AURATAE VESTES: GOLD TEXTILES IN THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN Margarita Gleba* A case of textiles, the eventual solution was to use gold wire or flat strips, or to wind very thin strips of gold around some organic core. In the first century AD, Pliny the Elder (NH 33.19.61) wrote that gold can be spun and woven like wool even without wool. early as the Bronze Age, gold was exploited for the beautification of clothes. The peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Near East in particular began to incorporate this precious metal into fabrics. Gold bracteates or appliqués were sewn onto garments. Such appliqués were found, for example, in the shaft graves of Mycenae. Assyrian sculpture is full of elaborately designed ornaments upon the robes of kings, which were probably an interweaving of gold and colored threads, and testifies to the consummate skill of Assyrian or Babylonian gold weavers (OPPENHEIM: 1949). From them the conquering Persians derived their celebrity as weavers and users of splendid stuffs. The use of gold plaques on costumes during the Achaemenid period is illustrated in classical texts and is known from archaeological finds, such as the Lydian and Oxus treasures (CURTIS 2005: 134-135). The practice however, is particularly well documented by the assemblages recovered from Scythian tombs in Ukraine and South Russia. The Scythians, who inhabited the steppes of the Northern Black Sea area from the sixth through the early third centuries BC, may have adopted the custom during their incursions into Persia in the seventh century BC. The garments of wealthy Scythians, in fact, have been mainly reconstructed on the basis of distribution of such golden ornaments in burials (KLOCHKO 1979; 1991). The bracteates were used because golden, like other metallic hues, is one of the most difficult colors to reproduce without using the metal itself. In the S Literary sources It is unclear how early the practice of making gold thread began, but already the Old Testament speaks of gold textiles. One of the earliest mentions of the use of the metal in a woven fabric occurs in the description of the ephod made for Aaron (Exodus 39.3): «And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires (strips), to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work.» In both, the Iliad and the Odyssey allusion is frequently made to gold textiles: from hundred golden tassels on Athena’s aegis (HOM. Il. 2.530) to the golden robe of Eos (HOM. Od. 14.468-502). Herodotus (3.47) describes the corselet in-woven with gold, given by Amasis, king of Egypt to the Athena of Lindus. Persian king Darius, we are told, wore a cloak of gold ornamented with two golden hawks attacking each other (CURT. History of Alexander 3.3.17). Gold-embroidered dresses were among the spoils carried off by the army of Alexander the Great from Persepolis (DIOD. SIC. 17.69.70).1 * Centre for Textile Research, Copenhagen (Denmark). 1 For the discussion of crusovqronoı garments, see SCHEID AND SVENBRO 1994, 61-91; VICKERS 1999, 22. PURPUREAE VESTES. II Symposium Internacional sobre Textiles y Tintes del Mediterráneo en el mundo antiguo (C. Alfaro, L. Karali, eds.), pp. 61-77. 61 62 Margarita Gleba Around 400 BC, the painter Zeuxis paraded himself at Olympia with his name woven in gold on his garments (PLIN. NH 35.62). The inventories of textiles dedicated to Artemis Brauronia, dated about half a century later, contain reference to a himation with gold letters (IG II2 1529.14). Pliny the Elder, in fact, traces the invention of gold weaving to the Near Eastern kings (NH 19.57 or NH VII.196). Pliny also quotes Verrius Flaccus who said that Roman king Tarquinius Priscus (traditional dates 616-578 BC) celebrated a triumph wearing a golden tunic. From the time of the Roman Republic, there are repeated references to garments woven with gold thread. Thus, the toga picta was a special all purple garment with gold borders worn by a Roman general during a triumphal parade (LIVY, Ad Urbe Condita 10.7). The fourth century BC Etruscan François Tomb, at Vulci, has an «elaborate representation of figures dancing a war dance on the triumphal mantle of Vel Sathies, a himation, not a toga, but surely related to the Roman triumphal toga picta» (BONFANTE 2003: 16). Julius Caesar adopted the toga picta as part of his regular dress and the consuls and emperors followed suit by using this sumptuous garment type during many state occasions. Tacitus (Ann. 12.56) and Pliny the Elder (NH 33.63) both mention that the wife of Emperor Claudius, Agrippina, in AD 51, wore a tunic of gold thread. A few years later, according to Suetonius (Nero 6.50), Nero was laid out in «white robes woven with gold.» Emperor Commodus’ clothes, sold after his death, included silk garments woven with gold thread (SHA Pertinax, 8.2-4). Emperor Elagabalus (AD 218-222) would wear «a tunic made wholly of cloth of gold, or one made of purple, or a Persian one studded with jewels, and at such times he would say that he felt oppressed by the weight of his pleasures.»2 The remark illustrates that gold added considerable weight to a garment and Claudian (Stilicho 340) refers to the weight and stiffness of consul’s toga adorned with gold. In AD 398, Emperor Honorius wore a purple silk robe interwoven with precious metals on occasion of being made consul for the fourth time (HONORIUS, 585-92, 599-600). When his wife died in AD 400, her body was shrouded in large quantity of golden tissue.3 Information on gold cloth, of course is not limited only to historians; auratae vestes, garments woven with gold thread, are frequently mentioned by poets like Ovid, Vergil, Horas, and others (CHIOFFI 2004: 92). From all of these references it is clear that although gold could be woven alone, more frequently it 2 3 4 was interwoven with other materials, notably purple wool and silk. This association of the most precious metal with the most expensive dye and textile fiber produced a combination of luxury materials that would have been restricted only to the richest strata of society. The purple and gold textiles became particularly famous during the Hellenistic period. Alexander the Great is said to have found Eastern kings and princes arrayed in robes of gold and purple (DIOD. 17.70.3). Such textiles were among the most prized possessions. There is little surprise then that the thieves in Apuleus’ Golden Ass (4.7) stole silk clothes woven with gold thread in addition to coins and other precious objects. Or that in AD 169, Emperor Marcus Aurelius raised money for a war campaign by selling his wife’s silk and golden clothes (SHA Marcus Aurelius 17.4). Gold-woven capes and tunics were awarded by the emperors to their guardsmen and soldiers as gifts, an honour commemorated with a title barbaricatus (SPEIDEL 1997). While there are plenty of references to textiles worked with gold, it is less clear where such precious articles might have been produced. The references in Roman writings to the chryso-plirygium phrygiae vestes, opus phrygionicum, are evidence not only of Roman work with gold threads but also of its probable indebtedness to Phrygian sources. Gold-woven textiles were also known to Romans as barbaricae vestes phrygiae (VEGR. Aen. 3.483, OVID. Metam. 