Archaeological Dyes

I have edited the work of a deceased independent scholar and artist, Eileen Mary Bolton, she having willed me the copyright. It is a book that would be useful for art historians, textile historians, restorers and others needing knowledge of dyes prior to the Victorian chemical aniline colours. Karen Leigh Casselman is co-editor with me of the work.

Foreword, Michael Herdick Introduction, Heather Hopkins and Katrin Kania 1. On the terminology of non-woven textile structures and techniques, and why it matters Ruth Gilbert 2. A new notation system for nålbinding stitches Harma Piening 3. Lost weaving tablets: Identifying weaving tablets during excavation Heather Hopkins 4. Romans, intimately. New thoughts on reconstruction and purpose of use of Roman Empire and Late Antiquity ‘tanga briefs’ Julia B. Krug-Ochmann 5. Linen sprang from Lengberg Castle Beatrix Nutz 6. Early Byzantine embroidery techniques and an unusual tunic in the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz Petra Linscheid 7. Late Antique resist-dyeing technique Katrin Kania, Sabine Ringenberg, with contributions from Sabine Schrenk 8. The influence of metal kettle materials on the mordanting and dyeing outcome Katrin Kania, Heather Hopkins and Sabine Ringenberg 9. The supply of water to the dyeing workshops of Pompeii Heather Hopkins

La gaude (Reseda luteola L. ; en anglais : weld, en allemand : wau) a été une plante tinctoriale importante durant les périodes médiévale et Renaissance (Edelstein 1963 ; Legget 1944 ; Ploss 1962 ; Priest-Dorman 2001 ; Schweppe 1992 ; Wiethold 2006). Son usage pour teindre la soie en jaune – et, en combinaison avec le pastel obtenu à partir de la guède, aussi en vert – est bien documenté par les textes mais beaucoup plus rarement par l’archéologie et l’archéobotanique, de sorte que les détails relatifs à sa production et à son exploitation dans l’artisanat textile sont beaucoup moins connus. Le manque de témoignages archéobotaniques est dû à la quasi-absence de sédiments humides offrant des conditions de préservation adéquates dans beaucoup de sites médiévaux et modernes, en France et dans d’autres régions d’Europe centrale et occidentale.

In 1969 a female burial from the Early Roman Iron Age with exceptionally well preserved textiles was excavated in Lønne Hede in Southwest Jutland, Denmark. At the time, the find drew a great deal of attention and since then, the Lønne Hede Maiden and her blue and red dress have been copied and displayed in museums and textbooks as the female costume of the Scandinavian Iron Age. This article shows that the interpretation of both her costume and her hairstyle is debatable. In 1995 further excavations were carried out revealing a cemetery with both cremation graves from the Late Pre-Roman Iron Age and inhumation graves from the Early Iron Age, as well as an older settlement with long houses, a smithy, and votive deposits from the Early Pre-Roman Iron Age. The burials are not rich graves, with the Lønne Hede Maiden with her pieces of silver jewellery as the exception. However, the Lønne Hede site is remarkable due to the well preserved, boldly coloured textiles and the exceptional pres...

Evidence for blue dyed textiles becomes widespread in Europe during the first millennium BC. The dyestuff was likely dyer’s woad - Isatis tinctoria L. While archaeologists have done much to understand the dye process, archaeobotany and chemical analysis of woad dye, there remains a question as to how accessible blue colour textiles were at this time. Through asking the question “how many woad plants does it take to dye 1kg of wool yarn blue?”, the aim of this research is to investigate the accessibility or exclusivity of woad dyed blue textiles, in this period terms of the resources, knowledge and skills required to produce them.

While few archaeological finds remain concerning dress during the Iron Age of the Celtic Tribes in Europe, if we consider historical commentary, Celtic art, oral traditions and archaeological data together we can amass a generic idea what might have been available and worn by them. This broad approach to dress is not with out bias however and it must be noted that regional differences must have existed. The document tries to amass not just the generic view of dress but also emphasizes the issues of lack of evidence and culture and region differences that impact this information.

Sagas draw our attention to colour in clothes, and coloured clothing is also mentioned in poetry. From sagas and poetry, it would appear that coloured clothing is noteworthy in itself; it is usually blue, but red is more imposing, and most impressive of all is red scarlet. Undyed clothing is also mentioned, often as the dress of slaves, but it can be worn even by kings. White clothing appears to symbolise piety.

