- 30 -

In the recent years a specific field of research is

gaining more and more popularity and significance

among the archaeologists - the so-called 'archaeol-

ogy of textiles'. Actual textile remains survive ex-

tremely seldom and under exceptional conditions -

in anaerobic, either very humid or very dry envi-

ronment or in frozen environment. Other forms

of preservation, usually rather fragmentary, are car-

bonization and contact with metal objects (especially

copper and iron), resulting in the so-called 'pseudo-

morphs' in which textile is incorporated in the pa-

tina of the object.

The conditions in the Balkans are extremely un-

favorable for the prehistoric textile remains to sur-

vive and it is one of the reasons this field of research

to be almost totally unexplored. Yet there are a few

examples of preserved scraps of cloth due to contact

with metal items or some cases where indirect evi-

dence points to the presence of textiles, almost all

of them from burial contexts.

The earliest evidence derives from three cemeteries

in Northeastern Bulgaria. These are the Late

Chalcolithic necropolises near Varna and Devnya

and the recently published cemetery of Durankulak.

Textile remains from graves context are preserved

exclusively as "pseudomorphes" in the copper oxide

of different types of metal objects. From the cem-

etery near Devnya four such finds are recorded in

the publication (Todorova-Simeonova, H. 1971,

3-40). 26 graves have been excavated, including

male, female and children's burials and a group of

four pits with typical grave inventory but without

human remains - these represents the so-called ceno-

taphs or symbolic graves. Although the exact nature

of these burials is unclear, with interpretations vary-

ing from "specific religious beliefs reflecting the wor-

ship of ancestors" to symbolic burials of members

of community who had died far away from home,

they are a constant element in the mortuary prac-

tices of Late Chalcolithic cultures in the region. Metal

tools with oxidized textile fragments are found in

two graves of adults - one male (Grave 26) and one

destroyed, probably male (Grave 1) and in two of

the cenotaphs (Graves 23 and 24). Unfortunately,

the published photos are of extremely low quality,

so all we have is the description in the text, which is

sufficiently detailed. In three of the cases scraps were

adhered to copper axes of 'Choka' or 'Devnya' type

and in the male grave cloth were preserved on a

copper wedge. Two of the textiles are described as

TEXTILE REMAINS FROM PREHISTORIC GRAVES

FROM THE TERRITORY OF BULGARIA

a plain or tabby weave and the other two - as repp

weave (Todorova-Simeonova H. 1971, Tabl. IX,

1-4). The last, also called faced weave, is regarded

as a variant of the plain weave, in which one of the

two interwoven sets of threads is so tightly beaten

that hides or faces the other, thus providing a slightly

ribbed relief effect of the cloth.

While in the case of the male grave cloth can

plausibly be interpreted as part of the costume or

burial shroud of the dead, and this interpretation is

further supported by the presence of a big copper

needle near the right shoulder - probably a dress

fastener, in the cenotaphs textiles were obviously

used to wrap the burial goods.

The Varna cemetery provides five examples of

metal objects with textile fragments - four from ceno-

taphs and one from a male grave. These are ceno-

taph graves Nos. 4, 5, 26 and 40 and male grave

No. 32 (Todorova, H. 1981, 38-42, Taf. 7.114-

115; Taf.9.138; Taf. 10.148-149). Like the Devnya

cemetery scraps of cloth are observed mainly on cop-

per axes. All of them represent plain tabby weave.

Best preserved on a large part of the surface of a

copper axe is the example, illustrated here, found

in the cenotaph grave 40 (Fig. 1). Fine spun thread

and the regularity of the cloth all support the identi-

fication of the cloth as linen and future microscope

examination may check this suggestion. The only

other find from Varna that is related to textiles is a

fine spun cord wound around the handle of a big

copper awl or borer from one of the richest graves

in the cemetery - male grave 43 (Todorova, H.

1981, 43, Taf. 18.204).

The fragmentary nature of our finds does not

allow identification of the size and character of the

fabrics, whether they are parts of costume or just

shrouds and coverings. Textiles from Devnya ceno-

taphs were obviously used for wrapping the objects,

which were deposited in deep narrow pits. Textiles

from Varna - most of them are again from ceno-

taphs and symbolic graves but here pits have normal

size and some of them contain a number of orna-

ments, the place and arrangement of which suggests

the presence of highly ornamented dress. A repeat-

ing feature in all cases is the presence of black or-

ganic substance and traces of red ochre pigmenta-

tion on the bottom of the pits (Ivanov, I. 1988,

183-208).

