Textile from the early medieval cemeteries in the Crimea

This paper explores textile items from the Chufut-Kale, Suuk-Su and Skalistinsky cemeteries that form part of the State Historical Museum collections. In most cases, small fragments adhering to metallic items, in particular, details of clothing, have been preserved. Some fragments from Suuk-Su were rather large, they have retained their initial structure, perforation, fold marks as well as dye suggesting that they are from textile items. The technological analysis shows that plant fibers were more commonly used for making fabrics, however, wool was also used. All fragments are made with the use of the same technology: they have a Z-twist, plain weave, with the average thread count being 14-16 threads per cm. Radiocarbon dating of the Suuk-Su fragment refers this assemblage to the second half of the 6th century. The analysis of the strontium stable isotope ratio in this sample as well as the reference sample datasets from the Crimea and the technological analysis imply that ancient weavers used local raw materials.