Fibres and Fabrics

The fibres and fabrics of Must Farm Late Bronze Age pile-dwelling are an internationally important body of material. As a Bronze Age fibre and fabric assem- blage it is unique in Britain, and rare across Europe. The assemblage contains over 150 charred plant fibre artefacts. These finds are referred to as the ‘fibre and fabric’ assemblage because they constitute a wider range of materials than can be described as textile. The aim of this chapter is to describe and analyse the fibre and fabric assemblage at Must Farm Late Bronze Age pile-dwelling settlement. We place the assemblage in its chronological, regional and international context, and consider how it addresses the main aims of the Must Farm pile-dwelling project, including the question of ‘special preservation or preservation of the special’, regional contacts and interregional connections, aspects of appearance, and the role of fibres and fabrics in peo- ple’s lives as ‘life assemblages’, here addressed through the operational sequence of raw fibre to finished fabrics (chaîne opératoire) and the spatial distribution of fibre and fabric artefacts across the pile-dwelling settlement.