were perpendicular to the ground, with the warp strung onto
beams attached to a frame.
Longitudinal threads, or warp threads, were attached di-
rectly to the loom. Every other thread was separated, forming
two separate groups. Another thread, the weft , was strung be-
tween the two groups, or shed. Lift ing a rod called the heddle
switched the group to the fore, creating a counter-shed. Run-
ning the weft thread successively between the shed and coun-
ter-shed created an interlocking weave around the warp.
Several diff erent weaving techniques were used to cre-
ate textiles in ancient Egypt. Th e most common weave, and
the simplest, was the tabby weave, where a single weft thread
passes over and under individual warp threads. A variation
on this is the basket weave, where the warp and weft threads
are paired. Both of these methods were fairly easy to achieve
on a horizontal loom. Warp- and weft -faced weaves, whichproduced a two-to-one pattern that nearly hid the single
threads, were also used in Egypt. Two tapestry weaves are
also known, one that used the weft for the pattern and an-
other that used the warp.
Weavers accommodated for broken or short threads
by interweaving threads with either a long or a short splice.
Short splices twisted together the ends of two threads and
then twisted this back onto the main thread. Long splices
were simply several inches of the two threads twisted to-
gether. Many preserved textiles have splices in them; fi ner
linens seem to have mainly short splices, and coarser textiles
oft en exhibit long splices.
A number of decorative and f unctiona l features were wo-
ven into Egyptian textiles. Th e most common was a fringe
on the left selvedge (edge) of a textile. Th is was accomplished
by extending the weft thread several inches beyond the lastTapestry made of multicolored wool on linen, from Egypt, fourth century c.e., showing Artemis and Actaeon (© Th e Trustees of the British Museum)1076 textiles and needlework: Egypt0895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i1076 1076 10/10/07 2:30:58 PM