A fire that occurred approximately 3,500 years ago at the Bronze Age settlement of Cabezo Redondo, located in the municipality of Villena (Alicante), destroyed homes and workshops. Paradoxically, this same fire also enabled the exceptional preservation of one of the most difficult artefacts to document in archaeology: a loom with a substantial portion of its wooden structure intact.
The discovery, made by a team of researchers from several Spanish universities and recently published in the journal Antiquity, represents one of the few known cases in Mediterranean Europe in which not only loom weights are preserved, but also associated wooden elements and plant fibres. The study is authored by Gabriel García Atiénzar, Paula Martín de la Sierra Pareja, Virginia Barciela González, and Mauro S. Hernández Pérez (University of Alicante), alongside Ricardo Basso Rial (University of Granada) and Yolanda Carrión Marco (University of Valencia).
According to Gabriel García Atiénzar, Professor of Prehistory at the University of Alicante, the fire created a highly specific archaeological context in which “the collapse of the roof was crucial”. He explains: “It created a sealed environment in which the area was suddenly destroyed and immediately buried, enabling its preservation.” Beneath the collapsed roofing, the loom’s components were preserved, including charred timbers, clay weights, and esparto grass ropes.
The loom was uncovered during the excavation of a circulation area on the western slope of the settlement. A raised platform containing a dense concentration of clay weights was identified. According to Ricardo Basso Rial, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Granada, this evidence enabled a confident identification of the device: “Although the loom appeared in a collapsed context and some elements were missing, the compact set of 44 cylindrical weights with central perforations—most weighing around 200 grams—is characteristic of a vertical warp-weighted loom.”
Alongside these weights, several parallel pine beams were recovered. Some of the thicker beams, with rectangular cross-sections, likely formed the vertical posts of the frame. Narrower elements with circular cross-sections are interpreted as horizontal components of the structure.
Researchers also identified braided esparto grass fibres associated with the loom and recovered fragments of small cords within the perforations of some weights, likely used to secure the warp threads. This rare combination of weights, wood, and fibres has enabled the team to reconstruct the loom’s operation with remarkable accuracy—an unusual achievement in prehistoric archaeology.
Archaeobotanist Yolanda Carrión (University of Valencia) conducted a microscopic analysis of the wooden remains. She explains: “The preservation of the organic materials was made possible by the fire, which carbonised the remains and limited subsequent alteration—paradoxically destroying yet preserving them.”
The analysis revealed that the loom was constructed from Aleppo pine, a species widely distributed in the region. According to Carrión, Director of the Department of Prehistory, Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Valencia, the growth rings indicate that the timber came from mature trees with large diameters, suggesting careful selection of material. She adds: “The arrangement of wooden elements of varying thicknesses, fitted together and supported against a wall, combined with the presence of weights, allows us to propose a robust hypothesis regarding the loom’s morphology.”
The Bronze Age textile revolution
The discovery forms part of a broader process known as the European Bronze Age “textile revolution”, characterised by significant technological and economic transformations in textile production.
According to Ricardo Basso, this transformation cannot be attributed to a single factor: “The textile revolution resulted from the convergence of multiple processes, including the expansion of livestock farming geared towards wool production, technical innovations in looms and spinning tools, and social changes that promoted more intensive and diversified textile manufacture.”
At Cabezo Redondo, these developments are reflected in the appearance of new, lighter spindle whorls and varied loom weights. Some are sufficiently light to enable the production of finer and more complex fabrics, such as woollen twills. However, as textiles themselves are rarely preserved archaeologically, such conclusions are typically based on indirect evidence from tools.
The Cabezo Redondo loom is therefore particularly significant because, as Basso notes, “it allows us to move beyond interpreting isolated weights to documenting a functioning loom in near-photographic detail, including its wooden structure, ropes, weights, and architectural context.”
Organisation of labour and social context
The context in which the loom was discovered also sheds light on the social organisation of labour. The structure was located in an open area shared by several dwellings, suggesting cooperative production. Paula Martín de la Sierra, a postdoctoral researcher at INAPH (University of Alicante), explains: “This indicates that different household groups may have collaborated in activities such as spinning, weaving, or grain processing.” In contrast, other crafts—such as metallurgy or ivory working—appear to have been concentrated in specialised areas.
Bioanthropological evidence further suggests a central role for women in textile production. In several graves, women exhibit characteristic dental wear associated with spinning activities, likely resulting from holding fibres or cutting threads with their incisors.
Cabezo Redondo: a regional centre
Far from being an isolated settlement, Cabezo Redondo was an important regional centre. Its size, continuity of occupation, and the monumental nature of some structures indicate that it functioned as a political and economic hub in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula during the second millennium BC.
Although it shares certain features with the Argaric culture, researchers classify the site as belonging to a later “post-Argaric” phase. The well-known gold hoard discovered at the site is believed to be contemporary with the loom.
Future research and significance
The discovery opens new avenues for research. Future studies may include archaeometric analyses of microscopic fibres and isotopic analyses of sheep remains to reconstruct the origin of raw materials and assess the degree of specialisation in textile production.
In the meantime, the Cabezo Redondo loom stands as one of the most complete examples of Bronze Age textile technology in Europe. As Basso concludes, the site represents “an exceptional laboratory for studying the technical and social evolution of textiles during the second millennium BC.”
Archaeological background
Cabezo Redondo is one of the most significant Bronze Age sites in south-eastern Iberia. Systematic excavations began in 1960 under the direction of local researcher José María Soler, who sought to prevent the destruction of the hill by gypsum quarrying.
Since 1987, research campaigns have been led initially by Mauro S. Hernández and subsequently by a team including, among others, García Atiénzar and Virginia Barciela González (INAPH, University of Alicante).
The settlement was occupied from approximately 2100 to 1250 BC and covered around one hectare. Houses, built on terraces along the hillside, featured benches, hearths, silos, and storage containers. Analysis of plant and animal remains indicates that the inhabitants practised intensive agriculture.
Numerous finds—including gold and silver objects, ivory ornaments, glass beads, and seashells—demonstrate that the community was integrated into extensive exchange networks linking the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula with other regions of Iberia, the western Mediterranean, and even central Europe.
Sources : University of Valencia – https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2026.10312
