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Image Credit: Antiquity (2026)
Bronze Age Loom Reveals Early Textile Production in Iberia
Archaeologists working at the Bronze Age settlement of Cabezo Redondo in southeastern Spain have uncovered rare evidence of a warp-weighted loom, offering new insight into textile production around the mid-second millennium BC.
The discovery was made on a raised platform within a circulation area connecting several houses at the site. The remains include 49 clay loom weights, charred wooden beams, and plant-fiber ropes made from esparto grass, which together represent the structural components of a vertical loom used for weaving textiles.
Cabezo Redondo, located near modern Villena (Alicante), was occupied between approximately 2100 and 1250 BC and is considered a key settlement for understanding Bronze Age societies in the Iberian Peninsula. Excavations have revealed numerous houses and activity areas built on terraces, connected by streets and ramps. Evidence from the western slope of the settlement indicates intensive textile production, with more than 200 loom weights found across multiple domestic spaces.
The loom discovered on the platform appears to have been preserved when a fire destroyed part of the settlement around 1500–1428 BC, sealing the remains beneath collapsed structures. Radiocarbon analysis of associated materials, including plant fibers and seeds, helped establish the date of this destruction event.
Most of the loom weights are small cylindrical clay objects with a central perforation. Their relatively light weight suggests they were used to produce fine and relatively delicate textiles, possibly woven from thin threads. Researchers estimate that the loom could have produced fabrics approximately one meter wide, either in simple tabby weave or in more complex twill patterns depending on how the weights were arranged.
Wood analysis shows that the loom’s structural elements were made from Aleppo pine, a species common in Mediterranean landscapes and widely used in prehistoric construction. Braided ropes made of esparto grass were also found attached to the wooden beams and inside some loom weights, indicating how the warp threads were secured during weaving.
The context of the find suggests that textile production was integrated into daily domestic life rather than specialized workshops. The loom was located in a shared space between houses, indicating that several households may have cooperated in activities such as spinning, weaving, and processing fibers.
The discovery is particularly significant because wooden looms rarely survive in archaeological contexts. The combined preservation of loom weights, wooden elements, and plant fibers makes Cabezo Redondo one of the clearest archaeological examples of a Bronze Age vertical loom in the western Mediterranean.
Researchers believe the evidence reflects a period of technological change in textile production, when new spinning tools and lighter loom weights allowed for greater diversity in fabrics. The findings therefore contribute to a better understanding of the development of weaving technology and household craft activities during the Bronze Age.
Published on: 16-03-2026
Edited by: Abdulmnam Samakie
Source: Antiquity Journal