Due to their size and the presence of whorls, the pebbles were likely used as an early version of a spinning wheel to gather up fibers like wool or flax and transform it into yarn. The study's ...

To operate this wet spinning frame the workers would go barefoot. The machine turned flax fibres into usable yarn. The yarn produced would then be exported all round the world.

The former flax-spinning Temple Works is to be part of the planned British Library building in Leeds. The Holbeck landmark is known for its architecture and stories of sheep grazing on grass grown ...