Archaeological findings on the use of hemp
In the Eurasian steppes, the Scythians certainly used hemp not only to make linen, but also to obtain drugs from heated hemp seeds, according to Herodotus.
In Eastern Europe, a common method of drying hemp in historical periods was to dig pits, over which either a stand with branches and straws was made, or a branch was placed in the middle and the hemp to be dried was tilted accordingly. Similar flax and hemp drying pits were used not only by the Slavs, but also by the Finno-Ugric relatives of the Hungarians (Mordvins, Chermis, Zuryans) and among the Bashkirs and Volga Tatars, they must have been known to our conquering ancestors. The archaeological traces of such pits are difficult to distinguish from simpler grain drying pits, just as in the case of objects defined as incense pits from the Árpád period, it cannot be ruled out that some of them may have been used for hemp drying.
About 90 textile fragments were found from the Carpathian Basin in the 10th and 11th centuries, of which about 60 pieces remained to be examined, mainly silk and linen fabric fragments, but the use of hemp was also proven. The hemp fields were so significant that they were sometimes mentioned in official charters, for example, in 1309 the chapter of Veszprém inherited 40 acres of arable land in addition to 1 acre of hemp land in a gracious bequest.
Let’s also mention looms. Vertical looms have been known in the Carpathian Basin for a long time, such depictions can already be seen on one of the Iron Age urns of Sopron-Burgstall, and even at the beginning of the last century similar ones were used by crab makers.
According to the theory of Valter Endrei, the simpler loom with legs could have spread to Eastern Europe already in the 9th and 11th centuries through Byzantine or Khazar mediation, and they could also be used in the Hungarian household industry of the Árpád period, but this fact is not confirmed by all researchers.
The finest fabrics of the Middle Ages could be made on drawstring looms, which required an assistant in addition to the weaver, who worked on the pattern and moved the individual bunches.
