession tug2-dug is translated in very
cities. Thousands of textile producís of various different ways, such as, 'fuller', 'upholsterer',
qualities and styles were made for domestic 'cord-maker', 'preparer of felts', 'harness-
consumption and for export. These milis wefe maker' and even Veaver'. Piotr Steinkeller, in an
staffed by 1,000-5,000 (adult) female weavers arricie about this profession, thinks that these
and up to 1,000 children in the largest of the men were weavers, cord makers, and felters
textile milis. They were usuaHy supervised all in one person.2 I think this is impossible,
by men. In this paper I will concéntrate on and I hope to show in this paper that these
a specific occupational specialty concerning craftspeople made strings, ropes, different types
Mesopotamian workers of wool and goat of plaited straps, mats and similar producís. In
hair: the rope-makers, and men who produced this paper I will concéntrate on three segments
plaited straps and webbings. In Sumerian they of the producción of the tug^-du^ first, yarns,
are called tug9-dug. These craftspeople and strings and ropes; second, a fabric called sa3-
their producís have been given only cursory1 tuku. for beds; and third, an expression íhaí
treatment in previous scholarship, including probably designaíes sails of boaís.
T/ye Use of Wool for the Production of Strings, Ropes, BraidedMafs, and Similar Fabñcs 1
Fig. 18.12(left):
Terracotta model of a
bed from Neribtum mth
reclining nudefemule
(Earlj Oíd Babyionian).
18.7). The texts from Mesopotamia mention were used to produce the seats for stools and
often that legs of beds or chaks are formed chairs.30 On most depictions of stools and
like bull's legs, for example, the throne of King chairs they are seen from the side. Therefore,
Urnamma (2111-2094 BC) has 'bulT legs.25 we learn nothirig about the different types of
On some beds, the ropes and straps are not seats. From Egypt we have several examples
wrapped around the poles of the bedframe, but of stools with plaited seats (Figs. 18.18-18,19),
fixed in another way, which is also known from and in Mesopotamia the stools and chairs had
Egypt In some bedframes there are slots or such w<|bbings, as well (Figs. 18.14-18.17).31
holes in the poles (Fig. 18.7, cf. the stool Fig. In cuneiform texts from around 2000 BC,
18. 8).26 The ropes or straps are pulled through we find the expression tug2-dug-a for webbed
those holes. On the bed models, the slots are cloth. It was used for shoes, sandals and the
not visible, for they are too small, but since seats of stools and chairs. Normally this
there are no ropes or straps wrapped around fabric, when used for ordinary chaks, weighed
the bedframe, I see no other possibility than between 800 and 1000 g of wool, but for
that these are pulled through the holes or slots women's chair only 370 g were needed.32 That
(Figs. 18.2,18.6g, h, 18. 9-18.11).27 Sometimes is to say, this fabric must have been very heavy
we find a crossbeam at the lower part of the and thick, for the seat of a chair is normally
bed where the plaited cloth was fixed (Figs. only about 45 pr 50 cm square. Therefore, I
18.12-18.13). I think that this crossbeam was think the tug2-dug-a fabric is densely plaited.
used to stretch the webbing,28 This interpretation agrees with the use of the
The seats of the terracotta stool and chair tug2-dug-a fabric in shoes or sandals probably
models show very similar patterns to the plaited as a solé or insole.33
bed surfaces (Figs. 18.14-18.17).29 However, in
the texts of thatperiod, the word sa,-tuku5 does
not appear iii connection with chairs, This may Sails(?)
be simply an accident of discovery, for in texts In the unpublished text cited earlier, there is a
of a later period we do find similar terms. In description of a large textile called KIRI2 (Fig.
those texts, in addition to wool, flax and hides 18.24, Nos. 8-12). It was used for boats and
always made of goat hair. In our dictionaries
the Akkadian equivalent of this .word is
Fig. 18,18: Stool from
translated as 'rope',34 but this is certainly wrong, Tbebes (Egypt) mth
since this text offers, for the first time, the
measurements of these producís. The largest plaster).
