Many shades of brown: The condition and colour of Dutch archaeological textiles from dryland sandy soils, bogs, and the sea

Archaeological textiles excavated from Dutch soils usually have a brown appearance. Three sets of woollen textile finds varying both in age and burial context were analysed to study their original character. Bog finds from the Bronze Age (2000‑800 BC) and late Iron Age (250-12 BC) were compared to pieces of fabric from the sandy soil of a large Early Medieval cemetery at Rhenen and a piece of cloth from a 17th century shipwreck found in the sea near Texel. The colour of the fibres was studied by naked eye and Dynolite microscope. Subsequently, the colourants were investigated using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a photodiode array detector (UHPLC-PDA). The condition of the fibres and the possible use of a mordant were analysed by scanning electron microscopy coupled to an energy dispersive X-ray detector (SEM-EDX). Many of the fibres were degraded, brittle and stained. Fibres from samples from Rhenen showed severe damage most probably by bacteria and/or fungi. The analysed bog finds from the Bronze Age and late Iron Age are most probably not dyed. Whilst several of the Rhenen samples are most probably not dyed, some of them contain yellow dyestuffs possibly from local plants and one piece of fabric could have been dyed red with madder. A piece of cloth attached to a lead seal from a shipwreck was dyed purple with a mixture of madder and indigo or woad. In general, it seems that the majority of the prehistoric Dutch archaeological textiles are not dyed. However, we know from an extensive study into Hallstatt textiles that at least three quarters of that material was coloured. Therefore, the degradation of dyed materials from a variety of depositional contexts within the Netherlands should be studied further, as well as the local plants used in dyeing