From Egypt to China: methodological approach towards preservation of a special object of heritage – the historical textile technologies

Abstract

The subject of this research is the methodological approach aimed at preservation of archeological textile, which is an extremely fragile material and require delicate care. It is insufficient just to find textile, but it needs to be preserved throughout the entire chain – from the area of finding to sending over to restoration. Information that can be obtained as a result of further research is comprehensive: textile itself, costume, trade relations, development level of textile technologies in a particular society. The article reveals a chain of actions that must be acknowledged by an archeologist not to miss the archeological textile. The main conclusion consists in the statement that an archeologists must be prepared for finding textile, possess certain skill for its proper extraction, packaging and delivering to the nearest scientific and restoration laboratory. The author demonstrates which information can be lost at each state in an archeologist lacks knowledge on the subject matter.