Ohne Textilien kein Licht!
Sylvia Mitschke2012
The aim of the EU-project “Clothing and Identities – New Perspectives on Textiles in the Roman Empire (DressID)” was to examine peoples self-perception in the Roman Empire, focussing on dress as an expression of ethnic, regional, religious, social and gender self-representation. Important information was not only obtained by analysing complete garments, but also by looking at little textile fragments. Even a single thread gave insight into the different aspects of antique textile technology. It was therefore one of the main issues of DressID to trace markers that define typical Roman standards for textile quality and to distinguish them from regional production, since these items prove the interchange of goods. Thus a contribution was made in understanding the nature of Romanisation. Archaeological textiles are only preserved under advantageous environmental conditions, for example in compact soils under quasi-exclusion of air or in combination with metal objects. Textiles preserved by metal corrosion deserve a higher attention, because they often keep small impressions of original contexts. By careful documentation they can provide a basis for functional evaluations. Textiles in combination with lamps often served as wicks. Especially in graves they also can represent covers in which the lamp was enwrapped or parts of the clothing of the deceased. Analytical science plays a major role in ensuring the appropriate interpretation. METHODS: In a first step the construction of the textile is analysed. Reflected light microscopes are suitable for that purpose, where technical details such as the spinning of the thread and the weave can be determined. On the inside of a lamp from Nijmegen, now kept there in the Museum Het Valkhof, different textile structures could be seen. The bulky, ca. 0.5 cm thick wick was made of several loose s-twisted threads about the same size and inserted into the nozzle. The filling-hole in the top of the oil chamber was closed with a textile fragment. The surface of the undyed tabby woven piece with ca. 14 s-twisted threads per cm in warp and weft showed mechanical damages. In another lamp which was found in the soutwestern corner of the Capitolium´s Insula in Xanten a rest of a voluminous thread was found in one of the wick holes. The softly s-twisted yarn was about 2-3 mm thick and burnt on one side. Under a transmitted light microscope with polarized light many cross lines were visible in the longitudinal view, which is a typical feature of bast fibres such as hemp or nettle. Under the scanning electron microscope one could easily see the so-called displacements which are characteristic for linen, the fibre made from flax (Linum usitatissimum L.). CONCLUSIONS: The textile fragment in the filling-hole of the lamp from Nijmegen was probably used to regulate the air supply of the oil chamber. Evidently a worn rest in a middle quality was reused for that purpose. The construction of both analysed lamp wicks was aligned with their later use: The threads were made of opened linen and only loosely twisted, which by capillary attraction drew up the oil in small successive portions. Their thickness of about 2 to 5 mm ensured moderate oil consumption. Therefore it can be assumed that specialised workshops for the production of wicks must have existed. The s-twist of all the threads may indicate a localisation in the Eastern Mediterranea.