To what extent is this picture supported by archaeology? Finds from medieval Greenland suggest that dyed cloth might indeed have been a rarity in the saga age, but interestingly the picture changes slightly when we look back to Viking times. This would appear to point to increasing isolation of the Atlantic settlements in the second millennium. Nonetheless, dyes are best represented on the best cloths of Viking Scandinavia, such as fine tabbies, Birka-type twills and pile woven cloaks.

Chemical analysis of excavated Scandinavian textiles by Penelope Walton Rogers has confirmed a remarkable predilection for blue clothing among Vikings. Red clothing is limited to high status contexts. 'Red scarlet' refers to a type of luxury cloth that was unknown in the Viking Age; however, the dye that was used to produce it (kermes) has been found on Viking silks. White clothing appears to have been popular not only with the pious but with the ungodly too, though its religious significance was important from the Conversion. The archaeology of dyestuffs reflects a similar pattern to that of dyed clothing.

In the light of this, I argue that blue clothes occur in the sagas simply as best clothes, and the colour does not in itself have any special symbolic meaning when it is worn before a killing. I also consider how red clothes are used as a status marker in sagas and poetry.

As well as a general analysis, I look in more detail at some specific instances of coloured clothes in poetry, such as Atlakviða's 'serki valrauða ' (st. 4), Sigurðarkviða inn skamma's 'valaript vel fáð' (st. 66) and Rígsþula's 'serk bláfáan' (st. 29). I also consider literary and archaeological evidence for coloured clothes in other Viking-age societies, and find that the colour of Viking dress was distinctive, and was recognised as characteristically Scandinavian.

Abstract
Color was of great importance in ancient societies as a hierarchical symbol and means of differentiation between groups. Archaeological remains and written sources, especially some technical writings of the third and fourth centuries ce, provide evidence for ancient dyeing. They contain the most important recipes for the elaboration of the fashionable colors in Late Antiquity. The textile remains, colored or decorated with dyed wool from this period, are abundant in the Egyptian necropoleis and show us that the dyers were well acquainted with the art of dyeing. Likewise, the study of ancient workshops in important archaeological sites of the Roman period provides knowledge of the materials and instruments necessary for dyeing operations in antiquity.

Keywords: ancient history;color;dyeing;dyes;dyestuff;economic history;Hellenistic Period;Roman Empire

This study investigates the similarities between ancient polychrome painting and textile dyes with regard to the organic colourants used for the depiction of garments on Egyptian mummy portraits from the collections of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. The mummy portraits were analysed with two non-invasive photographic methods: UV-induced fluorescence photography (UVF) and visible-induced luminescence (VIL). The analysis demonstrates that shellfish purple was often imitated in textile dying as well as in painting by using madder and madder lake respectively. In textile dying, madder red was tinted bluish using indigo or woad. Madder lake is sometimes mixed with Egyptian blue in order to obtain the purple hue on the mummy portraits. However, in some cases it is unknown which blue pigment was used to create the purple colour. Yet, other studies have confirmed that indigo, derived from the indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria), was often employed in such portraits. Therefore, in instances where there is no or only little evidence of Egyptian blue in the purple colour, indigo may have been used instead in the mixtures of textile dyes. The present examination has identified an overlap in the raw materials used for colouring textiles and for paint in antiquity. In some instances, the corresponding pigment was used for depicting garments, in this case madder lake for rendering madder-dyed textiles. These results contribute important knowledge concerning how colours were depicted and the significance of whether pigments derived from the same source as dyes, and towards a deeper understanding of the craftsmen’s traditions.

Leather, felt and textiles which have survived in Scythian burials from southern Ukraine provide a rich source of information about the materials and techniques used by the Scythians for the construction of their clothing and other practical objects. Furthermore, traces of pigment indicate that these items were colourful, providing information that cannot be gained from representational artwork. This paper presents preliminary results of the analysis of a selection of textile and leather fragments preserved in Scythian burials across southern Ukraine. The results are placed in the wider context of European and Eurasian textile and dye cultures of the 1st millennium BC.

