Women’s work: The dedication of loom weights in the sanctuaries of southern Italy

Abstract

Loom weights are a common find in the sanctuaries of the ancient world. These small, portable, and inexpensive objects, however, are often marginalised in scholarship as merely remnants of weaving that took place at the site, or as low status dedications. In this article, I emphasize the importance of loom weights as offerings rather than tools, presenting an example of intentional votive dedication and exploring the significance of these dedications for women within the sanctuary context. I focus on loom weights found at the Samnite sanctuary at Valle d’Ansanto, where the finds date from the 5th- 3rd centuries BCE, and place these loom weights within the context of finds from Magna Graecian and Italic sacred and domestic sites in other areas of southern Italy.

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