Ravattula costume: temple ornaments

my green version including additional design element

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​When, who, & where 

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​Iron Age Finland c. 1150-1250
Woman's Grave, # 41/2016,
Ravattula Ristimaki Church,
​4 km from Turku, SW Finland.

What is this?

The coiled bronze wire spirals are threaded in patterns onto either end of a lattice braided band. This deceptively simple band is wool, using a finger weaving technique using 17 strands, and braided in a 2/2 pattern which creates a diagonal plaited look.
The band is a small 6mm wide, due to the tiny nature of the yarn used.

The bronze coils are of 2 different diameters, 4.6 mm and 4.2 mm. Because the full detailed book is yet to be published this sizing is an educated approximation. 

I based the coil size on the pictures of the extant spirals of 41/2016, which includes a 1 cm scale gauge!, and other extant temple ornament examples like the Perniö headpiece which is firmly documented in size.

​The design and placement of the bronze coil patterns is based on the recreated Ravattula Costume Project (RCP) temple decoration pattern, and also my own observations of the extant coils and drawing of the X-rayed findings. 
For more please see the explanation in the Differences and Choices section.
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Progress picture with main books used in the process. NOTE: The Perniö book on the left is completely in Finnish; it does include wonderful pictures and drawings that greatly help to understand the processes.

I believe this is a participant of the Ravattula Costume Project recreating the temple ornaments. Picture credit to Lankakuiskaaja on Instagram, posted Nov 14,2021.Picture 8 of 8. Pictures taken at “Ravattula Women” presentation at a Finnish fair.

How

There are extant bundles of regular size and shape sticks that have coils still around them, so it is believed the coils in the period were wound by hand.

I used a hand crank and metal rods; there are others that use rods and electric drills.
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To thread the yarns through the coils I found a leather lacing needle (which is blunt & has an open eye and a hook) to be the best tool; One could use any large eye blunt needle, which I did when needing to pull through packed coils.

Extant bronze coils and sticks from Lōhavere, Estonia. Iron Age Estonia had similar bronze aesthetics but were distinct from the Finnish. “Necessary tools for making patterns… long and small spiral tubes, rings.”

materials

2 ply wool, size “90 tex” equates to spinning size about 30 wpi, or #0 lace weight crewel embroidery size yarn.

Bronze wire; 22 gauge/ 0.54mm diameter

​Metal rods of varying sizes and a simple twisting gizmo; using a micrometer I determined the rod size needed, plus my wire mm x2, to determine the correct diameter of the coils.
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Differences and choices

I am very pleased with the outcome of my recreation. I know it doesn’t exactly match the RCP example, but I made choices to differ the design on purpose. 

The only difference I think I could make would be to recreate one exactly like the RCP has; this is because they have hands-on experience with the extant pieces and access to information that is not yet publicly available.

However, while examining the drawings of the X-rays I found that some of the coil design elements had been left off of the RCP temple ornaments. I have added that element in my temple ornament design. It is diamond in shape with an X cross in the middle.

In a second temple ornament creation I decided to only use one of this diamond shaped design as in the x-rays it appears there is only one of this design that remains. I also moved it to a different location in threading as both locations are possible.

The extant wool used is best equated to the Åland breed of sheep. I was not able to source this and so decided to use wool yarn in the proper size and ply instead of focusing on breed.

I also made a different color choice of wool on purpose. All current recreations I am aware of, like those done for the Finnish National costumes, these headpieces are made of natural or white wool. I know color testing has been done of the Ravattula fibers, but with the book not published I can’t be sure the fiber analysis was done on the wool inside the temple ornament coils.

Per SCA tradition in colors, because I am apprenticed, I chose to make this band in a green color. With permission from my Laurel, this head band  can represent my apprentice belt so that I may recreate and wear the correct tablet woven and finger woven belts and aprons to match the different pieces of Iron Age Finnish finds such as Ravattula 41/2016, Perniö roughly grave 6, and Eura grave 56, and Lieto Ristinpelto grave 86.

​The Perniö book is entirely in Finnish. I do not speak or read Finnish, so part of this journey has been translating and making sense of the not quite right translations with which Google has given.

Recreation of temple ornaments. Picture credit to Lankakuiskaaja on Instagram, posted Nov 14,2021.Picture 5 of 8. Pictures taken at “Ravattula Women” presentation at a Finnish fair.

Extant find of the Perniö grave 6 temple ornament.

sources

Ravattula Costume: The Study of the Grave Find,  booklet from Ravattula Ristimaki, www.ravattula.fi 
Perniön Muinaispuku, Valmistusohjeet, booklet in Finnish, Leader II.
Mervi Pasanen; her FB posts & answering my many questions there, also instructional videos, pictures, and talks.
Iron Age Finland, Group on Facebook platform.
Instagram Ravattula, Lankakuiskaaja, swanmervi
Special thanks to the group involved in the Ravattula Costume Project, the archeology, and their posts on Instagram.
Sarks: Ancient Finnish Costumes