In a Spin!

Today we tried spinning but first some information from Charlotte about spinning in Ancient Egypt!

There were different methods of spinning in ancient Egypt using the drop spindle, all depicted in tombs from the Middle Kingdom onwards.

The ‘grasped spindle’ technique, shows the rove pulled from a basket through a ring or a forked stick, and spun onto the spindle which is rolled between the hands.

The ‘supported spindle’ technique, where the spindle rolled down the knee to twist it. This will be the method we will be working on today to create enough wool to include in our socks.

Well we tried it and found it very difficult to do in a skirt. Fortunately Sally could show other people in a far more expert way than me, but Angela manged it, just:



It gives us all a lot to do over Christmas and we got into a festive mood by eating home-made mince pies (I'd have taken a picture but we ate them all).

Background Information

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology is based within the campus of Univerisity College London in Bloomsbury. The museum houses an impressive textile collection, including two-toed socks. The idea behind this project is to make a pair of socks based on those dating from c.400-500 AD in the Petrie Museum from scratch using, as far as possible, methods employed in Ancient Egypt.



It is an experimental archaeology project and, though, it will be planned, the emphasis is on the actual processes of making things and your experience on the way!

There are two groups involved in this process - the University of the Third Age and members of the public (i.e. any one who wants to be involved). The project has been funded by Museums, Libraries and Archives (MLA) and it is free to come along.

We will be recording our progress as we go, so watch this space.