Book chapter title: Why are some discoid loom weights grooved? Answers from experimental archaeology on the functionality of weaving tools in the Bronze Age Aegean Author: Agata Ulanowska https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4946-2711 Book: Stories told around the fountain.Papers offered to Piotr Bieliński on His 70 th Bithday Editors: A. Pieńkowska, D. Szeląg & I. Zych Year: 2019 Pages: 733-758 https://doi.org/10.31338/uw.9788323541714.pp.733-758 ISBN/ISSN: 978–83–235–4171–4 EAN: 9788323541714 Publisher: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw (PCMA UW); University of Warsaw Press www.pcma.uw.edu.pl – pcma@uw.edu.pl – pam.pcma@uw.edu.pl www.wuw.pl ABSTRACT This paper re-examines discoid loom weights, a specific type that originated in Early Bronze Age Crete and was widespread in the Bronze Age Mediterranean. The growing popularity of these tools, as attested by the archaeological record, is discussed in relation to their general functionality and specific weaving techniques that may have come with them. The functional parameters of discoid loom weights, i.e., weight and thickness, implying the types of fabrics that may have been produced with their use, are analyzed together with use-wear marks on the tools, which demonstrate how the loom weights were attached to warp threads. The grooves on the upper edges of some of these tools are discussed as a post-production feature on the basis of experimental modelling. The presented results are the effect of