Untwisting Beycesultan Hoyuk: the earliest evidence for nalbinding and indigo-dyed textiles in Anatolia

Abstract

Cuneiform tablets indicate the importance of textile manufacturing in the Bronze Age Old Assyrian Colony Period and Hittite Empire, yet the organic traces of this industry rarely survive. Two burnt textile fragments found at Beycesultan offer an unexpected insight into the Bronze Age textile industry in Anatolia. Here, the authors present the results of chromatographic and microscopic analyses that indicate one fragment was made from hemp using the nalbinding, or single-needle knitting, technique and was dyed with the woad or indigo plant, while the other was a natural tabby weave. Both add to our understanding of the diversity of textile production in the Bronze Age.