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
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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
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