one is 9 m long and 5,5 m wide, made for a
boat of 11.7 tOns (No. 8). It weighs nearly 40
kg. The smallest one, for a boat of 3.9 tons,
is 5 m long and 3 m wide and has a weight of
10.1 kg (No. 12), The relatáonship between
length and width is always 1:1.6 to 1:1.7. The
measurements of the two smallest KIRI2's
(Fig. 18.24, Nos. 11-12) are identical, but thek
weights differ considerably. For the larger boat
of 5.8 tons itas 14..4 kg (No. 11) and for the
Fig. 18.20 (top left): smaller boat of 3.9 tons, only 10.1 kg. This large sailing vessels from the Mediterranean
Reconstntction of a cargo means that a square meter weighs either 960 are known. They all show war galleys. Their
vessel (6ih Dynasty, Egypi). g or 673 g, or, in other words, the KIRI2 for sails are never seen but brailed up. Since the
the smaller boat is much thinner than the one yard is shown horizontally and always fixed
Fig. 18.21 (bottom left):
for the larger boat. These weights are normal to the mast in its middle, we can assume that
Painting of a ship imder
sailfrom the tomb of
for wool sails in Scandinavia, as Susan Móller- these sails were rectangular.36 The same we
Amemmhet in Beni Hasan
Wiering and others have shown.35 We have no may suppose for Mesopotamia. We have so
(12th Dynasty, Egypt). depictions of cargo boats or other boats with far several clay models of small sailing boats,
sails in Mesopotamia from the time around but no illustration of a boat under sail (Figs.
Fig. 18.22 (top rigbt): 2000 BC and even in the 2nd millenniíjm BC, 18.22-18.23). I am convinced that these
Model of a sailing boaifrom there is none. Therefore it is difficult te? fix the KIRI2's are sails but cannot prove it with
Eñdii (first half of the 4tb meaning of this word KIRI2. certainty. The manufacture of one KIEJ2 took
millenmum BC). Egyptian paintings and reliéis from the a man between 40 and 171 days.37 In the texts
Middle Kingdom onward depict the boats with we do not find any indication whether these
Fig. 18.23 (bottom rigbt): rectangular-shaped sails (Figs. 18.20—18.21); KIRI2's were woven or webbed. But since it is
Recanstmcfion of a Neo-
earlier ships have trapezoidal sails. From the a product of the tug9-dug's, in my opinión they
Eabylonian doy modelfrom
Untk.
Ist millennium BC, several illustrations of were webbed.
The Use of Woolfor the Production of Strings, Ropes, Braided Mats, and Similar Fabrics 119
Webbed Mats for Beds (= a) and Straps for Attaching the Webbing to the Bedframe (= b)
Sails?
l 1 ÍM
object material' max. load of width/ height/ square xelation- weight of weight number of
the boats length width meters ship width object perro.2 days to
to height" produce
8 1KIRI, goat hair ca. 11.7 tons 9m 5.5 m 29.5 m2 1.63 : 1 39.71 kg 1.288kg 171
9 1KIRI, goat hair ca. 7.8 tons 6m 3.5 m 21 m2 1.71 : 1 25.25 kg 1.202kg 95
10 1KIRI2 goat hair not preserved not pre- not pre- not pre- not pre-
served served — — served served
—
11 1KIRI, goat hak ca. 5.85 tons 5m 3m 15 m2 1.66:1 14.4 kg 0.960 kg 50
12 1KIRI, goat hair ca. 3.9 tons 5m 3m 15 m2 í 1.66 : 1 10.1 kg 0.673 kg 40
¡ Also goat hair for the sail7 (K1RI2) in Fish 1958, 86 r. II16 (classified as 'oíd').
" Moller-Wiering 2002, 81, larger sail c. 6.6 x 12.8 m = relation 1:1.95; smaller sail 4.7 x 8.2 m = relation 1:1.74; but Andersen
1995, 264,c 6.6 x 7 m = relation 1:1.06.
"' Andersen 1995,259-261; Moller-Wiering 2002,26, the weight of woolen sails of c. 20 m2 is c. 500 g/m2; that of larger sails of 50-
130 rn2 = 950-1000 g/m2.
Fig. 18.24: Tablefor rapes, webbed mats and straps, and sails.
