Chapter 9 The Soundscape of Textile Work in the Roman World: Old Sources & New Methods
In: New Approaches to Ancient Material Culture in the Greek & Roman WorldSearch for other papers by Magdalena Öhrman in
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Abstract
This paper sets out a new methodological approach to the investigation of Roman textile production through metrical and literary analysis of textual sources. The paper draws on experimental archaeology by using recordings and acoustic spectrograms of weaving experiments conducted by the Centre for Textile Research in Copenhagen. The soundscape of ancient weaving thus established is then compared to stylistic features in Roman poetic texts about weaving where the textual analysis shows that authors describing weaving and spinning in progress transpose the working rhythm and sounds into the new medium of the text, using different types of soundplay. The paper offers four case studies of literary sound mimicking the sounds of wool-working in Roman poetry, covering both long, detailed descriptions of textile work (e.g., Tibullus Elegia 1.6) and brief, snapshot-like references to weaving (as in one of Ausonius’ Late Antique epigrams). Detailed textual analysis reveals a mimicking of the sounds of moving heddle-bars, insertion of weft-thread, and the clattering of clay loom weights, achieved through a combination of syntax, metrical features, and soundplay. This provides an important tool for determining the passage-specific meaning of multi-purpose textile terms and for resolving questions where the archaeological evidence is inconclusive.
The paper combines the use of literary sources relating to Roman textile studies with the burgeoning field of Roman ‘soundscape studies’ and sensory archaeology to argue that literary descriptions can clarify the way that those elite Romans with access to education and leisure sufficient to engage in the writing and reading of poetic texts experienced the soundscape of textile crafts.