An intriguing problem is the occurrence of red

pigmentation on different parts of the bodies, which,

Vanya Petrova

- 31 -

according to the authors remained from the colouring

of the dress (Todorova-Simeonova, H. 1971, 5).

Such interpretation is rather speculative for red

ochre might have been used also for colouring of the

body. This topic is further complicated by the abun-

dant traces of colour reported from the cemetery of

Durankulak (Avramova, M. 2002, 117-119).

Although the relatively big number of copper

objects, no oxidized textile remains are recorded.

Yet there are some indirect indications for clothing

and belts given by the position of different kinds of

ornaments. Pigmentations in red and rarely - black

colour are recorded on the bones, sometimes show-

ing a certain pattern and organization - examples

include band on the forehead or around the neck,

parallel narrow stripes around hand, also around

waist, on the legs, etc. and also white and red col-

orings on the pit-bottoms, interpreted as indica-

tions for organic covering under the buried bod-

ies. Maybe the most interesting example is from a

male grave - where alternating white and red ob-

lique stripes are traced under the skeletons.

Although not numerous, the finds from the

Chalcolithic graves in Bulgaria testify the existence

of real woven textiles already in the fifth millennium

and their steady role in the burial customs. The

regularity of fabric, the use of fine spun thread and

the presence of at least two weaving techniques -

tabby and repp all speak about long established tra-

ditions and skills in textile manufacture. The avail-

able evidence from the three cemeteries in NE Bul-

garia does not allow us to reconstruct the type of

clothing with certainty. The existence of a dress is

indicated by the place of dress ornaments, needle-

fasteners, or by the belt. Textiles must also play a

certain role in the funeral in the form of wrapping,

shroud or undercover, in the cases of cenotaphs

textiles may have both been used to imitate a fu-

neral dress or simply to wrap the burial goods. Some

couloring or even dying might also be suggested.

The earliest evidence for use of textiles in mor-

tuary practices is doubtlessly from Çatal hüyük, where

babies were buried under floors and hearths wrapped

in narrow stripes of fine woven cloth (Helbaek, H.

1963; Burnham, H. 1965).

Evidence for more or less complete textiles ex-

ists also from graves that are roughly contemporary

with ours. One example is the so-called Cave of the

Warrior in the Judean Desert dated to the begin-

ning of fourth millennium (Schick, T. 2000). An

enormous linen cloth was used for the burial, folded

twice thus forming a shroud, in which the body was

wrapped. Red pigment appeared in small spots on

one side of the cloth, suggesting sprinkling with liquid

containing red ochre during the ceremony. Another

example is from the recently re-examined textile re-

mains from the Tsarskaya (or Novosvobodnaya)

tumulus in Northern Caucasus, dated to the EBA

Maykop culture (Shishlina, N., Orfinskaya, O.

and V. Golikov, 2003). The body was warped in

narrow woolen stripes and then in animal skin; again

there are traces of additional sprinkling or painting

with red ochre liquid. Cloth and animal skin re-

mains are found in the Late Chalcolithic burials of

Alishar hüyük. Textile pieces are identified as tightly

woven fine spun linen (von der Osten, H. H 1937,

44, 52; Fogelberg, J. 1937).

The most recently published metal find with tex-

tile remains from the territory of Bulgaria belongs

to the Bronze Age. The find in question is a bronze

dagger which, together with other metal objects,

including silver jewellery and bronze tools, entered

the National Museum of History in 1998. The prov-

enance of the finds is uncertain, the only informa-

tion being that the objects had been found through

illicit diggings somewhere in the region of Khaskovo

(Avramova, M., B. Todorieva 2002). According

to the author's opinion the whole find constitutes a

grave inventory, probably from a cremation burial,

which is suggested by the slight deformation of some

of the items, caused by fire. For the date of the

finds most important is one axe of a developed

'Fensterbeile' type, which allows a dating in the

end of MBA - LBA.

The dagger is 31.8 cm long and its maximum

width is 10.8 cm (Avramova, M., B. Todorieva

2002, 476-477 and Fig. 5). It is made of bronze

and subsequently coated with tin. Over the whole

surface numerous pieces of cloth are visible, best

preserved near one of the cutting edges. Up to ten

scraps of cloth could be countered through macro-

scopic analyses; the largest one is ca. 2 sq. cm.