6.616). Then, we have numerous references to Attalica gold-embroidered cloth produced in workshops owned by Attalus II, king of Pergamum, which appeared in Rome some time after 189 BC.4 Pliny the Elder credits king Attalus with the invention of gold embroidery (NH 8.74) and mentions Pergamene workshops for auratae vestes. From Livy’s mention of Attalica it is also clear that they had Near Eastern origin. Gold-woven chitons (crusosthvmonai citwvneı) made by Lydians are mentioned by early Byzantine writer Johannes Laurentius, who cited a much earlier author, Peisander (GREENEWALT and MAJEWSKI 1980: 135-136). Strabo informs that Gauls and Indians wore dresses worked with gold (Geog. 4.4.5; 15.1.53; 15.1.69) although there is no indication that gold textiles were made in their countries. Ancient texts are even less informative about the craftsmen who created such precious textiles. One interesting reference occurs in one of the speeches of Demosthenes (22), in which he charges Meidias for having tried to destroy a golden himation that Demosthenes had the goldsmith Pamenides produce for The Life of Antoninus Heliogabalus by Aelius Lampridicus. When her tomb was discovered in 1544, the melting of her robes resulted in 15-20kg of pure gold; LANCIANI 1892, 203. See discussion in CHIOFFI (2004), who published two marble statue bases which mention Attalica. “Auratae vestes”: Gold textiles in the ancient Mediterranean him to wear in a Dionysiac procession. It is hardly surprising to see a goldsmith involved in the production of gold thread and I will come back to the implications of this association for the study of gold textiles at the end of this paper. Epigraphy Additional information about the makers of the gold thread is provided by another source, funerary epigraphy. A marble slab found in Rome and a marble cinerary urn of unknown provenance but now in Muzeo Nazionale Romano, name aurinetrix and aurivestrix, that is, women specializing in gold thread spinning and vending of auratae vestes, suggesting local production of gold textiles in Rome during the Imperial period, as Laura Chioffi rightly pointed out (CHIOFFI 2004: 91, 94). Yet, another name for gold thread workers is more than suggestive of the origin for the craft. Several inscriptions mention barbaricarii – makers of cloth with gold or silver threads (REY-COQUAIS 1995: 7879).5 One of them, Aurelios Cassianus, worked in Aquileia during the third century AD (CIL V, 785). Stele of a Syrian barbaricarius of the second-third century AD is preserved in the Musée de la Civilisation Gallo-Romaine in Lyon (CIL XIII, 1). An inscription from Tyre mentions another one (REY-COQUAIS 1995: 79). We also know that, during the fourth century AD, barbaricarii of Trier, Arles, Reims, Constantinople and Antioch were organized in state-run factories, which supplied the imperial circles there with their products (Not. Dign. Oc. XI.74-77; Cod. Theod. 10.22.1). Diocletian’s Edict of AD 301 (22.5) set their pay at 1000 denarii, which is higher than salary for makers of any other textiles. Besides professional gold thread makers, matrons of wealthy households appear to have practiced the craft as well. Claudian in his Panegyric to Probinus (181) describes how Probia draws out silk threads of equal length with the threads of gold and by intertwining them makes a golden cord. Between fourth and sixth centuries AD the weaving of gold and silk textiles became a monopoly of Roman state and private craftspeople were not permitted to practice it (REY-COQUAIS 1995: 79). Scant though they are, these references suggest that while in some cases gold textiles were produced by a single specialized craftsman (goldsmith), in others there existed a division of labor by various stages of gold thread production: preparation of gold strips, 5 63 spinning them around an organic core, weaving, vending. Archaeological textiles The most direct evidence for the use of gold thread in antiquity is provided by the gold textiles themselves. Despite the reuse of the precious material in ancient times sufficient number of gold textile fragments has survived thanks to the ancient practice of adorning the dead in their best garments. In the remainder of this paper, I would like to present a quick overview of existing evidence moving from west to east in the Mediterranean. Although gold textiles become especially popular after the collapse of the Roman Empire, I will limit my survey to the Hellenistic and Roman textiles.6 Finds from the Northern and central Europe shall be included in this survey since, during the period under consideration, they originated in the Mediterranean regions. While I attempted to collect references to all European gold thread finds dated within given time frame, this catalogue is far from complete. Sweden (Table 1, no. 1) The northern border of gold cloth distribution has been moved to Sweden by the recent find at Västerhaninge, near Stockholm. Here, gold thread was recovered among the cremated remains buried in a pit inside an unusual pentagonal temple. The find has been dated to AD 150-345 (HO 2000). Netherlands (Table 1, no. 5) Gold thread is mentioned among the finds from rich graves of Roman date at Nijmegen (FOSTER 1986: 95). Great Britain (Table 1, nos. 2-4) Two gold thread finds from Great Britain were listed by WILD (1970: 131-17-132). The first, dated to AD 210, was found in Verulamium (St. Albans). The second find was made in the Lexden Tumulus, dated 17-10 BC. In her re-examination of the Lexden Tumulus, FOSTER (1986: 92, 95) notes that the pieces of gold strips were scattered across an area of about one Although the term is often associated with decoration of arms, in Diocletian’s Edict, barbaricarii are listed among textile professions. For later periods, see rarely quoted but still excellent LARSEN 1939, and, on the development of manufacturing technique, JÁRÓ 1995 and numerous works by RINUY. 