Contribution to the study of spinning bowls: examples from Early Iron Age Thrace

The identification of a specific group of ceramic and stone vessels with a handle on the interior, known in the literature as spinning bowls, has become possible due to the detailed Egyptian wall paintings and wooden models presenting different stages of textile production. These vessels were used...

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Main Author: Nataliya Ivanova
Format: Article
Language:Bulgarian
Published: Association of Bulgarian Archaeologists 2025-06-01
Series:Българско е-Списание за Археология
Subjects:
Online Access:https://mail.be-ja.org/index.php/journal/article/view/354
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author Nataliya Ivanova
author_facet Nataliya Ivanova
author_sort Nataliya Ivanova
collection DOAJ
description The identification of a specific group of ceramic and stone vessels with a handle on the interior, known in the literature as spinning bowls, has become possible due to the detailed Egyptian wall paintings and wooden models presenting different stages of textile production. These vessels were used for spinning, plying, or perhaps both, and were discovered in various regions and periods from the beginning of the 5th millennium BC until the Roman period. The article presents five ceramic bowls with a single interior handle discovered in inland Thrace and dated to the Early Iron Age, thus complementing the chronological and spatial distribution of this class of artefacts. The vessels were used for spinning flax or other plant-based material and were part of the small-scale, domestic textile production in Early Iron Age Thrace. The limited number of recorded examples, as well as their current absence in the preceding Bronze Age and the following Late Iron Age, is discussed. Like many other everyday items, after their primary use, the spinning bowls in Thrace acquired some symbolic meaning and were deposited at ritual sites.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1314-5088
language Bulgarian
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Association of Bulgarian Archaeologists
record_format Article
series Българско е-Списание за Археология
spelling doaj-art-ac8e1e6f2be04bafb6921fee0e5ba2322025-08-23T03:38:04ZbulAssociation of Bulgarian ArchaeologistsБългарско е-Списание за Археология1314-50882025-06-0115110.57573/be-ja.15.33-53Contribution to the study of spinning bowls: examples from Early Iron Age ThraceNataliya Ivanova0Exhibitions Department, National Archaeological Institute with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria The identification of a specific group of ceramic and stone vessels with a handle on the interior, known in the literature as spinning bowls, has become possible due to the detailed Egyptian wall paintings and wooden models presenting different stages of textile production. These vessels were used for spinning, plying, or perhaps both, and were discovered in various regions and periods from the beginning of the 5th millennium BC until the Roman period. The article presents five ceramic bowls with a single interior handle discovered in inland Thrace and dated to the Early Iron Age, thus complementing the chronological and spatial distribution of this class of artefacts. The vessels were used for spinning flax or other plant-based material and were part of the small-scale, domestic textile production in Early Iron Age Thrace. The limited number of recorded examples, as well as their current absence in the preceding Bronze Age and the following Late Iron Age, is discussed. Like many other everyday items, after their primary use, the spinning bowls in Thrace acquired some symbolic meaning and were deposited at ritual sites. https://mail.be-ja.org/index.php/journal/article/view/354Spinning bowlsEarly Iron AgeThracefabric production
spellingShingle Nataliya Ivanova
Contribution to the study of spinning bowls: examples from Early Iron Age Thrace
Българско е-Списание за Археология
Spinning bowls
Early Iron Age
Thrace
fabric production
title Contribution to the study of spinning bowls: examples from Early Iron Age Thrace
title_full Contribution to the study of spinning bowls: examples from Early Iron Age Thrace
title_fullStr Contribution to the study of spinning bowls: examples from Early Iron Age Thrace
title_full_unstemmed Contribution to the study of spinning bowls: examples from Early Iron Age Thrace
title_short Contribution to the study of spinning bowls: examples from Early Iron Age Thrace
title_sort contribution to the study of spinning bowls examples from early iron age thrace
topic Spinning bowls
Early Iron Age
Thrace
fabric production
url https://mail.be-ja.org/index.php/journal/article/view/354
work_keys_str_mv AT nataliyaivanova contributiontothestudyofspinningbowlsexamplesfromearlyironagethrace