This volume gathers the contributions of the 6th Purpureae Vestes
International Symposium, which took place in Padova-Este-Altino, Veneto,
Italy in October 2016. The topic, Textiles and Dyes in the Mediterranean
economy and society, focused on the role of textile production and dyeing
as economic activities of the various ancient cultures of the Mediterranean
area, highlighting conservatisms and innovations in the various
Mediterranean textile traditions and customs. An important impetus for
this has been provided by the recent advances in textile studies and the
numerous scientific projects that are using textile evidence to understand
wider economic developments of ancient Mediterranean societies. The 53
articles collected in this volume follow a chronological (from the Bronze
Age to the High Middle Ages) and geographical (from East to West and
from Italy to the provinces) order. The last section deals with broader
aspects that transgress chronological or geographical boundaries.

This paper aims to offer a a broad view of trade
in painters’ materials in the Spanish peninsula
in the sixteenth century, from their production
to their import and export. Factors such as their
being documented in archival sources or their
availability are also considered in establishing
their multiple relationships in the contextual
framework of growing globalization. Although
they constituted uncategorized products in a
very heterogeneous market, they have been
grouped in pigments and colorants. Generally,
their main uses had nothing to do with painting;
some of them were would have fallen under
the definition of dyes, others were used as
medicines, and yet others were basic products
for the glass and ceramic industries. This paper
explores the presence and role of many of those
substances in the development of Renaissance
painting

Presentamos en este trabajo los resultados de una intervención arqueológica realizada el año 2007 en el yacimiento de la c/ Luís Milena de San Fernando (provincia de Cádiz, Andalucía, España), que permitió la documentación de una fosa/conchero con millares de desechos malacológicos. La presencia mayoritaria de murícidos (Hexaplex trunculus y Thais haemastoma) así como la detección de un constante patrón de fractura de las conchas, por machacado, apunta a que nos encontramos ante los restos del área de vertedero de un taller de púrpura. El detallado análisis de todas las evidencias aparecidas permite valorar que se trata de una fosa colmatada con residuos heterogéneos, vinculados también con otras actividades haliéuticas –pesca e ¿industria conservera?- y con la alfarería. Se incluye una caracterización arqueozoológica de la fauna marina, así como el análisis de residuos orgánicos documentados en dos fragmentos cerámicos pertenecientes al depósito. La datación de estos vertidos puede situarse hacia finales del s. III a.C. (en torno al 200 a.C. circa), lo que convierte a este yacimiento en el taller de púrpura bien caracterizado arqueológicamente más antiguo de los conocidos hasta la fecha en el área del Círculo del Estrecho.

This research work is based at Botanical exploration and studies of native dyeing plants of Ibiza Island. These dyeing plants form part of the current Ibiza flora of the environments of Pou des Lleo’s workshop purple dye and Es Figueral’s archaeo- logical sites. Despite earthworks and new parcelling on the coastal plain a large number of dyes plants, as in the surrounding forests in the studied areas, were detected. Ibiza Island was very important as a manufacturing centre of purple dye in Roman times. We want to know the dyeing plants present today in the island, useful for dyeing and mordanting wool, as such cited by the classical authors. The wide variety of potential dyeing plants could not go unnoticed by the inhabitants of the island or its colonizers: Phoenicians and Roman. We would like demonstrating that colonizers possibly could exploit these resources for dye their clothes of habitual use or in order to imitate the precious colour the Hexaples trunculus L., Bolinus brandaris L., and Pur- pura haemastoma L., dyes extracted. Purple dyes produced in the workshops of the island, monopolies of the Roman State.
Keywords: dyes plants, natural dyes, mordant, fixative, purple dye, dyestuff.

This work concerns the study of colors and dyes identified on archaeological textiles from the Atacama Desert. The different garments and ornaments come from the excavation of two important pre-Columbian cemeteries of the Tarapacá region: Tarapacá-40 attributed to the Formative period (1100 BC-660 AD) and Pica-8 to the Late Intermediate period (900-1450 AD). For the first time, a multi-analytical approach with non-invasive techniques using FORS and SERS was applied on samples of less than 2 cm of length for physicochemical characterization of the raw materials and the dyes employed in the textile production of northern Chile. The fibers are from animal origin. Blue, green, and yellow are identified as indigo, but we cannot discard a mixture with other dyes to vary hue and shade; while carminic acid and alizarin-to a lesser extent-are found on red, orange, and brown samples. This research provides new elements for the discussion about the textile technology developed in this desertic region, its changes, and continuities along the history. Our results are compared to recent findings on neighboring regions from South-Central Andes, to improve the current knowledge and discuss the existence of dyeing textile cultural traditions.