6 64 Margarita Gleba meter together with human bones, indicating that the gold thread was woven into a garment. More recently, tiny fragments of gold thread were found in a Roman woman’s stone sarcophagus at Spitalfields, London, excavated in 1999 and dated to the fourth century AD (THOMAS 1999). Small patches of gold thread - the largest assemblage of Roman gold textile in Britain according to the excavators - were found near the woman’s thigh bones, around her ribs and by her wrists, indicating that gold weave might have decorated her clothing. The thread is exceptionally fine (only 0.1mm wide) and was spun into a spiral around an organic thread core, possibly silk. Excavators suggest the fine gold threads may have been woven in Syria. Germany (Table 1, nos. 6-14) The finds from Germany have been summarized by John Peter Wild in 1970 (WILD 1970: 39-40, 131132). They mainly consist of small remains of gold thread and come from contexts dating to the late Roman Empire. come from burials and date to the first-fifth centuries AD (DESROSIERS and LORQUIN 1998: 58 and catalogue). Another spectacular find, made of gold tread, silk and purple wool, was discovered in a Gallo-Roman child’s burial in Naintré.8 Spain (Table 1, nos. 34-35) Two major finds of gold thread have been analyzed by Carmen Alfaro Giner. One group was excavated in two Augustan Age tombs in Gadir (ALFARO GINER 2001). These finds were possibly head bands decorated with gold tapestry; the threads are Z-twisted and make up geometric and floral motifs. While the possibility of local production cannot be ruled out, it is more likely that the textiles were imported from the East, possibly Alexandria. Another group of gold fabric fragments and cords that may have been parts of ornamental garment decoration was found in a Roman burial at Munigua (Mulva) (ALFARO GINER 2005). Italy (Table 1, nos. 36-64) Hungary (Table 1, nos. 15-18) A few interesting finds are known from Hungary.7 Sarcophagus 53 found in a mausoleum in Iovia (Alsóhetény) and dated to the fourth century AD contained remains of Chinese silk woven with gold tapestry, supposedly an import from the East (ENDREI and SIPOS 1987; TÓTH 1989: 38). Another fragment of gold cloth depicting goddess Victoria with a palm leaf in her right hand comes from a third-century AD sarcophagus in Viminacium (Kostolac, Jugoslavia) and is now conserved in Hungarian National Museum (GEIJER and THOMAS 1965, TÓTH 1989: 38). There is also a mention of a gold hair net or reticulum found in Aquincum (Budapest) (KUZSINSZKY 1923). More recently, gold thread was found in sarcophagus 2, in the early-fourth-century AD burial at Brigetio. They appear to be similar morphologically to the finds from Iovia and Viminacium (JÁRÓ 1999). Much work regarding these and other gold thread finds has been conducted by Marta JÁRÓ (1995). France (Table 1, nos. 19-33) A relatively high number of examples of gold thread are known from the Roman France. They all 7 8 9 The earliest archaeological finds of gold threads in Italy date to the fourth century BC, so we are starting to go back in time the further east in the Mediterranean we move. Recent restoration of the Tomba François in Vulci (central Italy), yielded the remains of thin golden strips, which originally may have been integrated into a textile (possibly a cloak not unlike the one worn by Vel Sathies in the fresco in the same tomb) (MORETTI SGUBINI 2004: 23, 28 Fig. 12). Other finds come from South Italy, particularly, the Puglia region. Numerous textile fragments were recovered from the so-called Tomba degli Ori at Canosa, dated to the third-second century BC.9 They are in a very poor state of conservation but preserve traces of gold thread and are of extremely fine quality. It has been suggested that the organic fiber was linen originally dyed purple. Some parts may have formed a geometric pattern and belong to a veil of the dead woman. Gold thread has also been found in four burials in Taranto dated to the fourth-first centuries BC. Here, strips of golden weft have been recovered that may have been part of decorative borders of garments or applications on leather articles such as shoes (DE JULIIS 1984: 329-330, 339-340 no. 278-290). Another find from the nearby area, «textile fabric of pure gold, found on the body of a woman in a tomb in Metapon- I thank Judit Pásztókai-Szeoke for providing me with references to the Hungarian finds and for helping with translation. CARDON 1999: 96-99; BÉDAT, DESROSIERS, MOULHERAT and RELIER 2005. GUARDUCCI 1965: 32-33; DE JULIIS 1984: 329-330, 339 no. 277. “Auratae vestes”: Gold textiles in the ancient Mediterranean tum» is known only from the 1876 sales catalogue (DE JULIIS 1984: 330). The possibility has been suggested by Ettore De JULIIS (1984: 331) that Taras/Tarentum may have been an Italian production center for golden thread and textiles in Hellenistic times. This is not unlikely, given the early date for many of the finds and the fame of Tarentum as a center of gold crafts. Apulian redfigure vases of the same period frequently have depictions of richly decorated garments, which may reflect gold-woven patterns. Many Italian finds of the Roman period, mainly from Rome, have been well analyzed and published in the proceedings of the 1st Symposium on Mediterranean Textiles and Dyes (BEDINI, RAPINESI and FERRO 2004). All of these were made with metal strips Z-twisted around some organic core, which in most cases does not survive. The width and chemical composition of the gold strips vary. The gold thread has been used for weaving, sprang, embroidery and twisting techniques. Among the more unique finds is an almost complete hair net or reticulum, an item also known from Pompeian frescoes. To these should be added several finds from the so-called tomb of St. Peter in Vatican, Rome, which include gold thread with woolen core dyed red as well as gilded copper thread with vegetal core (GUARDUCCI 1965: 30, 182 nos. 2-4, Fig. 9, Pl. 43). The latter is the only example I know of copper being used for making metallic thread. Several other finds of gold thread of imperial date have been found in the Vatican necropolis (GUARDUCCI 1965: 33). Similar finds are mentioned in old excavations reports of burials in Perugia and Modena (GUARDUCCI 1965: 32, 34). A relatively large piece of ribbon woven with gold thread has been found in the barrel vault number 5 of the ancient port of Roman Herculaneum (D’ORAZIO and MARTUSCELLI 1999: 177 no. 202). Numerous other gold-thread materials have been found at Herculaneum but to my knowledge they are not published. Remains of gold thread were also recovered from a sarcophagus of a rich lady in Milan, dated to the Roman period (ROTTOLI 2005: 71). Another find of Italian provenance but currently located in the National Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, consists of three small fragments of gold weaving.10 65 Greece (Table 1, nos. 65-68) One of the earliest finds is a silver-gilt thread embroidered on linen from the fifth century BC grave at Koropi in Athens. The pattern