A Comb or a Loom? An Attempt at Interpretation of the Szemud Urn Image

Abstract

Combs belong to characteristic motifs appearing on face urns from the Pomeranian culture. They are usually presented in the simplest way – in the form of several vertical lines coming from one horizontal line situated mostly in the central part of the urn. Archaeologists studying the Pomeranian culture accept an interpretation that all images comprised of vertical lines are combs (Dzięgielewski 2007: 183). The article presents another way of interpreting the engraving from the Szemud urn which has been assumed to depict a comb. As it has been discussed, both the image itself (extremely long comb teeth) and the structural position of the image (directly under a face image) are not typical. The author suggests that it is rather a depiction of a vertical warp-weighted loom, as evidenced by other images known from Europe (e.g. Sopron, Bologna) dated to the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age.