Comparative studies of ancient Egyptian textiles in museum collections in the UK, June 2023

In June, Iwona and Magda, the project textile expert, visited several archaeological museums in the United Kingdom that hold important and often unique textile collections from Ancient Egypt. Using a naked-eye and microscopic equipment, Magda examined mummy wrappings and other textiles recovered from funerary contexts at archaeological sites across Egypt.

Ancient Egypt is well known for its domestic production of linen, a fabric that was used not only to clothe the living but also to dress the dead. Many identifiable pieces of garments have been recovered from pre- and early-dynastic burials (c.3500-2500 BCE), including the tunic dresses from Tarkhan and Deshasheh, the oldest known examples of ancient Egyptian clothing now housed at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, University College London. A staggering amount of linen wrappings were used on mummified remains particularly in later periods of Ancient Egypt, evidence of which is also present in many burials at the Upper Necropolis at Saqqara.

Owing to the dry and hot environment which aids preservation of organic materials, ancient Egyptian textiles can now be studied with the use of modern tools and scientific techniques that help to shed light on the ancient Egyptian flax cultivation, textile production and use across millennia. Comparative studies of textiles from various archaeological sites and time periods can aid in determining production centres and workshops, as well as spatial and temporal trends in the use and application of textiles, particularly in burial practices pertaining to the human body.

Magda cast her expert eyes on textiles exhibited at the British Museum and the World Museum in Liverpool. We are particularly grateful to Dr Anna Garnett and Dr Campbell Price, the curators at the Petrie Museum UCL and the Manchester Museum, for granting direct access to the textile collections and mummified remains for a detailed examination. To see those ancient Egyptian textiles in a greater magnification was a wonderful experience to us all, and it got our heads spinning with ideas for further research.