consisted of «a latticediaper with a walking lion in each lozenge», although at present only the holes are visible (CARROLL 1965: 9; also see BECKWITH 1954; BARBER 1991: 206). Probably the most compete and the most magnificent surviving example of gold weaving comes from the so-called Philipp’s Tomb in Vergina, dated to the fourth century BC. The cremated remains of a dead woman were found inside a gold larnax wrapped in two textile pieces woven in gold-and-purple tapestry (ANDRONIKOS 1984: 164, Fig. 140; CARDON 2003: 442). Originally thought to be trapezoidal, the cloths have been shown to be rectangular (FLURY-LEMBERG 1988). Unfortunately, the warp threads, made presumably of wool, have disintegrated, making it impossible to determine the structure of the gold threads. The cloth was woven in tapestry of purple and gold but there was no indication that the gold stripes were wound around some sort of organic core. It shows a great variety of floral motifs with two birds and wave and dental border reminiscent of Hellenistic Greek works in other media.11 A gold and purple linen cloth decorated with vegetal motifs was supposedly found in a tomb at Derveni (MAKARONAS 1963).12 Turkey (Table 1, nos. 69-70) In Alaşehir, ancient Philadelphia, located in Lydia, modern Turkey, a small assemblage of loose gold threads were found at the bottom of a Roman sarcophagus (GREENEWALT and MAJEWSKI 1980: 137, 142 Fig. 4). The threads were made of flat gold strips 2-3 mm wide and do not appear to have been wrapped around an organic core. There is also a report of gold cloth fragments found in a chamber of the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos, in ancient Caria, dated around 350 BC (GREENEWALT 1971: 41). The excavation of the Mausoleum in 1972 produced a large amount of gold thread (JEPPESEN 1992: 66). 10 My warmest thanks to Else Østergård of the National Museum in Copenhagen, for bringing this find to my attention and for kindly providing conservation report and the unpublished article manuscript by Bodil Bundgaard Rasmussen. 11 So, despite Pfrommer’s suggestion that it was an import from the East (Alexandria), I would be more inclined to see these cloths as local products. 12 Demi Andrianou has also brought to my attention that gold threads have been found in Tomb B in Pella (CHRISOSTOMOU 1998, non vidi). 66 Syria (Table 1, nos. 71-75) The old and new finds from Palmyra in Syria have been recently studied and published, together with other textiles found in the famous tombs dated to the first-second centuries AD (PFISTER 1934: 18, 45; PFISTER 1940: 16; SCHMIDT-COLINET, STAUFFER and AL-AS’AD 2000: 267-269; RINUY 2000). Three gold textiles were found in a tower-tomb at Elahbel and two in a tomb at Elahbel or Iamblik. In all cases linen warp was associated with weft of gold (with linen or silk core) and purple woolen threads. Remains of gold thread were also found at another Syrian site famous for archaeological textiles, Dura-Europos (PFISTER and BELLINGER 1945: 60, Pl. 31, No. 305; WACE 1952). GEIJER AND THOMAS (1965) have suggested that two fragments of gold tapestry of unknown provenance belonging to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA (TOWNSEND 1948), may have been manufactured in Syria. Lebanon (Table 1, no. 76) «Fils d’or provenant de tissues» are mentioned among the finds in at least 10 tombs excavated in Tyre, Lebabon, dated second-fourth centuries AD. One case of silver thread is also recorded.13 Tyre has been suggested as another center of gold textile production (REY-COQUAIS 1995). Egypt (Table 1, no. 77) Despite the fact that Alexandria figures prominently among the hypothesized production centers of gold thread and cloth, relatively few actual gold textiles are known to come from Egypt. One of the finds, of unknown provenance but now in the Coptic Museum in Cairo, is a roundel with purple and gold weft (RENNER 1981: 82-83). Very similar items, two large and two small medallions in purple and gold tapestry, are now in Abegg-Stiftung (SCHRENK 2004: 109-111). Other roundels that may have come from the same workshop are known from collections in Orléans (now lost), London and Wien (RENNER 1981: 83-84). In addition, the funerary portraits from Fayum and other sites provide evidence of gold thread use. One of the more famous examples is the second- Margarita Gleba century AD portrait of a girl with a golden shawl from Antinoopolis (DOXIADIS 2000: 114). Ukraine (Table 1, nos. 78-85) To the catalogue of Mediterranean and European gold thread finds, I would like to add some examples from an area less known to textile archaeologists, Ukraine. While the Black Sea area is on the periphery of the Mediterranean, it forms an unbroken continuum in terms of distribution of archaeological material in general and of textiles in particular. The majority of finds come from the Crimean peninsula, where many of the Greek and Roman colonies were situated. Most of the burials where gold thread/textiles have been found have objects of both barbarian and Graeco-Roman manufacture among the burial goods. Fragments of thin purple cloth embroidered with gold were found as early as 1872 in a third century BC burial mound near the Greek site of Panticapeum, modern Kerch.14 The cloth from a rich woman’s lead sarcophagus was originally purple repp wool embroidered with gold threads to create an ivy garland pattern. Three fragments of this textile were recorded in 1973 (GERZIGER 1973: 96 no. 32), corresponding to the original find. Stephani, who in 1881 first published these and many other textile fragments found in ancient burials of southern Ukraine, mentions in a footnote that large quantities of gold threads of similar quality have been found, although in most cases the base textiles have disappeared (STEPHANI 1881: 136). A small fragment of gold-woven brocade was found in the Roman period burial in the ancient site of Chersonessos located on the Crimean Black Sea coast in the territory of contemporary Sevastopol. Two-ply gold thread consists here of organic substrate made of animal’s intestine coat, wrapped with the foil of 80% gold. The foil is only 1.5 microns thick. Ukrainian researchers from Kharkov University believe that gold was imported, most likely from Africa, and that the thread itself was produced in a Cypriote workshop. Two more finds of gold thread from Chersonessos are known from early twentieth century excavations and date to the first centuries AD. Thus, from the 1908 excavations in Chersonessos, came a piece of gold brocade forming geometric diamond pattern; here, gold strip was twisted around a silk core. Another find, from Devichya Gora, is a gold brocade woven with threads of gold foil twisted around a strip of animal intestine (KRUPA 2000: 119). 