The following technological observations can be

made on the base of one macroscopic photo (Fig.

2). All fragments are woven in plain tabby weave;

thread count is even - 15 warps to 15 wefts per square

cm. The average thickness of the warp and weft

threads is equal and measures about 0.4 mm. All

threads are Z twist and S-plied. The identical tech-

nological indices and weaving technique of all frag-

ments prove that the dagger was wrapped with a

single piece of cloth. In the primary publication the

origin of the textile is identified as generally veg-

etable, whether flax or hemp. Yet, according to

the ancient textile historians, hemp was not intro-

duced in Europe prior to the Iron Age (Barber, E.

1991, 15-18). This and the fine quality of the wo-

ven fabric make it more probable that the cloth is

actually linen. During the conservation works traces

of red ochre covering became visible on the surface

of the dagger and the rest of the bronze items. It

seems that, despite the much later date, this find

shares the same principal elements like those previ-

ously described from the Chalcolithic cemeteries - a

- 32 -

metal item wrapped in linen cloth as a funerary gift

and covered with red ochre. It is interesting to note

that the rest of the finds do not have any traces of

cloth although their wide surfaces should have been

suitable for its adhesion. So, it seems that only the

dagger was wrapped as if the ancient people had in-

tended to protect by cloth the precious metal item.

Vice versa, it was in fact the metal that saved the

perishable matter and stored it till nowadays.

There are a number of cases when small pieces

of cloth were adhered to bronze items, known from

Bronze Age graves in Greece, the Aegean and

Anatolia. Here we can list scraps of cloth on a dag-

ger blade from a tomb on the Cycladic island of

Amorgos, EBA, casts on EBA and MBA daggers

from several Cypriote sites, for example Vounous,

tiny flecks both of garments or shrouds and of sheaths

or wrappers around bronze blades and vessels, found

in both grave circles at Mycenae, bits of cloth on a

sword in a tomb at Zafer Papoura, near Knossos,

etc. (Barber E. 1991, 147 with ref.). Some pecu-

liar examples of preservation of textile fragments are

small scraps of cloth integrated in the surface of Cyp-

riote vessels, obviously through carbonization

(Åaström, P. 1964, 112 and figs. 1-2). The textile

fragments are always in plain tabby weave and of

linen, wherever such details are determinable.

A repeating feature of these textile finds is their

association with graves and, when existing, their

inevitable determination as plain linen weaves. It is

however surprising in a period when wool must

have been already well known and used in cloth

manufacture as it is well attested in the written records

at least from the period of Old Assyrian colonies in

Anatolia and later in palace archives of Linear B

tablets at Knossos. A possible explanation is that

even after the adoption and wide use of wool, linen

with its natural whitish colour and purity of its veg-

etable origin, was deliberately preferred in the

funerary ceremonies. The evidence from the Balkans

is still rather fragmentary and insufficient for offer-

ing more general conclusions in the field of 'textile

archaeology'. Yet, it shows well established tradi-

tions and skills already in the fifth millennium BC

in preparing of fine spun thread and neatly woven

fabrics of fine quality. Linen cloth was introduced

in the mortuary practices at least in the late

Chalcolithic and this tradition continues well into

the Bronze Age.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank to Maya Avramova, who

kindly provided me with quality photos of the bronze

dagger and with detailed information on the whole

find.

Also, I would like to thank to Prof. Josef Maran,

for his generous hospitality during my stay in Heidel-

berg University in 2004, where most of the foreign

literature used in the article was collected.

AbbreviationsASt - Anatolian StudiesINMV - Izvestija na Narodnija Muzej VarnaOJA - Oxford Journal of ArchaeologyPB - Prahistorische Bronzefunde

Åaström, P. 1964. Remains of Ancient Cloth from Cyprus.Opuscula Atheniensia 5, 111-114.

Avramova, M. 2002. Farbspuren, Rötel und andereanorganische Materialen in den Gräberfeld von Durankulak.In: Todorova, H. (herausgeber), Durankulak, Band II, Teil 1.Die prähistorischen Gräberfeld, Sofia, Anubis, 117-119.

