Recent analyses of the excavated textile find from Grave 35 HTR73, Kerameikos cemetery, Athens, Greece

Abstract

The following study presents the results of instrumental analyses performed on the excavated textile find HTR73 from the Kerameikos cemetery in Athens. In Greece, preservation of excavated textiles is rare, mainly due to the unfavourable environmental conditions prevailing. The Kerameikos textile find is from the 5th century BC, and has been preserved in association with copper, which is the most common type of preservation in Greece. Past analyses had indicated the presence of silk fibres, of the Bombyx mori silkworm, the use of which was not common in Classical Greece. In the present study, non-destructive instrumental analytical techniques were applied, namely ESEM and FTIR microspectroscopy, for the purpose of material identification. None of the techniques applied confirmed the presence of silk. However, cellulosic bast and possibly cotton fibres were identified. The presence of cotton is an equally rare phenomenon for the Classical period in Greece.