EuroWeb, in collaboration with the Ecole française d’Athènes, the University of Florence and the INSTAP SCEC, is organising a one-week training school on hands-on approach to textile tools. The objective of the course is to familiarise trainees with the textile technology and, specifically, with the functionality of textile tools. The abundant archaeological evidence for textile production from the Bronze Age site of Malia on Crete is our case study. The training school offers short introductory lectures, hands-on learning, and experimental/experiential activities. The trainees will study and recreate Minoan textile tools, and will learn to spin and weave using them and how to document them.

Malia TS short programme

Making, Wearing, Displaying: Textiles and the Body in Pre-Modern Societies

Lisbon (PT), 3-5 May 2023

Organizing Committee:

Francisco B. Gomes (PT), Audrey Gouy (FR), Elsa Yvanez (DK), Magdalena Wozniak (PL), Catarina Costeira (PT) & Louise Quillien (FR)

* * *

Recent archaeological and historical research has come to highlight a point that anthropological and ethnographic narratives have already long recognized: that bodies play a crucial role in the construction, display and negotiation of social, cultural, and individual identities. Theories of embodiment – a term that has become a true buzzword across the Social Sciences and the Humanities – have made substantial headway in these research fields, refocusing our understanding of past human experiences.

New interpretative frameworks have in fact arisen which depart from previous idealist frames of reference to ground those experiences on the materiality of the human body and the specificities of its engagement with the world around it. Embodied experience, practice and the role of the senses have come to the fore as cutting-edge topics of analysis, shedding new light on the role of the body as an identity locus and an arena for the negotiation of both social belonging and specific senses of the self.

Few components of the material world of past communities had a more intimate relationship with the body than textiles. Their very production reflects a set of defined gestures full of cultural meaning. Worn as garments, they protected and sheltered the body against the elements. As intricate elements, they also inspired people in the development of visual codes through which to project specific social and cultural messages, signalling either belonging or distinction.

They concealed and revealed, smoothed or enhanced, shaped and constrained, mapping onto the body a range of social and cultural meanings, norms and habits, which were at the core of individual socialization and collective culture-making. The way they were fashioned – for rest or movement, to enhance certain actions and bodily attributes and conceal others, to differentiate or homogenize – had tremendous cultural significance, shaping the socially conventional techniques of the body (sensu Mauss) individuals were expected to master. In this sense, they contributed to the creation of specific regimes of embodiment, while becoming a true social skin (sensu Turner) which acted as an interface between the self and society.

* * *

The International EuroWeb Workshop Making, Wearing, Displaying: Textiles and the Body in Pre-Modern Societies aims at exploring diverse bodily experiences of textiles and their socio-cultural significance through an interdisciplinary lens. We wish to bring together historical, archaeological, anthropological and bioanthropological perspectives to explore common topics of interest and the shared theoretical and methodological tools that can be deployed in present and future research on the relationship between textiles and the body.

In doing so, and based on the newest research and latest discoveries, the workshop aims at covering this topic in as broad a sense as possible, and will therefore be structured along four major thematic axes:

1. Thinking about the Body: Theoretical Tools from the Social Sciences, the Humanities, and Beyond

2. The Making Body: Capturing the Gestures of Craftspeople

3. Wearing Textiles: Insights from Archaeology, Iconography and Written Sources

4. Textiles in Motion: The Dressed Body in Movement

For each of these thematic axes, a panel of invited speakers will discuss specific topics and lines of research, introducing participants to current theoretical and methodological concepts and debates, and offering thought-provoking case studies aimed at fuelling a collective debate and reflection. The programme will also include practical sessions and visits to Museum exhibits relating to the topic of the workshop, to be announced soon.

Call for Papers:

The Organizing Committee is keen to open this debate to other voices, topics, and case studies, and is therefore happy to invite proposals for short presentations (c. 15 minutes) related to the workshop’s thematic scope. Prospective participants can approach the topic of the relationship between textiles and the body in pre-modern societies from any perspective – historical, archaeological, anthropological, or other – but interdisciplinary approaches are especially welcome, as are presentations with a well-developed conceptual framework.

Proposals for short presentations at the workshop can be submitted by filling the form available here until the 31st of January 2023. The costs incurred by EuroWeb members selected to attend this workshop may be covered by the Action in accordance with COST reimbursement rules. Any questions about this call and the workshop in general can be sent by email to Francisco B. Gomes (franciscojbgomes@gmail.com).

