174 BARBARA TSAKIRgIS
Hellenistic periods (Davidson 1952 : 146–56). The nine weights from Athens
are made of a clay paler than the typical Athenian fabric and may be imports.
The group of Athenian conical weights is perhaps not large enough to equip
a loom, but the context material confirms a fourth-century date for them and
for their deposition.
Larger collections of weights do occur elsewhere in Athens in the Classical
period, but the contexts are probably not primarily domestic. Very large quan-
tities of as yet unpublished weights were found in a well deposit (U 13:1) on
the eastern limits of the Agora, in a district likely occupied by wine shops
(Lawall 2000 ).^10 The precise number of the weights has yet to be determined,
as some are currently stored in an inaccessible location; however, estimating
from the references in the excavation logs and the weights that I could exam-
ine, there are at least 507 (Figure 7.5). The weights are relatively uniform in
size; to judge from those I have measured, the weight and uniformity of their
shape suggest that they comprise a collection belonging to professionals rather
than the haphazard collection that might result in an ordinary household.
Putative commercial establishments for weaving, such as those at Olynthus
discussed herein, seem to be characterized by sets of weights of uniform
dimensions and weight, features that would ensure that the cloth was regular in
its weave. The weights in Deposit U 13:1 would have been sufficient to equip
many looms, far beyond the number necessary to produce cloth for a single
family. Here we must be looking at an industrial operation, perhaps the work-
ing space of the wool-workers (amorgantinos, huphantikos, sindopoles) identified7.4 Classical Houses on the Areopagus, 9 Loom Weights (Deposit K 17:2)
(Courtesy of Agora excavations, ASCSA).