13 CHÉHAB 1985, 494 (sarcophagus 927-928, b), 523 (sarcophagus 3879-3880, c), 525 (sarcophagus 3934-3935, c), 531 (massif 38123813, loculus 3, b), 558 (massif 4034-4035, loculus 3, d), 567 (sarcophagus 4064-4065, c), 630 (massif Ouest 4861, loculus 5, d), 667 (sarcophagus 1341-1342, d), 692 (massif 4249-4250, loculus 3, d), 705 (massif 1-4, loculus 1, d), 730 (La «Kamara» 82-83, e - silver). 14 STEPHANI 1881: 135-136, pl. V, no. 4; MINNS 1913: 336; ROSTOVTSEV 1925: 223. “Auratae vestes”: Gold textiles in the ancient Mediterranean In a Sarmatian grave found in Ust-Alminsk (grave chamber 860, burial 2), excavators recovered gold thread with gold strip twisted around some sort of organic core, possibly animal gut (KRUPA 2000: 119). Finds of gold thread are known outside Crimea as well. In 1974, a burial of a rich Sarmatian lady 45-50 years old, was excavated in Sokolova Mohyla on the Yuzhnij Bug, dated first century AD (KOVPANENKO 1986). Lots of gold appliqués (1218) were found scattered on and around her body; their disposition allowed for the partial reconstruction of dress. But in addition to this more common type of decoration, in the area of the lower legs, there were remains of textiles decorated with gold thread, preserved thanks to the presence of a piece of wood bark placed under the deceased’s feet (KOVPANENKO 1986: 20 Fig. 13). In addition, many fragments of thick gold threads, which supposedly decorated the funerary cloth, originally hung above the dead, were found throughout the burial pit with higher concentrations near the walls. A piece of a fringe was found near the south wall (KOVPANENKO 1986: 26). The textiles were examined by Elkina and dyes analyzed by Golikov and Ustinov in 1986 for the detailed publication of the burial (ELKINA 1986; ELKINA 1991). Numerous fragments of dress turned out to be Chinese silk dyed with Royal purple and embroidered with gold thread (KOVPANENKO 1986: 46, Figs. 4648). The gold thread found in the Sokolova Mohyla burial was of three types, differing in thickness, spin direction and gold content but all with silk core. The thickest threads were found throughout the burial and probably formed pattern on the funerary shroud. The medium and fine threads decorated the hem of the dress. The medium threads formed the basic decorative pattern of palmettes, diamonds, spirals, wave and triglyph motifs, which were formed before being sewn on the silk base textile; each element has a contour made in gold thread (Figure 1). The fine threads of the highest gold content were used for the figural decoration, of which, unfortunately, only the smallest fragments survive depicting a column capital, floral spiral of an acanthus leaf, an olive branch, all executed with the same contouring technique (Figure 2). Silver threads with silk core were also found among the remains but they were very badly reduced. Many more intriguing finds have been mentioned if briefly in old and recent publications, few of them studied. These come mostly from rich Scythian and Sarmatian burials, famous for the gold objects found in them. Thus, in kurgan 3 at Svatova Luchka, a woman’s burial dated around first century BC, contained textile remains, among which a purple dress decorated with gold appliqués in the chest area and a hem in-woven with flat gold threads (SHRAMKO 1962: 243). Lady’s shoes were also decorated with gold threads, which were found near her feet. 67 Figure 1. Gold embroidery from Sarmatian burial of Sokolova Mohyla (NVF-194), 1st century AD (Author’s photo with permission of the Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine, Kiev). Figure 2. Gold embroidery from Sarmatian burial of Sokolova Mohyla (NVF-199), 1st century AD (Author’s photo with permission of the Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine, Kiev). Russia (Table 1, nos. 86-90) Additional finds of gold thread are known from European and Asiatic Russia. In Kurgan 31 of Suslovskij Mogilnik, in the Volga area, fragments of wool with traces of gold embroidery in the form of spiraling circles (RYKOV 1925: 15). Small fragments are also recorded in Staritskij Mogilnik, also in the Volga region (SHILOV 1975: 157). Other finds are known from the Kuban area (KOVPANENKO 1986: 50). These finds suggest the movement of goods from the Mediterranean basin inland. Even more intriguing are the early finds from Siberia. Gold threads have been found in the second-first-century BC burial in Gilevo-X Kurgan 1, Altai region, and in a contemporary Sarmatian burial Isakovka, Omsk area (ELKINA 1986: 150). Finally, belts with decorative stitches made with sinew 68 thread wrapped with strips of tinfoil were found in Pazyryk (RUDENKO 1970: 98-99, Pl. 67A; BARBER 1991: 200).15 Discussion This quick overview hopefully has demonstrated that, despite the issue of remelting, many gold textile fragments have survived. WILD (1970: 39) noted that, «while fragments of gold thread have frequently come to light in the northern provinces, none has yet been satisfactorily recorded or published; for archaeologists are generally unaware of the relevant details to note.» The statement is for the most part still valid, not only for the northern provinces but also for most of the Mediterranean areas. Many of gold threads/textiles are often only mentioned in archaeological reports and vast majority require analysis. Nevertheless, these fragments as well as literary, epigraphic and iconographic sources allow to draw some general conclusions. Use Gold thread was used in a variety of ways. In garments, it was woven into cloth or, more frequently, incorporated in the form of decorative elements. Thus, we have a variety of bands, borders, small patterns and even letters. Both men and women wore garments incorporating gold and the only exclusively female item appears to be the reticulum. As virtually all of the surviving articles with gold thread have been found in funerary contexts, it is not surprising that we also find the use of gold in funerary shrouds. Whatever their intended or finite function, gold textiles were extremely expensive and would have been available only to the very top strata of society. Weaving technique Gold thread could be incorporated in these textile items with different techniques. It could be used in both warp and weft or in one system only. It could be Margarita Gleba simply woven in or added in elaborate pattern in tapestry. While embroidery may have been utilized as well, the vast majority of archaeological evidence indicates that gold thread was, for the most part, worked in the loom.16 It could also be used by itself to create hair nets using sprang technique or to make cords and fringes by twisting several gold threads together. I would like to emphasize here again the frequent association of gold thread with purple dye and silk fiber.17 Production technique The archaeological evidence shows that there existed several different construction techniques to make gold and other metal thread. It is thanks to these techniques that we get a glimpse of the precious garments that incorporated gold thread: even if the organic components of such textile have disintegrated, gold survives, and if excavated with proper care, can provide much information about the garment. I will follow here the classification developed by Agnes GEIJER (1938, 68) and expanded by John-Peter WILD (1970, 39): 1. Gold wire or strip: the first is hammered out and is round in section, the second beaten and cut; not associated with textile fiber. Probably the earliest technique of which we have very few definite examples. 