Textiles of Ireland - by Elizabeth Wincott Heckett (Hardcover)

About the Book

Spanning the life's work of archaeologist Elizabeth Wincott Heckett, Textiles of Ireland: Archaeology, craft, art is the first wide-ranging book on the archaeological textiles of Ireland published since 1989.

Book Synopsis

Spanning the life's work of archaeologist Elizabeth Wincott Heckett, Textiles of Ireland: Archaeology, craft, art is the first wide-ranging book on the archaeological textiles of Ireland published since 1989. The volume includes studies of cloth found in bogs, burials, hoards, sacked castles, docklands and fallen city walls. These include a mysterious weaving of horsehair, dating from before 800 BC; imprints of cloth wrappings on the weapons of a buried Viking warrior, and the exquisite liturgical textiles, inspired by the Book of Kells, embroidered in 1916 for the Honan Chapel at University College Cork. Including an overview of best practice used by archaeologists encountering textiles in the field, accompanying illustrations and imagery, glossary and charts, this book is essential reading for archaeologists, historians and anyone intrigued by the threads that bind Ireland's past to its present.

Review Quotes

It is a handsome, scholarly, authoritative, lavishly illustrated volume covering textile finds in Irish archaeology from the Mesolithic period... to the modern era--Niall MacMonagle "Sunday Independent"

The book, rich in detail across 500 pages is painstaking in its analysis of textile composition, has an extensive bibliography, index and many charts and illustrations...It will be invaluable reading for historians, archaeologists and others interested in Irish material culture for a long time to come. --Deirdre McQuillan "The Irish Times"