Exploring the application of instrumental analysis for the conservation of textiles excavated in Greece

This thesis is one outcome of research aimed to raise the awareness of textiles excavated in Greece.The inherently sensitive nature of excavated textiles accounts for the rarity and poor condition of thefinds, making them more often than not unidentifiable for the archaeologists, a conservationchallenge and a puzzle for textile historians/curators. Conservators are often the intermediarybetween the objects they care for and the people for whom these objects are preserved. Analyticalmethods of investigation provide a means of increasing understanding of excavated textiles, and inthis way enhance their conservation. Hence, it was decided to experiment with certain nondestructive,instrumental analytical methods of investigation, namely stereo, optical and electronmicroscopy, coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (ESEM-EDS), FTIR and Ramanmicrospectroscopy, and XRF spectroscopy, with the aim of material characterisation andidentification. A survey through the Archives of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture revealed 65different cases where textiles had been preserved in burial contexts. Four different environmentsfavorable for the preservation of textiles in Greece were identified and four finds representative ofthese conditions were selected and subjected to instrumental analysis. The finds are the main casestudy, ‘Argos’ (found in association with copper), and ‘Theva’ (found in a charred state), ‘Kalyvia’(found impregnated with calcium salts) and ‘Nikaia’ (found in association with copper and in anoxicconditions). The quality of the results varied according to the type of preservation and the conditionof the finds. The combination of stereomicroscopy, ESEM-EDS, XRF and FTIR gave the mostreliable results. The outcomes of the experimentation formed the basis for the development ofguidelines, designed to help archaeologists, conservators and textile historians/curators tounderstand and thereby conserve excavated textiles in Greece