2. Gold wire twisted around fiber core: circular in section, core is often silk. 3. Gold strip twisted around fiber core: flat narrow band, core is silk, wool, vegetal fiber or animal gut; gold could be drawn or beaten or both to obtain the strips. The vast majority of surviving items have been made in this technique, which was optimal in terms of material and time expenditure and the resulting product. Depending on how tightly the gold strip was wrapped around the core one can talk about «open» gold thread, where the core is still visible, or «closed», when the core is completely covered by metal (RINUY 2000: 17). 4. Gilded membrane: gilded band of organic membrane (animal gut) twisted around a silk core. Until now the only example was recorded by PFISTER 15 While this is a unique find for the period under consideration, tin thread was used during the Viking period in Scandinavia. My thanks for Eva Andersson for bringing this to my attention. 16 Already WACE (1948) pointed out the problem of mistranslation of terms related to textile technology in ancient texts, leading to the idea that the only means of decorating cloth was embroidery. This view is still prevalent among classicists and historians. See SPEIDEL 1997, who calls late Roman capes and tunics gold-embroidered, although in the garments depicted in the mosaic at Piazza Armerina he uses as illustration the patterns that were more likely to be woven, as the roundels are similar to actual examples (see RENNER 1981). 17 GEIJER AND THOMAS (1965, 236) suggest that Hellenistic gold and purple tapestries served as prototypes for the cheaper versions, in which gold thread was substituted by white linen and Royal purple by the imitation dye. Vast numbers of such tapestries have been found in Coptic graves. See also RENNER 1981. “Auratae vestes”: Gold textiles in the ancient Mediterranean in Palmyra (now missing18), possibly imported from Han China. Now, the finds from Crimea in Ukraine and Russia may expand the list. Table 1 summarizes the published information on gold thread finds. Only two examples of gold wire or strip used by itself (number 1) are apparent and several possible examples of gilded membrane (number 4), all from Ukraine and Russia, areas of extensive interaction with the far east. The most common production technique observed is that of gold strip twisted around fiber core (number 3). The core fiber is frequently silk, less often linen and rarely wool. Majority of the finds for which the data are available, are Zspun, although there are several example of S-spun gold thread. The gold strip width is consistently 100400 micrometers with exceptional items reaching 1000 micrometers; the gold strip thickness varies between 1 and 10 micrometers, with a few outlying values. It is, however, premature to draw any more specific conclusions, based on the available evidence: there are too many cells to be filled with information. I believe that, in addition to much needed detailed analyses of many extant gold thread finds, the next important step in furthering our understanding of ancient gold thread production is a detailed study of the metal thread components. One of the problems with gold textile research is that it is often grouped with precious metal finds rather than textiles. Textiles scholars often lack skills and facilities to study this material. Scientific methods, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), need to be applied to the analysis of metal thread finds more systematically (PEACOCK 1993; JÁRÓ 1995). The techniques used in ancient jewelry studies may also prove useful, since, as I noted in my discussion of relevant literary material, gold smiths may have played an important role in the production of gold thread.19 18 69 Production origin Finally, what can be said about the possible production centers? Ancient Phrygia and Lydia both figure prominently in the ancient accounts as the places of production of golden garments. The presence of gold thread in so many late Roman sarcophagi of Tyre has prompted suggestion that it was produced locally (REY-COQUAIS 1995). Alexandria has been offered as the source of many products, among them gold textiles. The Greek colony of Tarentum in south Italy and Greece itself have also been suggested and Rome certainly had its own barbaricarii by the beginning of the Common Era. Finally, the gold-woven purple silks found in Ukraine make one wonder whether all of them were imported from the Mediterranean basin or, rather, were produced locally in Graeco-Roman centers such as Panticapeum or Chersonessos, from where they were traded inland to rich Scythians and Sarmatians. It may well be that, already during the Hellenistic and certainly during Roman periods, multiple centers of gold cloth production existed simultaneously. Based on the ancient sources, as well as those of later date, it seems that the arts of weaving and embroidering with gold threads passed from one great city to another, traveling as a rule westward and northward. In historical times, Babylon, Tarsus, Baghdad, Damascus, Cyprus, Constantinople, Sicily, Venice and southern Spain appear successively as famous centers of these much-prized manufactures. Given the accumulating corpus of material, we may be able to come closer to the solution of the question of origin but until a systematic investigation of the finds throughout the Mediterranean is made, the guesswork will continue. I am grateful to Annemarie Stauffer for this information. I was surprised by a striking similarity between gold thread and strip-twisted wire used in Etruscan jewelry; see SWADDLING, ODDY AND MEEKS 1991, 11. 