120 ; Hartmut Waetzoldt
Notes
The illustrations Nos. 18.1, 18.2, 18,6, 18.9, 18.10, 18.1, 18.12, 18.13, 18.14, 18.16 and
18.17 were drawn by Dr. Nadja Wrede, Heidelberg. I am extremely grateful to her for this sláUful work on
which she devoted a great deal of time and effort.
1 Waetzoldt 1972.
2 Archi 1987, 117 'preparer of felts'; Civil 1994, 73:20 'felt and strap maker'; Falkenstein 1957, 167
'Polsterer'; Lafont 1990,152 'tisserand'; Sallaberger 1996,4 Walker'; Selz 1989,90 Tilzhersteller, Seiler';
Sommerfeld 1999,150 'Walker'; Steinkeller 1980, 93; Van de Mieroop 1987, 35f. 'felter'; Vanstiphout
1984, 245 n. 23 'harness-maker', Stol 2003, 641 mentions the following translations: 'tapissier' and
'cordier-corroyeur (?)'.
3 De Genouillac 1922, 6036 VIII 14£, 38, XV 36ff, 6049 115; Waetzoldt 1992,133.
4 Fish 1958,90 BM 105417:3 90 m; Myhrman 1910 Nos. 49,50,52,53,63,65 30 and 33 m; de Genouillac
1912, 6414:13 2.4 kg; Nikolsky 1915, 506:1-2 7.83 kg; Waetzoldt 1972 No. 50 4.4 kg; Van de Mieroop
1987, 36: 24 m long with a weight of 15 kg.
5 SeeFig. 18.24, Nos. 1-2.
6 Dogleashes: Alster 1997, 129; Koslova 2000, No. 41 r. III 5, 269 r. I 22, 288 r. I 8,17; reins: Koslova
2000, No. 25:1 252 g; de Genouillac 1912, 6414:6f. 328 g.
7 Threads for waterskins: Crawford 1954,327:11£, 395:39£, 415:16£, 424:1 Of., 425:14£, 435:8£; throne
of the goddess: 378:4-6 and bed of a god: 254:1-4 + 255:1-6 + 303:1-11.
8 Edzard 1968, No. 64:1 'Kissen'; Van de Mieroop 1987, 151 'mattress'; Sallaberger 1999, 246
'seilgefíochtene Bettmatratzen'; Steinkeller 1980, 80.
9 Steinkeller 1980, 81£ a-f, m (weight only 1.6 kg); Yildiz & Gomi 1993, 2214; Sigrist 2000, 177. The
wool which was plucked from sheep with good wool, for example the fat-tailed sheep, was classified
into five qualities.
10 Crawford 1954, 348:4-8, 351:1-6,417:4-5; Foster & Van de Mieroop 1983, 57, 8:4-6; Grégoire 1996,
1932-274:6-16.
11 See below, with note 28.
12 Grégoire 1996, 1932—274:6+10 and an unpublished text. In Egypt there are beds where the webbing
and the frame are painted white (Baker 1966,105£, Fig. 139 = Kfflen 1980, 32 and Pl. 39).
13 Jursa 2003, 233£
14 It is uncertain whether this reading of the cuneiform signs in this text is correct, since the signs GA.DU3
sometimes do not look so much different at times from the sign TAG = tukus.
15 However, in Syria, Palestine and Egypt today, beds have such measurements, some even smaller. See
Fig. 18.24, Nos. 3a-7a.
16 Alster 1997 SP 17 sec. B2.
17 Parr 1996, 43-47; Kfflen 1980, 24-33, Nos. 1-4, 6, 7,10-14.
18 See Fig. 18.24, Nos. 3b-7b.
19 ChoHdis 1992, Tf. 23-34, Nos. 52, 91, 93, 118,121,122; Wrede 2003, Abb. 107a.
20 In many texts these sa3-tukus's are produced or registered separately from bedframes: Sigrist 2000,
1582:1-2, 2156:7-9 (four of the sa3-tuku/s are called 'oíd5); Steinkeller 1980, 81 £ a-d, e (two oíd
bedframes), f, m. In other cases itis indicated that a certain bedframe was equipped with a sa3~tuku5 see
Steinkeller 1980, 81 g-I, or without it, see Lafont & Yildiz 1989,694 rev. 1 cthe inside (of the bedframe)
is empty'. The sa -tuku could be repaired, see Nikolsky 1915, 389 rev. 3: 168.3 g of wool sa3-tuku
kal-ge-de3 and Owen forthcoming, NES 49-15-021:1£: 100.9 g of wool sa3-tuku5 kal-kala-ge2-de3.