Avramova M., B. Todorieva 2002. Kolektivna nahodka otmetalni predmeti – sredna bronzova epoha. Ðéôýç. Studia inhonorem Prof. Ivani Marazov, ed. by R. Gicheva and K.Rabadzhiev, Sofia, Anubis, 474-478.

Barber, E. J. W. 1991. Prehistoric Textiles. TheDevelopment of Cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. WithSpecial Reference to the Aegean. Princeton.

Helbaek H. 1963 Textiles from Çatal Hüyük. – Archaeology,67, 39-46.

Burnham H. 1965 Çatal Hüyük - The Textiles and TwinedFabrics. – ASt, 15, 169-174.

Novitskaja, M. 1947. K voprosu o tekstile Tripolskojkulturi. Arheologija, I, 44-61.

Todorova-Simeonova, H. Kusnoeneolithijat nekropol krajgrad Devnya – Varnensko. – INMV, VII (XXII), 3-40.

Todorova H. 1981. Die kupferzeitlichen Äxte und Beile inBulgarien. PB, IX, Band 14, C.H. Beck´scheVerlagsbuchhandlung, München.

Ivanov, I. 1988. Das Graberfeld von Varna – Katalog.In: Fol A. und J. Lichardus (herausgeber), Macht, Herrschaftund Gold. Das Graberfeld von Varna (Bulgarien) und doeAnfänge einer neuen europäischen Zivilization. Saarbrücken,183-208.

Schick, T. 2000. 6000 years old textiles from the Cave ofthe Warrior, Judean Desert. In:

Archeologie des textiles des origines au Ve siecle. Edited byD. Cardon et M. Feugere

Montagnac, Monique Mergoloil, 15-22.Fogelberg, J. 1937. Chalcolithic Textile fragments. In: von

der Osten, H. H., 1937, 334-335.Von der Osten, H. H. The Alishar Hüyük. Seasons of

1930-32, Part III. Researches in Anatolia – Volume IX. Chicago,The University of Chicago Press

Shishlina, N., Orfinskaya, O. and V. Golikov, 2003. BronzeAge Textiles from the North Caucasus: New Evidence of FourthMillennium BC Fibres and Fabrics. – OJA 22(4) 331-344.

References:

- 33 -

Óñëîâèÿòà çà ñúõðàíåíèå íà ïðàèñòîðè-

÷åñêè òúêàíè â Áúëãàðèÿ è âúîáùå â Þãî-

èçòî÷íà Åâðîïà ñà èçêëþ÷èòåëíî íåáëàãîï-

ðèÿòíè è òîâà å åäíà îò ïðè÷èíèòå òàçè ïðîá-

ëåìàòèêà äà îñòàâà ïî÷òè íàïúëíî íåèçñëåä-

âàíà. Âúïðåêè òîâà, â ðåäèöà ïóáëèêàöèè

íà ïðàèñòîðè÷åñêè ãðîáîâå ñúùåñòâóâàò êàê-

òî ñúîáùåíèÿ çà ñúõðàíåíè êúñ÷åòà òúêàíè,

òàêà è èíäèðåêòíè ïîäàòêè çà íàëè÷èå íà îá-

ëåêëî. Èìåííî òå ñà ïðåäìåò íà íàñòîÿùàòà

ñòàòèÿ. Âúâ âñè÷êè ñëó÷àè òúêàíèòå ñà çà-

ïàçåíè áëàãîäàðåíèå íà êîíòàêòà ñ ìåòàëíè

ïðåäìåòè, ïîä ôîðìàòà íà �ïñåâäîìîðôè�,

èíêîðïîðèðàíè â ïàòèíàòà íà ïðåäìåòà.

