All eyes on textiles!

During the last couple of fieldwork seasons, Magda – our textile specialist – was busy unfolding, both figuratively and physically, volumes of funerary textiles and mummy wrappings recovered from the late Old Kingdom and later burials. Her meticulous work has led her to identify many pieces of garment that throw light on the ancient Egyptian wardrobe, alongside many other pieces that inform about the local linen and dressmaking.

Recently, Magda presented her research findings at the biannual international textile congress, Textiles from the Nile Valley, which took place on 15-16 November in Antwerp. As always with conference meetings, it was a great opportunity to showcase and discuss our textile artefacts with other specialists in the field. We are pleased to report that the expert community showed a great interest in our archaeological material and their original context, in contrast to many textile artefacts in museum collections that often lack provenance or detailed contextual information that can help to understand the use of these textiles in the past.

Magda’s presentation also sparked a conversation on the terminology used to describe textile artefacts, particularly those associated with human mummified remains. It was noted that no two publications use the same terms to describe similar items, as no set standards exist to describe mummy wrappings. With the wealth of those at Saqqara, we can certainly engage in this conversation and contribute to developing appropriate and standardised terminology for the field of (funerary) textile studies in Egypt and beyond.