Archeological Textiles

A női fejdíszek maradványai a kora újkori temetőfeltárások egyik leggyakoribb lelettípusai. A régészet azonban
nem mutat meg minden formai csoportot, ezért a teljes kép kialakításához használnunk kell történeti forrásokat és néprajzi
párhuzamokat is. Fontos kérdés a fejviseletek szerepének elhelyezése a korszak társadalmában. Információkat tudhatunk meg
arról, hogy az életkor, a vallás, az etnikum, vagy a társadalmi státuszváltáshoz milyen típusú fejviseletet hordtak. Egy általános  ruhadarab elemzéséből kiindulva komplex képet alakíthatunk ki a kora újkori nők társadalmi szokásairól és helyzetéről.

The chemical and physical properties of the Shroud of Turin, both of the non-image background, the image areas, the pinkish red bloodstains and the separate serum, especially their absorbance, fluorescence and FTIR spectra, are described and shown to be evidence for the presence of a pinkish red heme-madder complex, formed by the chemical interaction of authentic acid postmortem blood with yellow madder dye on the cloth before image formation. Besides the many normal blood characteristics, the lack of potassium of the red bloodstains indicates that the blood was hyperkalemic: that potassium had moved out of the red blood cells into the plasma, which inevitably occurs in acidemic blood. The absorbance spectra of the bloodstains

Colour, pattern and glamour are not usually terms associated with textiles in Bronze Age and even for Iron Age Central Europe. Such textiles are usually assumed to be merely functional - textile technology was not so developed and woven fabrics are thought to have been coarse and in dull natural shades. Although this is true for the main corpus of Bronze Age textiles in Europe, recent projects carried out for the textiles from the saltmine Hallstatt, offered a glimpse of an alternative picture. In the Bronze Age we can discern the beginnings of a creative interplay with the possibilities of the materials - patterns, surfaces, colours and their combination with metal. Recently analyzed finds from the Bronze Age mines at Hallstatt (1500-1200 BC) give first examples for advanced weaving techniques, spin pattern and dyeing. Textile patterns are rare, but in the case of the Irgenhausen find very elaborate and mirroring the pattern from contemporary clay figurines in Eastern Europe. Gold threads from Austrian and Hungarian find-spots bring some glamour into the woven world.
An innovative process can be detected in Bronze Age Europe, to give the textiles an attractive appearance as with as other materials and objects like jewellery. In Iron Age Europe first specialisation in textile craft can be seen. After the innovative Bronze Age we now have a full developed textile art with artfully used dyes, divers patterning techniques – both during the weaving process and afterwards. Within Early Iron Age, the interplay between textiles and metal objects attached on them reaches a very high standard – in expressing wealth and beauty. This was discussed with reference to the work of Peter Wells (2008) and his analysis of the visual qualities of objects

We are indebted to various sources for our knowledge of the pre-Roman Iron Age textile production on the territory of Austria (800-15 BC), such as well-preserved textiles, grave finds, textile tools, archaeological evidence in settlements and depictions of textile producers and their products.
We can find evidence of their activities in each settlement, where they lived and worked. Spindle whorls, loom weights and needles in graves may indicate that the deceased who were accompanied by these tools were textile workers, and furthermore point to a special social status these persons occupied in their communities. Particularly during the early Iron Age  predominantly women have textile tools in their graves, sometimes even being accompanied by tool sets (e.g. spindles and knifes or spindles and needles). Depictions of textile work, such as on the Sopron Urn and the Bologna tintinnabulum, illustrate different stages of the textile production process from spinning to weaving.
The two case studies of Hallstatt and Dürrnberg demonstrate that textile production in Iron Age Austria was organised in different ways, providing diverse archaeological evidence concerning the producers, consumers and traders of textiles.

The Turin Shroud was extensively scientifically investigated in 1978. In its pinkish red bloodstains, normal features of human blood were found, but also seemingly anomalous ones. In the present study, hitherto unnoticed details of the data are presented, Shroud data and more modern reference data are compared, and the results of a few experiments with linen, madder dye and blood are shown. It turns out that the Shroud’s ‘anomalous’ data are strong consistent evidence that its bloodstains contain acid heme-madder lake, of which the heme derived from cold acid postmortem blood and the madder had been applied to the Shroud at manufacture. It implies that the bloodstains were formed on the Shroud before the still not reproduced body-image was. Several other ‘red-color’ hypotheses for the Shroud’s bloodstains are discussed and dismissed.

