Cotton at el-Deir. First observations on a new textile fibre in the Kharga oasis (Egyptian Western desert, 5th century BCE-5th century CE)

Abstract

Premières observations sur l'existence d'une nouvelle fibre textile dans l'oasis de Kharga (désert occidental égyptien, V e siècle AEC-V e siècle EC) Cotton at el-Deir. First observations on a new textile fibre in the Kharga oasis (Egyptian Western desert, 5 th century BCE-5 th century CE

Cats, Crocodiles, Cattle, and More: Initial Steps Toward Establishing a Chronology of Ancient Egyptian Animal Mummies

“…Of course, it is also possible, although unlikely for this well-provenanced object whose 14 C dates fall within Thutmosis’ reign, that the linen was far older than the bird, and this is an early example of recycling. As noted above, using textiles to date the mummies could potentially be an issue (Letellier-Willemin et al 2015a, 2015b; Wasef et al 2015). Nonetheless, it does seem that, on the whole, whether bones or textiles were sampled, the date range of the samples is similar, regardless of the site (e.g.…”

“…Between 10 and 30 mg of textile or 200 and 500 mg of bone were sampled with small pliers or very small scissors, taking care to sterilize the tools and to avoid contamination. It should be noted that using textiles to date mummies is slightly problematic in that mummy bandages often consist of reused textiles, and thus the fabric might be older—up to as much as 50 yr or possibly more—than the mummy (Letellier-Willemin et al 2015a, 2015b; Wasef et al 2015).…”