Organization:

“Archaeology and Archaeometry of Ancient Textiles: Analytical methods, conservation, and dissemination in textile research”
Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità – Sapienza University of Rome

9th -10th of June 2022

Aula di Archeologia, Museo dell’Arte Classica, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia

For online participation via ZOOM, please register here:
https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view.php?id=12586393

In recent years, the Department of Scienze dell’Antichità at the Sapienza University has carried out two main projects on Textile Archaeology: “Textile Culture at Pompeii” and “A3Tex. Archaeology and Archaeometry of Ancient Textiles. Continuity and Transformations of textile technologies in the Ancient and Post-Antique Mediterranean” (Sapienza Awards 2018) directed by Marco Galli. The research activities have been fueled by fruitful transdisciplinary cooperation with the Sapienza Departments of Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Biology, and SARAS, and, last but not least, with many other national and international Research Institutions, including the Directorate of Conservation at the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, ISPC-CNR (Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio Culturale) and INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), making the Sapienza A3Tex-Project a cutting-edge laboratory in the field of textile research.

The A3Tex INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP aims to present not only the ongoing projects carried out by Sapienza in textile studies but also to bring together scholars and researchers who are deeply involved in investigating archaeological textiles. The workshop seeks to provide a space for discussion of methodological approaches to, and future perspectives on, textile manufacturing in antiquity, as well as on diagnostic, first-aid conservation of textile and related materials.

The meeting will be held in a hybrid form, offering the opportunity to take part in person and to connect virtually with other meeting attendees. It will be possible to follow the event on YouTube live streaming.

With the aim of sharing the results of ongoing research, methodological approaches, and important case studies capable of underlining interdisciplinarity and innovation in textile research, the workshop will take place over two consecutive days with presentations from invited speakers on the following topics:

1. Value and potential of the study of textiles in the scholarly field of archaeology;
2. Excavation, recovery, and documentation of archaeological textile finds;
3. Microscopy techniques applied to the study of textile surfaces and fibers;
4. Archaeometric and diagnostic methods/techniques for the analysis of organic fabrics, fibers, and dyes;
5. Investigation of the state of conservation and restoration of archaeological fabrics;
6. Analysis of golden fabrics and threads;
7. Dissemination and exhibition of ancient textiles.

Interdisciplinarity is highly recommended; archaeologists specializing in different chronological periods, conservators, and material science specialists are invited to present data from their research.

The organizers,
Francesca Coletti, Marco Galli – Sapienza University of Rome
in partnership with
Christina Margariti, Sapienza Distinguished Visiting Scholar 2022 (Directorate of Conservation of Ancient and Modern Monuments, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports)
EuroWeb Europe through Textiles (CA 19131), organisation of online activities: Hana Lukesova, University of Bergen – Francisco Gomes UNIARQ, University of Lisbon.

For online participation via ZOOM, please register here:
https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view.php?id=12586393

PROGRAMME:

Thursday, June 9 – Day 1
h. 13:00 – 19:00

1st Section
h. 13:00 – 15:40

13:00 – 13:45 Welcome Coffee time
Sala di Pergamo, Museo dell’Arte Classica, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia

13:45 – 13:55: Aula di Archeologia, Museo dell’Arte Classica.
Welcome/Opening Remarks and Workshop Overview
Marco Galli – Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Sapienza University of Rome.

Chairperson: Marco Galli

13:55 – 14:15
Textile Archaeology and Archaeometry at Sapienza: ongoing research and future perspectives
Marco Galli – Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Sapienza University of Rome.
Francesca Coletti – Dipartimento di Storia Antropologia Religioni Arte Spettacolo (SARAS), Sapienza University of Rome.

14:15 – 14:35
Experimental archaeology and use-wear analysis in textile research: an overview of the investigations at LTFAPA Laboratory (Sapienza University)
Cristina Lemorini – Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Sapienza, Director of the Laboratory of Technological and Functional Analyses of Prehistoric Artefacts (LTFAPA), Rome.
Vanessa Forte – Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali: Archeologia Storia dell’Arte del Cinema e della Musica, University of Padua.

14:35 – 14:55
Scientific approaches applied to ancient textiles: research and analytics carried out by the Chemistry and Physics Departments of Sapienza
Alessandro Ciccola, Ilaria Serafini, Roberta Curini – Dipartimento di Chimica, Sapienza.
Alessandro Nucara, Paolo Postorino – Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza.
Francesca Coletti – Dipartimento SARAS, Sapienza.

14:55 – 15:15
Classical textiles from Attica: a collaboration project for the study, analysis, conservation, and display of archaeological textiles
Christina Margariti – Head of the Applied Research Department, Directorate of Conservation of Ancient and Modern Monuments, Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Athens.
Stella Spantidaki – Director ARTEX, Hellenic Centre for Research and Conservation of Archaeological Textiles, Athens.
Marco Galli – Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Sapienza.
Francesca Coletti – Dipartimento SARAS, Sapienza.

