Research
Digging Diaries 2022 – second week
info@museitorino.it
011 44 06 903
From Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Written by Valentina Turina.
After opening the site, here we finally are to get going! I am Valentina Turina, a textile restorer, and this week I was finally able to study the textiles that have been discovered during past excavation seasons.
Caption: Linen fragments.
Photo: Nicola Dell'Aquila.
In the campaigns of the past years, in fact, a lot of textile fragments of different sizes were collected. They are linen, the most common fabric in Ancient Egypt. In addition to linen fragments, there are also Coptic fragments characterised by colourful woollen weaves that create beautiful decorative elements.
Hundreds of linen fragments are waiting to be looked at! This week, my goal was to view all the linen textiles found in the 2019 season and decide how to store and conserve it.
Caption: Studying fabrics before taking overview photos.
Photo: Nicola Dell'Aquila.
I started by selecting the most noteworthy textiles and taking overview photos of them. This sounds like an easy job, but on the site there are many challenges, primarily the wind. The textiles are very light and are at danger of being moved during windy desert days. So, I armed myself with patience and entomological pins and fixed the small fragments on a piece of acid free cardboard so that I could photograph them properly. With the invaluable help of our photographer, Nicola dell'Aquila, I succeeded in this task.
Caption: Process of making overview photos.
Photo: Nicola Dell'Aquila.
This first phase of work was full of surprises: there were pieces with small fringes, tunic elements, and textiles with several types of stitching. Among the latter, I was immediately captivated by a triangular-shaped fragment that, after studying its shape and edges, turned out to be a fragmentary loincloth.
Caption: Fragmentary loincloth during the pinning process.
Photo: Nicola Dell'Aquila.
Among the many linen fabrics, I also found some bone elements, promptly photographed and catalogued by our team member Ali Jelene, who studies the human remains for the excavation.
A second particularly important aspect of my work is the preservation of the textiles. Indeed, it is important that the textiles be properly preserved, as much as possible sheltered from external conditions.
I spent the last days of this week taking care of conservation procedures that are essential for the preservation of the finds, such as dusting, smoothing out creases, and finally, store them inside micro-perforated bags, suited for storing the finds on the site.
Caption: Pinning of textile fragments with fringes.
Photo: Nicola Dell'Aquila.
I end this week at the excavation by reflecting on how to continue the study of these textiles and what improvements to make to the artifact storage system.
Caption: Storage of the fabrics.
Photo: Nicola Dell'Aquila.
The Digging Diaries tell the joint mission of Museo Egizio and Rijksmuseum of Leiden to Saqqara.
The excavation project in Saqqara began in 1975. Until 1998 the Leiden Museum cooperated with the Egypt Exploration Society in London. Leiden University (since 1999) and the Bologna Archaeological Museum (since 2011) were also involved in the project.
In 2015, the Museo Egizio joined the project as a third partner.
The current mission directors are Lara Weiss, curator of the Egyptian collection at the Leiden Museum, and Christian Greco, director of the Museo Egizio.
After opening the site, here we finally are to get going! I am Valentina Turina, a textile restorer, and this week I was finally able to study the textiles that have been discovered during past excavation seasons.
Caption: Linen fragments.
Photo: Nicola Dell'Aquila.
In the campaigns of the past years, in fact, a lot of textile fragments of different sizes were collected. They are linen, the most common fabric in Ancient Egypt. In addition to linen fragments, there are also Coptic fragments characterised by colourful woollen weaves that create beautiful decorative elements.
Hundreds of linen fragments are waiting to be looked at! This week, my goal was to view all the linen textiles found in the 2019 season and decide how to store and conserve it.
Caption: Studying fabrics before taking overview photos.
Photo: Nicola Dell'Aquila.
I started by selecting the most noteworthy textiles and taking overview photos of them. This sounds like an easy job, but on the site there are many challenges, primarily the wind. The textiles are very light and are at danger of being moved during windy desert days. So, I armed myself with patience and entomological pins and fixed the small fragments on a piece of acid free cardboard so that I could photograph them properly. With the invaluable help of our photographer, Nicola dell'Aquila, I succeeded in this task.
Caption: Process of making overview photos.
Photo: Nicola Dell'Aquila.
This first phase of work was full of surprises: there were pieces with small fringes, tunic elements, and textiles with several types of stitching. Among the latter, I was immediately captivated by a triangular-shaped fragment that, after studying its shape and edges, turned out to be a fragmentary loincloth.
Caption: Fragmentary loincloth during the pinning process.
Photo: Nicola Dell'Aquila.
Among the many linen fabrics, I also found some bone elements, promptly photographed and catalogued by our team member Ali Jelene, who studies the human remains for the excavation.
A second particularly important aspect of my work is the preservation of the textiles. Indeed, it is important that the textiles be properly preserved, as much as possible sheltered from external conditions.
I spent the last days of this week taking care of conservation procedures that are essential for the preservation of the finds, such as dusting, smoothing out creases, and finally, store them inside micro-perforated bags, suited for storing the finds on the site.
Caption: Pinning of textile fragments with fringes.
Photo: Nicola Dell'Aquila.
I end this week at the excavation by reflecting on how to continue the study of these textiles and what improvements to make to the artifact storage system.
Caption: Storage of the fabrics.
Photo: Nicola Dell'Aquila.
The Digging Diaries tell the joint mission of Museo Egizio and Rijksmuseum of Leiden to Saqqara.
The excavation project in Saqqara began in 1975. Until 1998 the Leiden Museum cooperated with the Egypt Exploration Society in London. Leiden University (since 1999) and the Bologna Archaeological Museum (since 2011) were also involved in the project.
In 2015, the Museo Egizio joined the project as a third partner.
The current mission directors are Lara Weiss, curator of the Egyptian collection at the Leiden Museum, and Christian Greco, director of the Museo Egizio.
info@museitorino.it
011 44 06 903
From Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