The prehistory of the Neolithic and Copper Age of northern Italy is mainly told through the testimony of durable artefacts: pottery, stone and bone. With the exception of a few noteworthy finds, cloth is rarely considered. Of these the most significant was the discovery over twenty years ago of a frozen man and equipment of predominantly organic materials from Similaun, Val Senales (BZ) dated to c.3300 cal BC, which stimulated discussion about the types of cloth used for clothing in the Copper Age. Particular attention was paid to the absence of woven textiles and the idea that a form of twined basketry made from grass was used as a cape. About a decade later, an exhibition entitled ‘Textiles: intrecci e tessuti dalla preistoria europea’, held at the Museo Civico di Riva del Garda, brought together archaeobotanists and textile researchers who focussed, among other topics, on the evidence of tools for weaving textiles and on flax as a fibre source in northern Italy from the Early Neolithic . While this work has added significantly to the evidence and debates surrounding the types and role of cloth in the Neolithic, the evidence and understanding of the topic remains patchy. The Middle Neolithic seems to fall into one gap in the scholarship, as it is too early to justify comparison with the Iceman and too late to be associated with Early Neolithic flax. Nonetheless, some form of cloth must have existed in these societies. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to bring together recent research and new data to question the types of cloth that were used in the Middle Neolithic of northern Italy.

Two knitted mittens were found in the same shipwreck, called Burgzand Noord 8, in the Dutch Wadden Sea near Texel. They have similar dimensions and may have been a pair. They were skilfully knitted, with narrowing at the wrist and thumbs attached using a blind seam. At least one of the mittens was dyed blue, as attested by chromatographic analysis. Both show traces of work wear and dripping tar, which indicates they were used on board. Coins corroded onto the blue mitten indicate that it was close together with some money in the officers’ quarters at the time of wreckage. The woollen mittens indicate that the ship went down in winter, which supports the suggestion that this was lost in an infamous December storm of 1660. These mittens remain two rare examples of knitted handwear in the Netherlands, where making them from cloth seems to have the use.

"'Fashion Awareness' in the Year 1130 B.C. - Textiles and Clothing in Ancient Egypt" - Contribution to the book accompanying the exhibition "New Clothes?!" at Museum August Kestner in conjunction with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hannover / Germany (31 August 2008 - 11 January 2009). Focus of the article is the group statue of Kynebu and Isis, originally from the time of Amenhotep III (Dynasty 18, c. 1350 B.C.) which more than 220 years later was usurped by the priest Kynebu of the time of Ramesses VIII (Dynasty 20) as equipment for his tomb (TT 113) which was completed in 1130 B.C. When reinscribing the older statue, Kinebu also ordered his garment to be altered, surely "up-dated", a unique attestation for 'fashion awareness' in Ancient Egypt. - Based on the objects on display in the Egyptian departement of the museum, under the title "kleopatragbar" beginner students of the curriculum of Fashion Design in Hannover designed t-shirts which were displayed in the Egyptian galeries of the museum and worn on catwalks in a fashion show at the end of the exhibition. - (in German)

Due to the limited number of materials associated with textile production from the Neolithic and Eneolithic, especially in regard to Eastern Europe, its indirect remains present an important and valuable source of information. One of the materials that testifies to textile production is pottery with textile impressions. The aim of this article is to present and discuss the results of microscopic analyses of textile impressions, identified on selected sherds of ceramic vessels from the Trypillia culture sites in Bilcze Złote, Ukraine. During the research, three
basic categories of textile-related products were identified: pottery with intentional cord imprints, impressions of various types of non-woven textiles, as well as woven fabrics of varying thickness and density. This article also highlights the issue of using textiles in the technological process of pottery manufacturing. Microscopic analysis of textile impressions opens up new research possibilities in the recognition and reconstruction of the weaves and twists of particular types of fibres, and provides a solid foundation for comparative studies.

Ram’s head beads are well-known items of personal adornment in the Dolenjska Hallstatt cultural group. Recent analysis has demonstrated that they are the most common zoomorphic artefacts in this region with 187 currently known. This article updates the list of known beads and contextualizes their significance in the Dolenjska Hallstatt cultural group. It is argued that the sheep imagery of these beads and their distribution in female graves is related to local textile production. It is proposed that beads signalled aspects of personal and economic identity for Dolenjska Hallstatt women related to the production of high-quality textiles. In addition, the distribution of these beads demonstrates Iron Age community networks on the western frontier of Dolenjska, and perhaps even reflects the movement of women between communities.
Keywords: South-eastern Slovenia; Early Iron Age; Hallstatt culture; ram’s head beads; iconography; women; sheep; textiles

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is the repository of an important collection of archaeological textiles excavated at Rayy, a Silk Road site in Iran, by Dr. Erich Schmidt in 1935. The collection plays a key roll in the Buyid Silk controversy that captivated textile historians for more than 50 years. We also hold the records and correspondence of Dr. Florence Day who performed extensive research and treatment on the collection in the early 1960s. In 1961 Day carried out a technical study of an important fragmented 10th c. silk shroud which included wet cleaning in dish detergent and Calgonite and the removal of a large section for radiocarbon dating.

