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Möller-Wiering, Susan. 2011. War and Worship: Textiles from 3rd to 4th-century AD Weapon Deposits in Denmark and Northern Germany. Oxbow Books, Oxford. ISBN 978-1-84217-428-9
The sub-title pretty much gives the scope of this volume. In the late Roman Iron Age in norther Europe, people were in the habit of dumping large quantities of weapons into lakes and bogs. And those weapons were typically wrapped in -- or accompanied by -- textiles. In the usual way of textiles, many were preserved only where they came in contact with the metal objects, so much of the book is restricted to detailed physical analysis of those small, fragmentary "textile casts" stuck to blades, shield bosses, and spearheads. But in the case of the Thorsberg site, the higher acidity of the context mostly destroyed the iron objects but preserved the textiles to a high degree. The book consequently gives Thorsberg twice as much coverage as the other main sites, with large numbers of color photos and detailed weaving diagrams as well as the usual thread-count distribution charts and whatnot. There's also a special chapter on tablet-woven items among the finds, as well as a great deal of comparative analysis, not only between the weapon-deposit sites but with other textile and clothing finds of similar era.
Why should you get this book? It focuses specifically and almost exclusively on the textile finds from these sites. It has the most detailed recent analysis of the Thorsberg garments that I've seen, although it assumes you already have access to a general grounding in their structure and construction. It provides a comprehensive guide to the weaves, counts, and weights of a very focused (geographically and temporally) set of textiles, although if you already have a more comprehensive work on the topic (like Lise Bender-Jørgensen's various publications) you may find this aspect redundant. The plentiful color illustrations of textile details may be quite valuable to those experimenting with weaving techniques of this era.
By the way, this is yet another book from the publishing arm of Oxbow/David Brown Books, who have picked up on the market for historical textile and clothing publications with enthusiasm and are making available (whether new or as reprints) some of the most valuable new works in the field. Encourage them in this, both by buying their publications and by letting them know how delighted you are that they're publishing them.
The sub-title pretty much gives the scope of this volume. In the late Roman Iron Age in norther Europe, people were in the habit of dumping large quantities of weapons into lakes and bogs. And those weapons were typically wrapped in -- or accompanied by -- textiles. In the usual way of textiles, many were preserved only where they came in contact with the metal objects, so much of the book is restricted to detailed physical analysis of those small, fragmentary "textile casts" stuck to blades, shield bosses, and spearheads. But in the case of the Thorsberg site, the higher acidity of the context mostly destroyed the iron objects but preserved the textiles to a high degree. The book consequently gives Thorsberg twice as much coverage as the other main sites, with large numbers of color photos and detailed weaving diagrams as well as the usual thread-count distribution charts and whatnot. There's also a special chapter on tablet-woven items among the finds, as well as a great deal of comparative analysis, not only between the weapon-deposit sites but with other textile and clothing finds of similar era.
Why should you get this book? It focuses specifically and almost exclusively on the textile finds from these sites. It has the most detailed recent analysis of the Thorsberg garments that I've seen, although it assumes you already have access to a general grounding in their structure and construction. It provides a comprehensive guide to the weaves, counts, and weights of a very focused (geographically and temporally) set of textiles, although if you already have a more comprehensive work on the topic (like Lise Bender-Jørgensen's various publications) you may find this aspect redundant. The plentiful color illustrations of textile details may be quite valuable to those experimenting with weaving techniques of this era.
By the way, this is yet another book from the publishing arm of Oxbow/David Brown Books, who have picked up on the market for historical textile and clothing publications with enthusiasm and are making available (whether new or as reprints) some of the most valuable new works in the field. Encourage them in this, both by buying their publications and by letting them know how delighted you are that they're publishing them.
