Woven, knitted, and wattled 17th-18th century textiles from Tara fortress, Western Siberia

During the excavations of Tara Fortress, conducted since 2009, numerous structures and artifacts made of organic materials were revealed in 17th-18th century habitation levels at a depth of 2.5-4 m: remains of wooden dwellings and utility constructions, leather footwear, wooden chess figures, children 's toys, wooden and birch-bark vessels, dashers, birch-bark and pine-bark floats. A number of artifacts woven, knitted, and wattled from vegetable fibers and horsehair were discovered. They fall into several categories: textiles of linen, twill, and rep weave, ropes and cords, and vessels for storing solids. Their study allowed us to reconstruct the techniques of their manufacture, to compare these artifacts with similar finds from Western Siberia, to assess the conditions of manufacture, and to evaluate the weavers' skills.