Leather Tanneries

This publication, based on papers presented at the Archaeological Leather Group’s Have We Got a Tannery? The Archaeology of the Skin Processing Industries Conference hosted by the Walsall Leather Museum, covers a subject that has, up until now, been little explored. Eighteen papers, presented by scholars from around the world, discuss a variety of issues in the study of tanneries and the archaeology of the tanning industry. This is a book that will no doubt prove a definitive contribution to the subject and will be invaluable to archaeologists, industrial historians and museums’ professionals. Contents:
An Introduction from a Field Archaeologist’s Perspective; Skin, Leather and Tanning: Some Definitions; Plant and Invertebrate Indicators of Leather Production: from Fresh Skin to Leather Offcuts; Have we Got Leather Waste from a Tannery?; Tanning with Traditional Tools and Techniques: Inuit, American Indian and Sami People; Traditional Leather Tanning in Central Sudan; Preparing Skins in Prehistory: a Review of Evidence and Approaches; Are We Missing Something? The Elusive Tanneries of the Roman Period; A Question of Tannage: Leather from Anglo-Saxon Contexts; Have We Got a Parchmenerie?: Identifying Parchment Making at a Dry-preserved Site: the Evidence from Portmahomack, Tarbatness, Ross-shire; Everything but the Leather: the Search for Tanneries in Flemish Archaeology; Late Medieval-Early Post-Medieval Tanning: the Evidence from Northampton and its Wider Implications; Tanning and Related Industries in Birmingham 1200-1800; Was There a Leather Tanyard at Rye?; The Leather Production Industry in Bermondsey: the Archaeological Evidence; Can we Identify a Tannery from Waste Products? Evidence from Sussex; Hide and Seek: Some Thoughts on Identifying Tannery Structures.