You spin me right round baby, right round: Iron Age spindle whorl from Land West of Northampton
- DATE WRITTEN:
- READING TIME: 3 minutes
- AUTHORS: Laura Pearson (Assistant Finds Officer)
In 2022 and 2023, Cotswold Archaeology’s Milton Keynes field team conducted archaeological excavations at a site to the west of Northampton. A particularly interesting artefact found in the fill of a ditch was this fired clay spindle whorl.
Spindles are textile tools consisting of a straight rod which is often weighted at either the bottom, middle or top by a disk or spherical object known as a whorl. Whorl-weighted spindles were first used in Britain during the prehistoric period. A length of fibre would be attached to the whorl before setting it into a spinning motion; then, carefully prepared fibres would be fed onto the spindle as it rotated. This created a twist in the fibre, which formed a yarn ready to be used for weaving and stitching. The yarn would then be removed when the rod was full.
The fired clay spindle whorl from our Northampton site is domed and circular in plan (measuring 44mm in diameter, 17mm in thickness) with a hole in the middle (approximately 12mm in diameter) and weighs 35g. The clay used to form the object contains abundant fine quartz inclusions and frequent larger pieces of quartzite – ideal for making pottery vessels too! The spindle whorl is not a uniform colour: the flat surface is black, whilst the domed exterior is pale brown to dark grey, due to uneven firing in a bonfire. There is evidence of wear through repeated use, visible as a narrow channel running from the central hole to the edge of the domed surface; it was probably worn down by the yarn as the spindle hung and spun.
Iron Age activity at the site is evidenced by numerous enclosures, ditches and pits which produced a moderate assemblage of Iron Age pottery. Similar spindle whorls dated to the Iron Age have been found in Northamptonshire. During the Roman period pottery sherds were often re-fashioned into discoidal (flat circular) spindle whorls. However, the clay used to create the Northampton spindle whorl was purposefully shaped and fired for use in textile production. The wooden spindle rods rarely survive in the archaeological record but the whorls were durable, portable objects that could be easily stored, transported and passed to family and friends.
This spindle whorl has seen sustained use, but otherwise there’s little damage to it: it’s been well cared for. Since the Bronze Age, spindle whorls were buried with the deceased as a symbol of status and gender, indicating they may have been very personal, precious objects. Can you think of an object that you use regularly, really value, and that says a lot about who you are and how you spend your time?
This work has been done on behalf of Bloor Homes in consultation with Quercus Heritage Limited.
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