In 2016 the major pieces of the shroud were humidified, realigned, assembled, and mounted for exhibition. Research was carried out to understand the techniques and materials use in 1961, why Day chose them, and their potential impact on the subsequent treatment.

Colour, pattern and glamour are not usually terms associated with textiles in Bronze Age and even for Iron Age Central Europe. Such textiles are usually assumed to be merely functional - textile technology was not so developed and woven fabrics are thought to have been coarse and in dull natural shades. Although this is true for the main corpus of Bronze Age textiles in Europe, recent projects carried out for the textiles from the saltmine Hallstatt, offered a glimpse of an alternative picture. In the Bronze Age we can discern the beginnings of a creative interplay with the possibilities of the materials - patterns, surfaces, colours and their combination with metal. Recently analyzed finds from the Bronze Age mines at Hallstatt (1500-1200 BC) give first examples for advanced weaving techniques, spin pattern and dyeing. Textile patterns are rare, but in the case of the Irgenhausen find very elaborate and mirroring the pattern from contemporary clay figurines in Eastern Europe. Gold threads from Austrian and Hungarian find-spots bring some glamour into the woven world. An innovative process can be detected in Bronze Age Europe, to give the textiles an attractive appearance as with as other materials and objects like jewellery. In Iron Age Europe first specialisation in textile craft can be seen. After the innovative Bronze Age we now have a full developed textile art with artfully used dyes, divers patterning techniques – both during the weaving process and afterwards. Within Early Iron Age, the interplay between textiles and metal objects attached on them reaches a very high standard – in expressing wealth and beauty. This was discussed with reference to the work of Peter Wells (2008) and his analysis of the visual qualities of objects

Archaeological keratin samples are increasingly the subject of palaeodietary, provenancing and dating studies. Keratin samples from wet archaeological contexts are microbiologically and chemically degraded, causing differential diagenesis of protein structures in hair fibres. The effects of these processes on the analytical parameters of interest are currently unknown. This study examined the impact of degradation of wool fibres on isotopic (δ(13)C, δ(15)N, un-exchangeable δ(2)H and δ(18)O values) composition. It compared two models of archaeological protein degradation in wet burial environments: (1) short term (up to 8 years) experimental burial in three contrasting soil environments; and (2) laboratory wet conditions, in which elevated temperature (80 °C, 110 °C, and 140 °C) and pressure simulated longer exposure. Elemental and amino acid (AA) composition were also measured. In experimentally soil-buried samples, AA, elemental and isotopic composition changes were small, despite ...

Erzsébet Batthyány’s burial costume in the light of women’s dress in the 17th century. There developed in 17th-century Hungary a distinctive type of dress that existed in parallel with Western styles. These indigenous styles were tailored and decorated in a great many ways, making them very varied, yet always identifiable still as Hungarian. The author tried to compare the old terminology with 17th c. pictures and archeological finds and place in this context the costume of Erzsébet Batthyány.
The clothes in which countess Erzsébet Batthyány was buried were also of the 17th century. The bodice was made of silk with several layers of lining and adorned with lace ribbons. The velvet of the skirt was drawn in on both sides and presumably decorated with jewels. The costume is likely to have included a silk appron woven with gilded silver thread, of which only the decoration survives.

Hand-knitted silk stockings from the second half of the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century, which were found in today's Czech Republic (historically Kingdom of Bohemia, Margraviate of Moravia and a part of Duchy of Silesia), were examined from a knitter's point of view. Their shaping and patterning were compared to some stockings from the same period found in other European countries. The possibility of using knitting techniques and construction details for dating or determining the place of origin of knitted objects is discussed.

On the rare occasions when we encounter prehistoric cloth, the preserved remains are usually fragmentary and decayed, therefore no longer retaining their original qualities. However, the materiality of cloth, including its structure and surfaces,
and sensual properties (colour, smell, fl exibility and texture) are integral to the understanding of these artefacts as part of past human engagement. To investigate this subject, I have conducted experiments to explore the materiality of prehistoric
cloth as sensory experience. The focus of this work is the prehistoric cloth types from the Neolithic to Bronze Age in the Alpine region, including cloth made from fl ax, wool, tree bast, animal skins, fur, woven and twined cloth, nett ing and knotless nett ing. The fi rst stage of the experiment was to obtain a range of cloth types that resembled prehistoric examples as closely as possible. The second stage of the experiment involved asking study participants to handle each of the cloth types, then to compare the diff erent cloth types and to describe their experience. In this paper I discuss the source and choice of the cloth types used in the experiment, the method and results of the handling experience and the contribution of this experiment to understanding prehistoric cloth types.