summAry: Fabrics such as byssus and crimson wool can provide us with a surprisingly large amount of information about the circumstances of Biblical books origin. Analysis of lexis related to mentioned textiles, present in Exodus and in Chronicles, allows to notice a meaningful change, occurring in technical biblical terminology. In Exodus, byssus is represented by ‫ׁש‬ ֵ ‫ׁש‬ and crimson – by ‫ִי‬ ‫נ‬ ָ ‫ׁש‬ ‫ַת‬ ‫ַע‬ ‫,ּתֹול‬ whilst in Chronicles naming is changed respectively to ‫ּבּוץ‬ and ‫יל‬ ִ ‫מ‬ ְ‫ַר‬ ‫.ּכ‬ Analysis of etymology leads to the conclusion, that textiles mentioned in Torah belong to an early vocabulary, created in the times before the exile, in Chronicles, on the other hand, encountered terms belong to period of Babylonian captivity or after the exile. Confrontation of these textiles with the other, non-biblical sources, provides a confirmation of proposed dating and facilitates identification of mysterious biblical byssus, which turns out to be a very thin linen and not – as sometimes confused – sea silk. Juxtaposition of the Greek equivalents allows to draw a conclusion, that terminology of both Torah and Chronicles was known to the LXX translators, who – despite a clear caesura – translate terms consequently: ‫ׁש‬ ֵ ‫ׁש‬ and ‫ּבּוץ‬ to βύσσος/βύσσινος, and ‫ִי‬ ‫נ‬ ָ ‫ׁש‬ ‫ַת‬ ‫ַע‬ ‫ּתֹול‬ and ‫יל‬ ִ ‫מ‬ ְ‫ַר‬ ‫ּכ‬ to κόκκινος. T he research on the Biblical material culture constitutes mainly the archeological domain. The Biblicists reach for it readily in order to come to conclusions as regards the text. What is of a popular interest here is mainly sculpture, glyptic, writing culture and architecture. It is rare for the research to focus on the more prosaic elements of everyday life, such as wine, food or textile production. As far as the last case goes, the most numerous are the studies regarding purple. It is one of many fabrics (we are considering here not the color but the wool dyed

El tejido antiguo, desde el período creto-micénico al Bajo Imperio romano, alcanzó unos niveles técnicos nunca igualados en tiempos posteriores. Los hilos confeccionados con delicadísimas fibras de lana o seda salvaje (y pronto de seda cultivada venida del oriente) a los que se unían los increíblemente finos hilos de oro (con o sin alma de ese tipo de fibras) eran el signo identificador de la riqueza y el poder de la reducida alta clase social homérica y posteriormente greco-romana.
Las clases emergentes del periodo imperial romano pretendieron acercarse externamente a la estética propia de la aristocracia y, al mismo tiempo, a diferenciarse de la plebe. El deseo entre los advenedizos de emular lo que no eran fue tan grande que las imitaciones de materias de lujo llegaron a convertirse en una práctica común en ese período, lo que promovió las prohibiciones de ciertos materiales. Pero, pese a ello, tintes como el obtenido de la púrpura marina (la renombrada purpura de Tiro) se imitaron en Mesopotamia, Grecia y Egipto durante el período helenístico y romano, alcanzando el fenómeno cotas elevadísimas en época imperial romana. Asimismo, los finos hilos de oro de 20-24 quilates utilizados por la aristocracia a precios exorbitantes se fabricaban con materiales de menor valía. Las fibras eran teñidas en color amarillo o eran recubiertas con metales dorados (incluso fabricados con fina piel dorada) para imitar el oro.
La presente monografía analiza críticamente los papiros y tratados alquímicos del Egipto romano que prescriben cómo hacer estos falsos tintes y sucedáneos de los hilos de oro. Los resultados eran técnicamente tan buenos que las multas y sanciones legales a las que se enfrentaban los artesanos y comerciantes de estas falsificaciones eran muy altas cuando pretendían hacer pasar sus productos por lo que no eran.