15:15 – 15:40: Discussion and Coffee Break

Short Presentation Session

2nd Section
h. 15:40 – 17:30

Chairperson: Christina Margariti

15:40 – 15:50
Identification of the protein components of animal-based metal threads by proteomics
Cristina Scibè – Art and Heritage Program at the University of Seville.
Caroline Solazzo – Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute, Suitland.
Kira Eng-Wilmot – Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, New York City.

15:50 – 16:00
Strontium isotope composition as a provenance indicator for Nabataean cotton textiles from Hegra
Saskia E. Ryan – Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE, UMR 7209), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Paris. Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, UMR CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Paris.
Eric Douville, Arnaud Dapoigny – Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, UMR CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay.
Matthieu Lebon – Histoire naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP, UMR 7194), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Musée de l’Homme, Paris.
Patricia Dal Prà – Institut National du Patrimoine, Aubervilliers.
Laïla Nehmé – Orient & Méditerranée (UMR 8167), CNRS, Ivry sur Seine.

16:00 – 16:10
Well-travelled silks? Challenges in analysing the burial textiles of St Paulinus from Trier (†358)
Viola Costanza, Johanna Gerling, Sarah Harder, Anastasia Zitzer – CICS – Cologne Institute of Conservation Sciences, Technische Hochschule Köln, Cologne.

16:10 – 16:20
The Conservation of Archaeological Textiles: Limits and Critical Issues
Cinzia Oliva – Conservazione e Restauro dei Beni Culturali – SUSCOR, University of Turin.

16:20 – 16:30
Fragments of archaeological textiles from excavations at Palmyra, Syria: analytical techniques in examining their state of preservation for display
Natalia Kallitsi – George Oikonomou Collection, Athens.
Stavroula Rapti – Department of Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art, University of West Attica.

16:30 – 16:40
Imaging and analytical techniques to document, preserve, and analyze archaeological textiles collection and remains of king Tutankhamun
Islam Shahin – Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza.

16:40 – 16:50
L’intervento di recupero conservativo di un tessuto copto annodato e a “doppia faccia”: soluzioni per il consolidamento e per l’esposizione
Roberta Genta – Coordinatore Laboratorio Restauro Arazzi e Tessuti, Centro Conservazione e Restauro “La Venaria Reale”, Turin.
Anna Piccirillo – Laboratori Scientifici del Centro Conservazione e Restauro “La Venaria Reale”, Turin.

16:50 – 17:10 Discussion

17:10 – 17:30: Coffee Break

3rd Section
h. 17:30 – 19.00

Chairperson: Maria Stella Busana

17:30 – 17:40
Early Neolithic fibre-based objects in Cueva De Los Murciélagos (Albuñol, Granada). Raw Material selection and processing
Maria Herrero-Otal – Departament de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Ingrid Bertin – Departament de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Anna Homs – Independent researcher.
Raquel Piqué Huerta – Departament de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Francisco Martínez-Sevilla – Departamento de Historia y Filosofía, Universitat de Alcalá.

17:40 – 17:50
New evidence for textile production in Western Sicily: Motya
Nina Ferrante – Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Sapienza.

17:50 – 18:00
Loom weights in the Ager Faliscus. Preliminary studies on Iron Age textile production in Falerii, Narce, Corchiano, and Vignanello
Federico di Salvo – Sapienza University of Rome.

18:00 – 18:10
(Re)discovering the textiles from the Roman ships of Nemi: preliminary observations
Francesca Coletti – Dipartimento SARAS, Sapienza.
Margarita Gleba – Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali: Archeologia Storia dell’Arte del Cinema e della Musica, University of Padua.
Daniela De Angelis – Museo delle Navi Romane di Nemi, Nemi.

18:10 – 19:00 Discussion

Friday, June 10 – Day 2
9:30 – 17:30
1st Section
9:30 – 13.10

Aula di Archeologia, Museo dell’Arte Classica, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia

Chairperson: Francesca Coletti

9:30 – 9:50
Textile cultures of Mediterranean Europe 1000-500 BCE: archaeological evidence
Margarita Gleba – Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali: Archeologia, Storia dell’Arte del Cinema e della Musica, University of Padua.

9:50 – 10:10
Textile in the Roman Venetia: the study of textile production throughout the investigation of textiles tools
Maria Stella Busana, Anna Rosa Tricomi – Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali: Archeologia, Storia dell’Arte del Cinema e della Musica, University of Padua.

10:10 – 10:30
The origins, domestications, diffusions of cotton cultivation and products in the Old World
Charlène Bouchaud – CNRS, UMR 7209 – Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique. Sociétés, Pratiques, Environnements CNRS/MNHN CP56, Paris.