19 70 Margarita Gleba Table 1: Gold thread Types: 1-gold wire or ribbon, 2-gold wire on core, 3-gold ribbon on core, 4-gilded membrane Gold content: Au-gold, Ag-silver, Cu-copper No Site Find Date 1 Västerhaninge, Sweden, burial pit Small piece of gold thread 2 Lexden, UK, Tumulus of Type Fiber core Twist Thread thickness (mm) Gold strip width (mm) Gold strip thickness (mm) Gold content Bibliography AD 150 345 - - - - - - HO 2000 Gold thread 17-10 BC - - - - - - WILD 1970, 132 Table H no. 15; FOSTER 1986, 9295 AD 210 3 None - 250 - - - WILD 1970, 131 Table H no. 11 silk? - 100 - - Au over 90% THOMAS 1999 Roman 3 - - - - - - FOSTER 1986, 95 3 Cunobelinus (?) 3 Verulamium (St. Albans), UK, grave Gold thread 4 Spitalfields, London, UK, Roman sarcophagus Small patches 4th c. of gold AD thread (dress?) 5 Nijmegen-west, Holland, 2 rich graves Gold thread 6 Giesshübel, Germany Fürstengrab Late ? Hallstatt - - - - - - WILD 1970, 132 Table H no. 7 St. Aldegund, Gold and Germany, female silver thread sarcophagus AD 300- 3 350 Silk? Z 250 - - - WILD 1970, 131 Table H no. 1 8 Bingen, Germany, sarcophagus “Goldfäden” 3rd-4th c. AD - - - - - - WILD 1970, 131 Table H no. 2 9 Dorweiler, Germany, female grave AD 300 400 - - - - - - WILD 1970, 131 Table H no. 3 - - - - - - - WILD 1970, 131 Table H no. 4 11 Zahlbacher Weg, Gold thread Mainz, Germany, Lost in war female grave 376 Late 2nd- 3 3rd c. AD - - - - - - WILD 1970, 131 Table H no. 6 12 St. Paulinus, Trier, Germany, sarcophagus of St. Paulinus Gold thread Ca. AD 3 395 Poss. none - - - - Ag 20% WILD 1970, 131 Table H no. 7; JÁRÓ 1999, 30. 13 Trittenheim, Germany, sarcophagus “Goldfäden” 3rd-4th c. Only photos AD survive - - - - - - WILD 1970, 131 Table H no. 8 - - - - WILD 1970, 131 Table H no. 9 300 10-20 Ag 8% ENDREI AND SIPOS 1987; TÓTH 1989, 38, 37 Fig. 14; JÁRÓ 1999 300-400 - - GEIJER AND THOMAS 1965, TÓTH 1989, 38, 37 Fig. 16; JÁRÓ 1999 10 Essenheim, “Goldfäden” 4th c. Mainz, Germany, Lost in war AD sarcophagus of a woman 3 14 Worms, “Goldfäden” 2nd c. Germany, AD cremation burial - - - 15 Iovia (Alsóheténi), Hungary, sarcophagus 53 Gold tapestry 4th c. fragments AD 3 silk Z 16 Viminacium, Hungary, sarophagus Gold and purple silk tapestry, figural decoration 3rd c. AD 3 silk Z - 71 “Auratae vestes”: Gold textiles in the ancient Mediterranean Table 1: Gold thread (Cont.) No Site Find Thread thickness (mm) Gold strip width (mm) Gold strip thickness (mm) Gold content 17 Brigetio, Hungary, sarcophagus 2 Gold threads AD 305- 3 312 purple Z powder - 200-300 10 Ag 4.5% JÁRÓ 1999 18 Aquincum (Budapest), Hungary Gold reticulum Roman - - - - - - - KUZSINSZKY 1923 19 Hornburg, Colmar, France, tile-grave “Goldfäden” Roman? - - - - - - - WILD 1970, 131 Table H no. 5 20 Arc-sur-Argens, France, Urn 3 Folded and flattened onglomerate 1st-2nd 3 c. AD - S 100 250 10 21 Brimont, France, Shroud of Late lead coffin silk and gold Roman - - - - - - DESROSIERS AND LORQUIN 1998 - - - - - - - DESROSIERS AND LORQUIN 1998 - - - - - - - DESROSIERS AND LORQUIN 1998 22 Briord, France, burials T19 and T391 Date Gold threads late 5th c. AD Type Fiber core Twist Bibliography DESROSIERS AND LORQUIN 1998 23 Champagne-en- Gold thread Valromey, France - 24 Les Martres-deVeyre, France, Tomb 1852 Gold and silk fabric 2nd c. AD 25 Marseille, St. Victor Abbey, France, sarcophagus 20 Silk braid 5th c. with silk AD embroidery sewn on tunic 3 silk Z 150-200 100 - - DESROSIERS AND LORQUIN 1998 26 Reims, France local burials Tabby fragment with gold thread - - - - - - - DESROSIERS AND LORQUIN 1998 27 Roquebrune, France, lead sarcophagus Fabric with gold thread 2nd c. AD - - - - - - - DESROSIERS AND LORQUIN 1998 28 Saint-Martin-de- Gold thread Fontenay, France 5th c. AD - - - - - - - DESROSIERS AND LORQUIN 1998 29 Tournai, France Gold thread 5th c. AD - - - - - - - DESROSIERS AND LORQUIN 1998 30 Naintré, France, child’s burial Gold and purple wool tapestry on silk damask; floral bands 4th -5th c. CE 3 Silk? Z - - - - CARDON 1999, 96-99; BÉDAT, DESROSIERS, MOULHERAT AND RELIER 2005 31 Naintré, France, woman’s burial Gold brocade 4th -5th in vegetal c. AD patterns 3 - - - - - - BÉDAT, DESROSIERS, MOULHERAT AND RELIER 2005 32 Louin, France Cloth fragments with gold weave. Lost Gallo- ? Roman - - - - - - BÉDAT, DESROSIERS, MOULHERAT AND RELIER 2005, 9-10 33 Douarnenez, France Gold thread 4-5th c. AD - - - - - - - ROCHE-BERNARD AND FERDIERE 1993, 74; BÉDAT, DESROSIERS, MOULHERAT AND RELIER 2005, 10 34 Gadir, Spain, Tombs 25, 25a Head bands with vegetal motif 1st c. 3 BC1st c. AD - Z 100 200 - - ALFARO GINER 2001 DESROSIERS AND LORQUIN 1997 72 Margarita Gleba Table 1: Gold thread (Cont.) No Site Find Date 35 Munigua, Spain, Tabby weave 1st-2nd female cremation fragments and c. AD burial cords (fringe?) 36 Vulci, Italy, François Tomb Gold thread remains 4th c. BC Type Fiber core 3 - Twist Thread thickness (mm) Gold strip width (mm) Gold strip thickness (mm) Gold content Bibliography None Z left 100 200 - - ALFARO GINER 2005 - - - - - - MORETTI SGUBINI 2004 37 Canosa, Italy, Textile Tomba degli Ori fragments with gold thread 3-2nd c. BC Purple linen? - - - - DE JULIIS 1984, 339 38 Taranto, Italy, tomb Gold thread 2-1st c. BC - - - - - - - DE JULIIS 1984, 339-340 39 Taranto, Italy, tomb Gold thread 2-1st c. BC - - - - - - - DE JULIIS 1984, 340 40 Taranto, Italy, tomb Gold thread 2-1st c. BC - - - - - - - DE JULIIS 1984, 340 41 Taranto, Italy, tomb Gold thread 2-1st c. BC - - - - - - - DE JULIIS 1984 42 Metaponto, Italy, tomb Fabric of gold Roman - - - - - - - DE JULIIS 1984 43 Villa in Oplontis, Italy Woven ribbon 1st c. AD 3 - Z - - - - BEDINI, RAPINESI AND FERRO 2004 44 Herculaneum, Italy, Barrel vault 5 Woven ribbon 1st c. AD 3 - - - - - - D’ORAZIO AND MARTUSCELLI 1999, 177 no. 202 45 South Italy, exact provenance unknown, now in Copenhagen 3 strips of 2nd c. gold weaving AD 2mm wide and 17-26mm long, 12-15 threads/cm 3 Silk or Z linen - - - - Conservation report, National Museum in Copenhagen 46 S. Maria Capua Vetere, Italy, Tomb of Vibii Gold thread Roman - - - - - - - CHIOFFI 2004, 91 47 Rome, Italy, Collettore S. Paolo Single strip Imperial Roman - Z - 2000 10-12 Au 83%, BEDINI, RAPINESI AND Ag 2.5% FERRO 2004 48 Rome, Italy, Villa dei Numisi Ribbon fragments in sprang Imperial 3 Roman - Z 115 - 3 Au 93% 49 Rome, Italy, Embroidery Via dei Granai fragments di Nerva, cremation burial 2nd c. AD 3 - Z 100 200 3 Au 90%, BEDINI, RAPINESI AND Ag 1.5% FERRO 2004 50 Rome, Italy, Ribbon Via dei Granai fragments di Nerva, in sprang cremation burial 2nd c. AD 3 - Z 150 150 2 Au 75%, BEDINI, RAPINESI AND Ag 2% FERRO 2004 51 Rome, Italy, Cord Via dei Granai fragments di Nerva, cremation burial 2nd c. AD 3 - Z - - - - BEDINI, RAPINESI AND FERRO 2004 52 Rome, Italy, loc. Gold thread Torrino, marble fragments sarcophagus Imperial 3 Roman - Z 150 250 1.5 Au 90% BEDINI, RAPINESI AND FERRO 2004 53 Rome, Italy, Gold thread Tomba Barberini, fragments fossa burial 2nd c. AD - Z 120 250 - - BEDINI, RAPINESI AND FERRO 2004 3 BEDINI, RAPINESI AND FERRO 2004 