Studies of the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in Europe have focused on plants and animals exploited for food. However, the exploitation of plants for fibres underwent a significant change with the addition of domestic flax as a fibre crop. While the technology of flax fibre processing is increasingly understood by archaeologists, its material value as a fibre crop in comparison to indigenous fibre is less well explored. We examine the mechanical properties of flax and two indigenous fibres (lime bast, willow bast), by testing fibre strips for tensile properties and discuss the results in the light of material choices in these periods.

Презентация для Международной научной конференции в городе Комаром, 2015 г.
Краткий обзор работ, выполняемых научно-реставрационной лабораторией «Остров Крым» (Алматы, Казахстан) по сохранению органических остатков, подготовке их к экспонированию в музее.
Показаны находки из различных материалов, в том числе: мокрое археологическое дерево,  сухое археологическое дерево с росписями и без, обугленное археологическое дерево, археологический текстиль. Среди работ есть конские украшения, гребень, головной убор, шуба, войлочные чулки, седла и многое другое.
Также показан принцип изъятия находок из раскопа блоками с землей, для лучшей сохранности и транспортировки в лабораторию. Завершающим результатом обычно является комплексная научная реконструкция костюма или конского снаряжения.

Presentation for International scientific conference in Comarom, 2015.
A brief overview of the works carried out by the scientific-restoration laboratory "Ostrov Krym" (Almaty, Kazakhstan) on the preservation of organic remains, preparing them to be exhibited in the museum.
There are shown artifacts made of different materials, including: wet archeological wood, dry archaeological wood with paintings and without them, charred archeological wood, archaeological textiles. Among the works there are horse harness, comb, headdress, furcoat,  felt stockings, saddles and many others.
It is also shown the method of the extraction of a solid block with the surrounding soil for better safety and transportation to the laboratory. The final result is typically a complex scientific reconstruction of the suit or horse equipment.

At Ascoli Satriano (Puglia, Italy) findings of the pre-Roman period (8 th-3 rd centuries BCE) are abundant. In this time the area was inhabited by the so-called Daunians. Their material culture is characterized by a distinct pottery style and the rather slow adoption of traits taken over from the Greek settlements that from the 8 th /7 th century BCE onwards were present at the Ionian and Tyrrhenian coasts. From the late 6th century BCE onwards, a special type of bronze belt (cinturone) became part of the tomb inventories of men as well as female deceased and probably served as status markers .

Black patinas are very common biological deterioration phenomena on lapideous artworks in outdoor environments. These substrates, exposed to sunlight, and atmospheric and environmental agents (i.e. wind and temperature changes), represent extreme environments that can only be colonized by highly versatile and adaptable microorganisms. Black patinas comprise a wide variety of microorganisms, but the morphological plasticity of most of these microorganisms hinders their identification by optical microscopy. This study used Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) (including shotgun and amplicon sequencing) to characterize the black patina of the travertine embankments (muraglioni) of the Tiber River in Rome (Italy). Overall, the sequencing highlighted the rich diversity of bacterial and fungal communities and allowed the identification of more than one hundred taxa. NGS confirmed the relevance of coccoid and filamentous cyanobacteria observed by optical microscopy and revealed an informative ...

С 1998 года ведутся исследования курганов могильника Берел на самом востоке Казахстана, в живописной горной долине Казахского Алтая. Курганы датируются IV-III веками до н.э. – эпохой скифов и саков. Здесь мы вкратце расскажем о консервации в нашей лаборатории седельных комплексов, на примере находок из курганов № 10 и 11. Археологическими экспедициями руководили археологи З. Самашев (Казахстан) и Анри-Поль Франкфор (Франция).

Since 1998, it is carrying out the research of Berel burial mounds on the east of Kazakhstan, in the picturesque mountain valley of the Kazakh Altai. Burial mounds date back to IV-III centuries BC - the era of the Scythians and Saka. Here we will shortly talk about conservation of saddle complexes in our laboratory by the example of finds from burial mounds number 10 and 11. The archaeological expeditions led by archaeologists Z. Samashev (Kazakhstan) and Henri-Paul Francfort (France).