Organic colorants contained in 30 textiles (16th toearly 20th century) from the monastery of Simonos Petra(Mount Athos) have been investigated using high- performance liquid chromatography equipped with diode-array detection and mass spectrometry (HPLC–DAD–MS).The components of natural dyes identified in samples treated by the standard HCl dyestuff extraction method were: alizarin, apigenin, butein, carminicacid, chrysoeriol, dcII, dcIV, dcVII, ellagic acid, emodin, fisetin, flavokermesic acid, fustin, genistein, haematein derivative (Hae′), indigotin, indirubin,isoliquiritigenin, isorhamnetin, kaempferide, kaempferol,kermesic acid, luteolin, naringenin, purpurin, quercetin,rhamnazin, rhamnetin, sulfuretin, and type B and type Ccompounds (last two are markers for Caesalpinia trees).Early, semi-synthetic dyes, for example indigo carmine,fuchsin components, and rhodamine B were identified inobjects dated late 19th to early 20th century. A dyestuff extraction method which involves use of TFA, instead of HCl, was applied to selected historical samples, showingthat the mild method enables efficient extraction of weld( Reseda luteola L.) and dyer’s broom (Genista tinctoria L.) glycosides. The marker compound (Hae′) for logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum L.) identification after treatment with HCl was investigated by liquid chromatog-raphy coupled to mass spectrometry (LC–MS) in negativeelectrospray ionization (LC–MS-ESI−) mode. LC–MS innegative atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (LC–MS-APCI−) mode was used, probably for the first time, toinvestigate cochineal (Dactylopius coccus Costa) samples. Positive electrospray ionization (LC–MS-ESI+) modewas used for identification of fuchsin components.Detailed HPLC–DAD studies were performed on youngfustic (Cotinus coggygria Scop.) and Persian berries (Rhamnus trees).

In 1969 a female burial from the Early Roman Iron Age with exceptionally well preserved textiles was excavated in Lønne Hede in Southwest Jutland, Denmark. At the time, the find drew a great deal of attention and since then, the Lønne Hede Maiden and her blue and red dress have been copied and displayed in museums and textbooks as the female costume of the Scandinavian Iron Age. This article shows that the interpretation of both her costume and her hairstyle is debatable. In 1995 further excavations were carried out revealing a cemetery with both cremation graves from the Late Pre-Roman Iron Age and inhumation graves from the Early Iron Age, as well as an older settlement with long houses, a smithy, and votive deposits from the Early Pre-Roman Iron Age. The burials are not rich graves, with the Lønne Hede Maiden with her pieces of silver jewellery as the exception. However, the Lønne Hede site is remarkable due to the well preserved, boldly coloured textiles and the exceptional pres...

Background: Every heirloom textile is a unique puzzle that needs to be carefully unfolded taking into consideration the factors of age, fibre, constructional parameters etc. Dyes and finishes are one such important constructional parameter that impact not just the aesthetics of the piece of textile but also impact the longevity of the textile. While there is some research available on the impact of metal ions in black dyes and starches in ancient cotton fabrics, museum professionals, heritage conservators & textile engineers would hugely benefit with a systematically generated laboratory data about the specific impact of dye and finish molecules on performance parameters of aged textiles like tensile strength, abrasion resistance, flexibility and colour change. While this data can help professionals take informed decisions about care, storage and exhibition of heritage textiles, it can also form basis of further research in development of processes and instrumentation for advancement in the discipline of textile conservation.
Methods: This study has been conducted on simulated fabric samples in medium thread count cotton fabric, treated with 3 vegetable dyes and one stiffening finish. Standardised test procedures have been used to tabulate scientific data about the deterioration pattern on fabric samples pre and post accelerated ageing.
Results & Conclusion: The data generated by these experiments provides clear trends on specific impact of different auxiliary molecules present on fabrics. Palash dyed samples exhibit minimum impact on strength & performance of fabric - pre & post ageing, while samples dyed in Manjishtha, Indigo and treated with Starch exhibit higher levels of deterioration. Samples dyed with Manjishtha & finished with starch exhibit reduced capacity to handle stress-strain & abrasions. While Indigo dyed samples show sensitivity to abrasion and color change, not impacting tensile strength significantly. Thus, it can be safely concluded that dye and starch molecules have profound impact on the ageing chemistry of textiles. The data & inferences generated in these experiments can find application in development of new-age instrumentation for care & upkeep of heritage textiles.