73 “Auratae vestes”: Gold textiles in the ancient Mediterranean Table 1: Gold thread (Cont.) No Site Find Date Type Fiber core Twist Thread thickness (mm) 54 Rome, Italy, Vallerano Tomb 2, marble sarcophagus Three-plied and fiveplied cord fragments 2nd c. AD 3 - Z 800, 920 500, 1000 10, 10 Au 85%, BEDINI, RAPINESI AND Ag 2.5% FERRO 2004 55 Rome, Via Gold thread Tiburtina, marble fragments sarcophagus 3rd c. AD 3 - Z 120 400 2.2 Au 88%, BEDINI, RAPINESI AND Ag 2% FERRO 2004 56 Rome, Italy, hypogaeum of Trebius Iustus 4th c. AD 3 - Z 130 270 2.4 - BEDINI, RAPINESI AND FERRO 2004 57 Rome, Italy, “St. Red wool and 1st c. Peter’s Tomb” gold weave 3 wool Z - - - - GUARDUCCI 1965, 182 nos. 2-3, Pl. 9. Gold thread fragments Gold strip width (mm) Gold strip thickness (mm) Gold content Bibliography 58 Rome, Italy, “St. Copper Peter’s Tomb” threads 1st c. 3 (4?) vegetal S - - - - GUARDUCCI 1965, 182 no. 4, Pl. 43 59 Mentana, Italy, marble sarcophagus Single strip 2nd c. AD - - Z 800 1000 15 Au 84% BEDINI, RAPINESI AND FERRO 2004 60 Ariccia, Italy, marble sarcophagus, male burial Ribbon fragments in sprang Imperial 3 Roman - Z 130 340 1.3 Au 94%, BEDINI, RAPINESI AND Ag 1% FERRO 2004 61 S. Clemente Albenga, Italy tomb a cassa Threads of reticulum in sprang End 4th -5th c. AD - Z 100 200 - - BEDINI, RAPINESI AND FERRO 2004 62 Milan Gold thread fragments Roman 3 period vegetal Z - - - - ROTTOLI 2005, 71 63 Italy, provenance Reticulum unknown, in sprang sarcophagus 1st c. AD 3 - Z 150 150 1 Au 84%, BEDINI, RAPINESI AND Ag 2.5% FERRO 2004 64 Italy, provenance Band unknown, fragments sarcophagus in sprang 1st c. AD 3 - Z 100 190 4.4 Au 90%, BEDINI, RAPINESI AND Ag 0.5% FERRO 2004 65 Koropi, Athens, Greece, grave 5th c. BC 3 Silk or linen - - - - CARROLL 1965, 9; BECKWITH 1954; BARBER 1991, 206 1? none - - 300-400 3-4 - ANDRONIKOS 1984; FLURYLEMBERG 1988, Cat. 51; CARDON 2003 Gilt silver thread, embroidery with lions in lozenges 66 Vergina, Greece, Tapestry 4th c. “Philipp’s Tomb” woven with BC gold and purple threads 3 67 Derveni, Greece, Tomb Linen with 4th c. gold threads, BC vegetal motif - - - - - - - MAKARONAS 1963 68 Pella, Tomb B, Greece Gold thread 4th c. BC - - - - - - - CHRISOSTOMOU 1998 69 Alas,ehir, Turkey, Roman sarcophagus Loose gold threads Roman 1 none N/A 20003000 - - GREENEWALT AND MAJEWSKI 1980, 137, 142 Fig. 4 70 Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, Turkey Large amount 4th c. of gold BC thread, up to 7.9cm long - - - - 200-1000 - Jeppesen 1992, 66 74 Margarita Gleba Table 1: Gold thread (Cont.) No Site Find Date Type Fiber core Twist Thread thickness (mm) Gold strip width (mm) Gold strip thickness (mm) Gold content 71 Palmyra, Syria, tower tomb 51 (Iamblik) or Nr. 13 (Elanbel) With purple in weft; linen warp; AD 83 3 silk - - 390 5 Au 87SCHMIDT-COLINET AND 93%, Ag STAUFFER 2000, 179-180 5-10%, Kat. Nr. 465 Cu 2-3% 72 Palmyra, Syria, tower tomb Nr. 51 (Iamblik) With purple wool AD 83 3 linen Z - 180 5 Au 7380%, Ag 15-20%, Cu 2-3% 73 Palmyra, Syria, tower tomb Nr. 51 (Iamblik) Purple wool? AD 83 3 linen Z - 230 5 Au 70SCHMIDT-COLINET AND 78%, Ag STAUFFER 2000, 160, Kat. 20-26%, Nr. 268, Taf. 32d, 104b-c.f Cu 2-3% 74 Palmyra, Syria, tower tomb Nr. Purple wool textile with 3 linen Z - 175 1 Au 70%, SCHMIDT-COLINET AND Ag 25STAUFFER 2000, 160, Kat. 26%, Cu Nr. 269, Taf. 32c, 104e 2-3% - - - - - - PFISTER AND BELLINGER 1945, 60, Pl. 31, Nr. 305 - - - - - - CHÉHAB 1985, 494 (sarc. sarcophagi 927-928, b), 523 (sarc. 3879-3880, c), 525 (sarc. 3934-3935, c), 531 (massif 3812-3813, loc. 3, b), 558 (massif 40344035, loc. 3, d), 567 (sarc. 4064-4065, c), 630 (massif Ouest 4861, loc. 5, d), 667 (sarc. 1341-1342, d), 692 (massif 4249-4250, loc. 3, d), 705 (massif 1-4, loc. 1, d), 730 (La “Kamara” 8283, e) 51 (Iamblik) AD 83 gold weave Before 3 AD 256 Bibliography SCHMIDT-COLINET AND STAUFFER 2000, 160, Kat. Nr. 267, Taf.33, 104a, VIIIf 75 Dura Europos, Syria A bundle of gold thread 76 Tyre, Lebanon, various Gold threads 2-4th c. AD 77 Egypt, no provenance Abeg- Stiftung 2 medalions AD 129- 3 in puple and 349 gold tapestry silk Z - - - - SCHRENK 2004, 109-111, NO. 31 78 Kerch, Crimea, Ukraine, female grave Thin purple 3rd c. cloth BC embroidered with gold - - - - - - STEFANI 1881, 135-136, pl. V, no. 4; ROSTOVTSEV 1925, 222-223; GERTSIGER 1973, 96 no. 32 79 Chersonessos, Gold threads 1st CE? Crimea, Ukraine Animal intestine - 150 - Au 80% KRUPA 2000, 119 80 Chersonessos, Crimea, Ukraine, 1908 silk - - - - Au over KRUPA 2000, 119 50%, some Cu 81 Chersonessos, Gold brocade Roman 4? Crimea, Ukraine, Imperial Devichya Gora Animal gut? - - - - 82 Ust-Alma, Gold threads, Crimea, Ukraine, square in shaft grave 860, section. burial 2 4? Animal gut? - - - Ag over KRUPA 2000, 119 50%, some Cu 83 Sokolova Gold weave 1st c. Mohyla, Ukraine, and AD Burial 3 embroidery on purple cloth; vegetal decoration 3 Silk 1) thick 2) medium 3) thin 0.3-1 1) Au70% KOVPANENKO 1986; ELKINA 2) Au94% 1986; 1991; GOLIKOV 1986 3) Au98% - 3 Gold brocade Roman 3 forming Imperial geometric diamond pattern 1) Z 2) S 3) S KRUPA 2000, 119 75 “Auratae vestes”: Gold textiles in the ancient Mediterranean Table 1: Gold thread (Cont.) No Site Find 84 Svatova Luchka, Purple dress Ukraine, hem woven Kurgan 3 with gold threads Date Type Fiber core 1st c. BC - Twist Thread thickness (mm) Gold strip width (mm) Gold strip thickness (mm) Gold content Bibliography None? - - - - - SHRAMKO 1962, 243 85 Khokhlach, Ukraine Fragments of cloth with traces of gold embroidery - - - - - - - KOVPANENKO 1986, 49 86 Suslovskij Mogilnik, No 31, Russia Wool with traces of gold embroidery in the form of spiraling circles - - - - - - - RYKOV 1925, 15 87 Staritskij Brocade Mogilnik, Russia 2nd-1st c. BC - - - - - - - SHILOV 1975, 157; MOGILNIKOV KOLESNIKOV AND KUIBISHEV 1977, 226 88 Usakovka, Omsk, Russia, kurgan 2, burial 3 4-3rd c. BC - - - - 0.3-10 Au 70% KOVPANENKO 1986, 49 89 Gilevo X, Altai, Gold thread Russia, Kurgan 1 4-3rd c. BC - - - - - - KOVPANENKO 1986, 49 90 Pazyryk, Russia 4-3rd c. BC sinew - - - - - RUDENKO 1970, 98-99, Pl.67A; BARBER 1991, 200 Linen, wool - - - - TOWNSEND 1948 linen - - - Ag 3-6% SCHRENK 2004, 250-253, NO. 98 Decorative stitches on belts made with tin thread 91 Unprovenanced, 2 gold Museum of Fine tapestries, Arts, Boston tunic decorations, 15 threads/cm 92 Unprovenanced, Abeg- Stiftung - 2 clavi in 62-251 3 purple with CE gold tapestry on silk ground Z 76 Bibliography ALFARO GINER, C. (2001): «Recent discoveries of gold textiles from Augustan age Gadir (Cádiz)», in P. Walton Rogers, L. Bender Jorgensen and A. Rast-Eicher (eds.), The Roman Textile Industry and its Influence. A Birthday tribute to John Peter Wild, Exeter, pp. 77-83. 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