10:30 – 10:50
The potential of textile traces: a multi-analytical approach to mineralised textiles and gold threads
Nicole Reifarth – CICS – Cologne Institute of Conservation Sciences, Technische Hochschule Köln, Cologne.

10:50 – 11:10 Discussion

11:10 – 11:30: Coffee break

Chairperson: Margarita Gleba

11:30 – 11:50
Characterizing historical textiles and fibers with proteomics
Caroline Solazzo – Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute, Suitland.

11:50 – 12:10
New perspectives for the identification of dyes and protein in archaeological remains through high resolution mass spectrometric analyses
Ilaria Serafini – Department of Chemistry, Sapienza – Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute, Suitland.

12:10 – 12:30
The hunt for shellfish purple: diagnostic techniques and experimentations
Zvi C. Koren – Director, The Edelstein Center for the Analysis of Ancient Artifacts, Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art, Ramat-Gan.

12:30 – 12:50
The application of microscopy and micro-CT scan for the study of textiles and fibres
Sanna Lipkin – Department of History, Culture and Communications, University of Oulu.

12:50 – 13:10: Discussion

13.10 – 14:45: Buffet Lunch, Sala di Pergamo, Museo dell’Arte Classica.

2nd Section
h. 14:45 – 15:45

Chairperson: Cristina Lemorini

14:45 – 15:05
Diagnostic techniques in conservation and restoration, non-invasive or micro-invasive analytical protocols. Best strategies and approaches in textile conservation.
Christina Margariti – Head of the Applied Research Department, Directorate of Conservation of Ancient and Modern Monuments, Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Athens.

15:05 – 15:15
A World Without Textiles. Textile production of the Neolithic Communities in the western part of the Polish Lowland based on impressions on the pottery
Monika Kaczmarek – Archaeological Museum of the Middle Odra River Area, University of Zielona Góra.

15:15 – 15.25
Public (textile) archaeology. Sharing experiences with special target audience
Romina Laurito – Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, Roma.
Sonia Tucci, Massimo Masussi – Associazione Culturale Paleoes – eXperimentalTech ArcheoDrome.

15:25 – 15:45
Interdisciplinary research and dissemination concepts. Case study: Clothing remains between 2000 BCE and 1000 CE
Karina Grömer – Head of the Department of Prehistory, Natur-historisches Museum Wien, Vienna.

15:45- 16:15: Discussion and Coffee Break

Short Presentation Session
3rd Section
h. 16.15 – 17:30

Chairpersons: Francesca Coletti, Marco Galli

16:15 – 16:25
Echoes of Textiles in Ancient Mosaic Production
Max Victor David – Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Sapienza.

16:25 – 16:35
Textiles and Painting in Early Islamic Iraq
Michelina Di Cesare – Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Sapienza.

16:35 – 16:45
Shellfish purple dye: contemporary practices and archaeological evidence in Central and South America
Camilla Fratini – Dipartimento SARAS, Sapienza.

16:45 – 16:55
Hybrid materiality: a feathered textile from Mesoamerica
Valeria Bellomia – Dipartimento SARAS, Sapienza.

16:55 – 17:30
Final discussion and closing remarks

The workshop presentation can be downloaded HERE.

The full programme is available for download HERE.

The workshop will take place online between the 12^th of October and the 16^th of November; the full schedule and the links for registration in which session is as follows:

Tuesday, 12^th of October

“Identifying archaeological fibres with optical and electron microscopy: Pitfalls and challenges”

Professor Bodil Holst (Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen) – NORWAY

Registration: https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view.php?id=11192259

Tuesday, 19^th of October

“Potentials and limits of synchrotron-based characterisation of archaeological textiles”

Dr Loïc Bertrand, PPSM (ENS Paris-Saclay, CNRS, and Université Paris-Saclay) – FRANCE

Registration: https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view.php?id=11414798

Tuesday, 26^th of October

“Proteomics, textiles and skins”

Dr Luise Ørsted Brandt (Københavns Universitet, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen) – DENMARK

Registration: https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view.php?id=11415544

Tuesday, 2^nd of November 2021

“Micro-CT and CT imaging of archaeological textiles”

Sanna Lipkin, Ville Karjalainen and Mikko Finnilä (University of Oulu) – FINLAND

Registration: https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view.php?id=11415788

Monday, 8^th of November 2021

“A new advanced technique for the characterization of dyes in ancient textiles: microspectrofluorimetry”

Maria João Melo, Paula Nabais (Department of Conservation and Restoration and LAQV-REQUIMTE, NOVA School of Science and Technology) – PORTUGAL

Registration: https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view.php?id=11416745

Tuesday, 16^th of November 2021

“Age of textiles with the help of Radiocarbon Dating”

Dr Irka Hajdas and Karin Wyss (Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zurich) – SWITZERLAND

Registration: https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view.php?id=11417593