En la zona ístmica de la Ciudad Autónoma de Ceuta se realizó una actividad arqueológica preventiva en el año 2006 que deparó una interesante secuencia de época romana, tardorromana, medieval y moderna. Los restos de época preislámica se vinculan con contextos relacionados con el procesado de los recursos marinos, si tenemos en cuenta tanto la localización del área intervenida en las inmediaciones de las cetariae salazoneras de esta localidad norteafricana como la presencia de multitud de restos de ictiofauna, de malacofauna y de instrumental de pesca (anzuelos) en los contextos excavados, fechados entre el s. III y el V d.C.

En uno de los niveles deposicionales tardorromanos más modernos de la secuencia (UE 4018), fechado en el último cuarto del s. V d.C. (475-500) gracias al material de importación recuperado se documentó una descarga de un centenar de murícidos con síntomas evidentes de constituir desechos de un taller de producción de púrpura, como se deduce del patrón de fracturación por machacado y de la termoalteración que presentan los Hexaplex trunculus (frente a la total ausencia de restos de termoalteración entre los restantes taxones malacológicos identificados). Estos restos constituyen las primeras evidencias de producción de púrpura en la ciudad norteafricana de Septem, y se interpretan como desechos de las actividades pesquero-conserveras realizadas en este enclave costero de la orilla meridional del estrecho de Gibraltar, en el cual se han documentado asimismo evidencias de la explotación de cetáceos, precisamente en la misma unidad estratigráfica en la cual se ha identificado el conchero que se presenta por primera vez en esta reunión científica. Resulta interesante la vinculación de la actividad pesquero-conservera y la producción de púrpura, dinámica que también ha sido documentada en otros talleres purpurígenos como en el cercano de Metrouna (desembocadura del río Martil en el Norte de Marruecos).

Abstract: Studying the present-day uses of vegetable dyes in Mali may lead us to a better understanding of West African history through its textiles. Three main traditions using plants for dyeing textiles can be described: bogolan of the Malinke, indigo among the Soninke, and Fulani dyeing techniques on wool. A comparison of those dyes with the colorants of the archaeological textiles from Tellem funeral caves has been done, to help the identification of ancient dyestuffs.

Describes a new technique for the analysis of natural dyes on textile fibers. The use of m-(trifluoromethyl)-phenyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (TMTFTH) extraction and derivatization, followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), has proven to be a simple and fast technique for the analysis of indigo dye on textiles. Not only does the procedure allow for the identification of the main dye component, indigotin, but it also provides information on the degradation of indigo on textiles, a topic that has received limited attention in conservation literature. This article discusses compounds formed through the reactions of TMTFTH with indigotin and the main degradation products of indigo, 2-aminobenzoic acid, isatin, and isatoic anhydride. In addition, a new degradation product has been tentatively identified as 2-benzyl-3-indolinone. The occurrence of these degradation products was investigated in samples obtained from an Indian textile from the Sultanate period (13th-15th centuries) belonging to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, woven, in large part, from indigo-dyed blue silk fibers. During a period of storage, pale yellow discolorations gradually appeared on tissue paper used to wrap the textile. Analysis of the tissue paper determined an abundance of indigo degradation products, in particular anthranilic acid (2-aminobenzoic acid). These compounds formed on the textile fibers through oxidative degradation and subsequently volatilized to the surface of the paper and also to the neighboring fibers.

Foreword, Michael Herdick Introduction, Heather Hopkins and Katrin Kania 1. On the terminology of non-woven textile structures and techniques, and why it matters Ruth Gilbert 2. A new notation system for nålbinding stitches Harma Piening 3. Lost weaving tablets: Identifying weaving tablets during excavation Heather Hopkins 4. Romans, intimately. New thoughts on reconstruction and purpose of use of Roman Empire and Late Antiquity ‘tanga briefs’ Julia B. Krug-Ochmann 5. Linen sprang from Lengberg Castle Beatrix Nutz 6. Early Byzantine embroidery techniques and an unusual tunic in the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz Petra Linscheid 7. Late Antique resist-dyeing technique Katrin Kania, Sabine Ringenberg, with contributions from Sabine Schrenk 8. The influence of metal kettle materials on the mordanting and dyeing outcome Katrin Kania, Heather Hopkins and Sabine Ringenberg 9. The supply of water to the dyeing workshops of Pompeii Heather Hopkins