Although textiles are rare in archaeological contexts they are comparatively common in iconography; the human body is clothed, interiors are hung with textiles and things with textiles components, such as sailing ships, are part of the represented world. How though can we seek to analyse this source of evidence beyond simple identification? This paper presents a new methodology to study the iconography of textiles in Early Iron Italy as a means to investigate the development of wealth and social hierarchies in early urban contexts.  To achieve these ends a method of analysing the iconography of cloth and clothing is proposed that is theoretically based in evaluating textile wealth.  This approach moves away from identifying and classifying clothing and costume combinations, towards charting qualitative and quantitative information on the textile items portrayed in iconography.  The case study presented investigates the situla art (figurative scenes on buckets and their covers, knife sheaths, belt clasps, helmets and mirrors) of the Po Plain and northeast Italy from the end of the 7th century BC. Through the results of this study, I address issues of textile wealth, gender and display, with consideration for the strengths and weaknesses of iconography as a source of evidence.

Degeneration of fabrics with age is an accepted phenomenon. Limited data is available about impact of fiber characteristics on ageing of fabrics in museum settings. Museum professionals have relied on their personal experience and case studies while taking decisions about sensitive textiles. However, lack of established data can become a major hurdle in technological advancements in field of conservation science. Quantification of change in strength and performance parameters of a fabric with time and verified data about difference in the level of impact between fabrics made of different fibers can provide new perspectives to conservation and exhibition research approach. In present research, impact of ageing on strength and performance parameters of fabrics made of cotton, wool and silk has been analyzed since most museum collections primarily consist of these three natural fibers. Each fabric has been individually examined for select strength and performance parameters before and after accelerated ageing. Standardized testing procedures have been followed for ageing simulation, and testing of tensile strength, GSM (gram per square meter), abrasion resistance, flexural rigidity, and color change in fabrics. Results generated by this comparative assessment provide insights about difference in degree of vulnerability to ageing and its implications on museum procedures. The numeric data obtained can be construed and utilized in innumerable ways for devising technologically advanced equipment and procedures assisting in suitable cleaning, storage, exhibition and conservation strategies for museum fabrics.

Black patinas are very common biological deterioration phenomena on lapideous artworks in outdoor environments. These substrates, exposed to sunlight, and atmospheric and environmental agents (i.e. wind and temperature changes), represent extreme environments that can only be colonized by highly versatile and adaptable microorganisms. Black patinas comprise a wide variety of microorganisms, but the morphological plasticity of most of these microorganisms hinders their identification by optical microscopy. This study used Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) (including shotgun and amplicon sequencing) to characterize the black patina of the travertine embankments (muraglioni) of the Tiber River in Rome (Italy). Overall, the sequencing highlighted the rich diversity of bacterial and fungal communities and allowed the identification of more than one hundred taxa. NGS confirmed the relevance of coccoid and filamentous cyanobacteria observed by optical microscopy and revealed an informative ...

Black patinas are very common biological deterioration phenomena on lapideous artworks in outdoor environments. These substrates, exposed to sunlight, and atmospheric and environmental agents (i.e. wind and temperature changes), represent extreme environments that can only be colonized by highly versatile and adaptable microorganisms. Black patinas comprise a wide variety of microorganisms, but the morphological plasticity of most of these microorganisms hinders their identification by optical microscopy. This study used Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) (including shotgun and amplicon sequencing) to characterize the black patina of the travertine embankments (muraglioni) of the Tiber River in Rome (Italy). Overall, the sequencing highlighted the rich diversity of bacterial and fungal communities and allowed the identification of more than one hundred taxa. NGS confirmed the relevance of coccoid and filamentous cyanobacteria observed by optical microscopy and revealed an informative ...

The Etruscan Cloak Experiment uses visual observation of two cloaks, made to represent those of the seventh century BC in Italy, to understand the relationship between textile technology and visual experience. The technology of production has been a major theme in archaeological textile research. Recent research has generated new data on old and new archaeological discoveries in Etruria and neighbouring areas. As well as techniques of production, scholars across disciplines recognise the huge visual importance of textiles and textile clothing in terms of consumption. Although this aspect of archaeological textile is less studied, pioneering research by Lena Hammarlund's seeks to classify of fragment of archaeological textiles according to visual types. In a complementary way, the research presented here seeks to investigate the visual qualities of textile clothing according to the parameters of light and distance. Methodologically, the experiment builds on previous experiments by the author on the sensory aspect of cloth type materials. The results of the experiment highlight the similarities and differences between the technological and visual understanding of textiles for clothing, and allow us to reconsider the relationships between the two in the specific context of Etruria and its northern enclaves.