Carder

Someone who cards wool, removing the snarls from the fiber.

"Finally, there was the textile industry. As in the Greek world, and for similar reasons, it was at Rome sharply differentiated from purely household production. As an industry it employed a wide range of workers, from carders (carminatores) and weavers (textores) to dyers and fullers. These latter worked in relatively large establishments situated near aqueducts. Here again, apart from specialisation within the trade, there was a geographical specialisation. Thus, Tarentum, Puteoli and Ancona specialised in dyeing and in making purple dye. Syracuse, Cumae and Canusium were famous for their fine woollen cloths, while Parma and Modena produced ordinary woollen cloths in what could really be called factories. Linen was the speciality in Padua and in Etruria, and Rome was known for its embroidery. Slave labour, mostly that of women, was often used. In some branches of the industry, however, in the production of the garments themselves, for example, free workers to a large extent took the place of slaves."

Claude Mossé, The Ancient World of Work (1969)

[Translated by Janet Lloyd].