The textiles in the Old Testament do not belong to the subjects authors often mention willingly. The only storyline in which play an important role, are the descriptions of tabernacle in the desert, which was to be built according to the model provided to the Hebrew by JHWH himself. The Book of Exodus, however is an exception, because the frequency of textile terminology in other books of the Old Testament is small, but still of didactic nature. Despite its subplot, textile vocabulary is a source of extremely valuable information on the evolution of the language and the environment of the Bible, which tells us a lot about the times in which the author/editor/translator of the Bible text lived. The overriding aim of the dissertation submitted was to extract on the basis of the vocabulary describing the textile (fabric and fiber) information on the dependence of two versions of the Bible, which up till the 1st century A.D. enjoyed equally great authority - Hebrew and Septuagint (LXX). In case of the former one in the analyses the Masoretic Text was taken, the wording of which was established around 10th century A.D.  and which has the opinion of the oldest, not to say the only correct version of the Hebrew Bible.
The research proceeded at many stages. First, in order to gain the most appropriate reference point, an outline of the history of fabrics in the ancient Middle East and Egypt has been created. Each of them was discussed separately: wool, linen, byssus, silk, cotton and multicolor fabric. It became possible not only to note the fact that not all fabrics and fibers enjoyed as great popularity in each of the areas called: the situation was quite different in Egypt, where until Hellenistic times flax was the most popular raw material and different in Mesopotamia where wool was the most popular. Also, the fabric called "byssus" was identified, which in reality has nothing to do with the marine byssus, and is only a high quality linen. It was proved that the Chinese silk in times of the formation of the Bible was not known in Palestine, and cotton, although present from the 8th century B.C. in Mesopotamia existed only in the language and came into existence in Palestine in fact only in the Christian era. A few comments were made on multicolor fibers and their sources of procurement, which in the biblical text are distinguished by the largest frequency among the whole collection of biblical textiles.
At the next stage of research the whole terminology found in biblical texts have been collected, both in Hebrew Bible and Septuagint. A whole series of lists have been created, in which Hebrew terms were presented with their Greek equivalents and a reference to a specific location in the books of the Bible. On the occasion of creating the lists the etymology of each term individually was described, and then each of them was discussed in the literary context. The research of etymology made it possible, firstly, to pick the origin of words, and in some cases, reconstruct the road each of the terms travelled before it finally came into existence in Hebrew and Greek; secondly, differences between individual collections of books, in which the naming of the same fabric or fiber was sometimes subject to substantial modifications or complete changes. The list of both versions of the text revealed a great number of discrepancies between Masoretic Text and Septuagint which were a source of questions about the nature of Septuagint and translation strategies peeled by Greek translators.
At the following stage a statistical list of each of fabric and fiber terms has been created - first the Hebrew and then the Greek one. Lists the terminology derived from the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint let us perceive significant disparities - above all differences in the number of equivalents for each of the fabrics and fibers. In the Hebrew Bible 20 different words have been found, and in the Septuagint – about 35 terms. These observations have led to the unavoidable confrontation with the question about the source of differences in textile terminology  between the two versions of the Old Testament. That is why the research was based on the methodology of Eugene Nida, who  is the creator of the theory of formal and dynamic equivalence. Nida`s valuable comments allowed divide the terms and their contexts according to the kind of equivalence between the original text (which in this case was the Hebrew text) and translation (i.e. Septuagint). For these concepts and texts, which have not been possible to explain with translator`s strategy, we argued for a Hebrew text version different from the Masoretic Text version, which a translator made use of - called in the literature the subject Vorlage.
The analysis of the language of textiles - more specifically etymological approach – and tracing the road concepts were passing to the Hebrew language with a simultaneous confrontation of vocabulary with the history of the Jews and the development of textile market - has allowed to draw several conclusions as to the dating of biblical books. The point in question is Book of Exodus, Book of Ezekiel, Esther and Chronicles. For the first of the books terminus post quem in times of Babylonian captivity has been set; Ezekiel was considered to be the work in the times after exile, shortly after the edict of Cyrus; Book of Esther and Chronicles has been dated in the 5th century A.D at earliest
Thanks to research carried out in the thesis it was possible to extract all the terms, which can be referred to fabrics and fibers, test them etymologically and statistically; observe changes between Masoretic Test and Septuagint to finally indicate the texts, which changed because of the translator and those which differed significantly from the Masoretic Text. Some hints for dating the books have also been formulated. That is why all the objectives set at the beginning of research have been achieved.