21 ChoHdis 1992, Tf. 23-41. Nos. 36, 43, 45, 47, 50, 90, 106 (stool!?), 129, 145-148, 152-155; Wrede
2003, Abb. 31b.
22 Kfflen 1980, Pls. 24-25, 31, 38; Fig. 13.
23 Cholidis 1992, Tf. 30: 95; cf. Tf. 41:155; Wrede 2003, Abb. 34e; Kfflen 1980, Pl. 24-25.
24 Cholidis 1992,T£ 21-33.
25 Baker 1966, Figs. 1-4, 9, 18-20; Killen 1980,^ Figs. 5, 6, 10, 12, 14, 19, 27, 28; pl. 26, 30, 34, 35, 37;
Mesopotamia: Baker 1966, Fig. 256 (Early Dfnastic III), Fig. 271 (Urnammu); Steinkeller 1980, 81 g,
i. ,
26 Kfflen 1980, Fig. 6 and compare Fig. 1,4£; pl. 27-31, 33-35; stools and chairs: Pl. 47, 50.
27 Cholidis 1992, Tf. 23-37, Nos. 28, 38, 51, 60,115,118-121,136; Wrede 2003, Abb. 107b, c.
28 Bed models: Cholidis 1992, Tf. 30-41, Nos. 94,112,124-126,152,154,155. Perhags this crossbeam is
called GrSZA.AN.KAin the texts: Grégoire 1996,1932-274:6-10 (bed for a priestesl); Crawford 1954,
348:1+7, 351:1-4, 417:4-6; Foster & van de Mieroop 1983, 57, 8:4-6.
The Use of Woolfor the Production of Stiings, Ropes, Braided Mats, and Similar Fabrics 121
29 Cholidis 1992, Tf. 13:27, Tf. 20:57, Tf. 30:106 (stool, not a bed). For stools, see Wrede 2003, 71 ff.
Compare the square stool \vith plaited seat from Kissonerga-Mosphilia, Cyprus (Theodossiadou 1996,
73f. + Fig. la).
30 Reiner 1992,267 se'iiub.
31 Baker 1966, Figs. 175,176,182,184,187-189,194,201,203,214-216; Kfflen 1980, Pk 50, 54, 65-67,
72, 76, 86, 88.
32 SteinkeUer 1980, 87 b; Owen forthcoming NES 48-06-003:1-4.
33 SteinkeUer 1980, 88£ e; Owen forthcoming NES 48-04-003:1, NES 49-15-007:4, NES 49-15-015:1,
NES 49-15-349:2 made out of white or multbcolored ^i>ol.
34 Oppenliekn 1971, p. 408 kmta C; von Soden 1965, S. 484 'ein Seil?,
35 See note iii in Fig. 18.24.
36 Egypt: Landstrom 1970, Figs. 97-99,104,108-110,117,120,122-123,129,131-133,138,143,146,
165, 182, 201 and see the discussion on pp. 36, 42£, 46, 49. Mediterranean (Large sailing vessels): de
Graeve 1981, pp. 180-184 and Figs. 82, 83, 87,106,107. Mesopotamia (clay models of small sailing
boats): de Graeve, pp. 176-180 and Figs. 17, 103, 104, c£ Figs. 20-21;tibuteeNeo-babylonian boat
models from Uruk show a hole for a mast, see Wrede 2003, 78f. Abb. 39 a—c and her reconstruction
on p. 80 Abb. 40 (see here Fig. 18.23).
37 See Fig. 18.24, Nos. 8-9,11-12 last column.
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48-04-003 = 853
48-06-003 = 761
49-15-007 = 583
49-15-015 = 756
49-15-021=783
49-15-349 = 782
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