Uses of textiles found at the burial site
Textiles found at the burial site in Hallstatt are first and foremost of interest because their location tells us much about what they would have been used for. The exact context of the find reveals much about the original use of the material, from clothing worn by the deceased person when buried to items such as belts and fibulas and even burial gifts placed into the grave next to the body. Researchers must first establish whether the textiles found formed part of the deceased’s clothing. If so, which piece of clothing did they come from? Or, if not, were they used to wrap other items in the grave? It also appears likely that some valuable materials were placed in graves as burial gifts in their own right.Use of textiles to wrap bodies and cremated remains
Use of textiles to wrap burial gifts
Use of textiles as clothing
Use of textiles to wrap bodies and cremated remains
Textiles played an important role in the death cult of prehistoric miners. On the one hand, the clothes worn by the deceased person when buried were of significance. It is also believed that some bodies were either covered with or wrapped in sheets. Cremated remains have also been found in the Hallstatt burial site where the ashes were placed into a cloth sack or the urn was covered with some form of material.Use of textiles to wrap burial gifts
Research has shown that particularly during the Iron Age it was common practice to wrap burial gifts in textiles. Special swords and other weapons from the late Hallstatt Period and early La Tène Period were often heavily wrapped. In most cases, however, it is not known whether this material was specifically made for this purpose or whether old items were recycled. We also do not know which beliefs led the prehistoric people to wrap the body of the deceased and the accompanying burial gifts. It is possible that it was seen as a taboo to place metal objects into the grave without first wrapping them in material. This custom may also have been carried out for practical reasons: wrapping iron objects in cloths dipped in fat and oil would have protected them from corrosion.Use of textiles as clothing
Textile remains found on fibulas and the inside of belt buckles probably formed items of clothing wrapped around the body and secured in place (similar to coats and tunicas). Even though in many cases only a few centimeters have survived, these pieces tell us much about what each item of clothing would have been used for. Their appearance may have been greatly changed as the result of rust and bronze patina, but the materials themselves are comparable in quality to those found in the salt mines.Textiles may also have formed part of ceremonial dress. For example, bronze belt buckles from the Hallstatt burial site contain a number of holes around the edge. These prove that the belt would have been attached to or lined with some form of organic material, possibly leather, tree bark and/or cloth (as shown by similar finds from the nearby burial site at Berg/Attergau).
(Groemer, K.- Loew, C.)