Íàé-ðàííèòå ïîäîáíè íàõîäêè ïðîèçëè-

çàò îò äâà êúñíîõàëêîëèòíè íåêðîïîëà â Ñå-

âåðîèçòî÷íà Áúëãàðèÿ - Âàðíåíñêèÿ íåêðî-

ïîë è íåêðîïîëà ïðè ãð. Äåâíÿ. Â íåêðî-

ïîëà ïðè Äåâíÿ ñà çàñâèäåòåëñòâàíè òúêà-

íè, èçðàáîòåíè â äâå òåõíèêè - îáèêíîâåíà

(ëèòà) òúêàí è òúêàí òèï �ðèïñ� (Òîäîðîâà-

Ñèìåîíîâà, 1971, 3-40). Âúâ Âàðíåíñêèÿ

íåêðîïîë ñèãóðíî óñòàíîâåíà å îáèêíîâåíà-

òà (ëèòà) òúêàí. Ôèíî èçïðåäåíàòà íèøêà

è ïëúòíîñòòà íà òúêàíòà ïîçâîëÿâàò èäåí-

òèôèêàöèÿòà é êàòî ëåíåíà. È â äâàòà íåê-

ðîïîëà òúêàíèòå ñà çàïàçåíè ïðåäè âñè÷êî

âúðõó ìåäíè áðàäâè. Ðåãèñòðèðàíè ñà êàêòî

â êåíîòàôè, òàêà è â íîðìàëíè ãðîáîâå. Îá-

ñòîÿòåëñòâàòà íà ðàçêðèâàíå ïîçâîëÿâàò

ïðåäïîëîæåíèåòî, ÷å òúêàíèòå ñà óïîòðåáÿ-

âàíè â ïîãðåáàëíèÿ ðèòóàë êàêòî çà óâèâàíå

íà ãðîáíèòå äàðîâå (ïðè êåíîòàôèòå îò Äåâ-

íÿ), òàêà è êàòî ÷àñò îò îáëåêëîòî èëè ñàâà-

íà, ñ êîéòî å ïîêðèò ïîãðåáàíèÿ. Èíäèðåê-

òíè ïîäàòêè çà íàëè÷èåòî íà áîãàòî îðíà-

ìåíòèðàíà äðåõà äàâàò ðàçïîëîæåíèåòî è

ïîäðåäáàòà íà àïëèêàöèèòå, êàêòî â íîðìàë-

íèòå, òàêà è â íÿêîè îò ñèìâîëè÷íèòå ãðî-

ÒÅÊÑÒÈËÍÈ ÎÑÒÀÍÊÈ ÎÒ ÏÐÀÈÑÒÎÐÈ×ÅÑÊÈ ÃÐÎÁÎÂÅ

ÎÒ ÒÅÐÈÒÎÐÈßÒÀ ÍÀ ÁÚËÃÀÐÈß

áîâå îò Âàðíåíñêèÿ íåêðîïîë. È â äâàòà íåê-

ðîïîëà, â ãðîáîâåòå ñ òåêñòèëíè íàõîäêè å

ðåãèñòðèðàí ïëàñò ÷åðíà îðãàíè÷íà ìàòåðèÿ

íà äúíîòî íà ÿìèòå è îöâåòÿâàíå ñ ÷åðâåíà

îõðà. Èíòåðåñåí å ïðîáëåìúò çà âúçìîæ-

íîñòòà ÷åðâåíàòà îõðà äà å èçïîëçâàíà çà îö-

âåòÿâàíå íà òúêàíèòå, ìàêàð è â ðàìêèòå íà

ïîãðåáàëíèÿ ðèòóàë. Äàííè çà ïîäîáíà

ïðàêòèêà ñúùåñòâóâàò îò ðåäèöà ãðîáîâå â

íåêðîïîëà íà Äóðàíêóëàê.

Ïîñëåäíàòà ïóáëèêóâàíà íàõîäêà íà òåê-

ñòèë å âúðõó êàìà îò êîëåêòèâíà íàõîäêà îò

ìåòàëíè ïðåäìåòè, îòêðèòà îò èìàíÿðè â ðà-

éîíà íà Õàñêîâî è ñúõðàíÿâàíà â Íàöèîíàë-

íèÿ Èñòîðè÷åñêè ìóçåé (Àâðàìîâà, Ì., Á.

Òîäîðèåâà 2002, 474-478). Àâòîðèòå íà ïóá-

ëèêàöèÿòà äàòèðàò íàõîäêàòà â ñðåäíàòà

áðîíçîâà åïîõà è ÿ èíòåðïðåòèðàò êàòî ÷àñò

îò èíâåíòàðà íà ãðîá, âåðîÿòíî êðåìàöèÿ.

Êàìàòà å èçðàáîòåíà îò áðîíç, ñëåä êîåòî å

ïîêðèòà ñ êàëàé è ïîðúñåíà ñ ÷åðâåíà îõðà.

Âúðõó öÿëàòà ïîâúðõíîñò íà îñòðèåòî ëè÷àò

ìíîãîáðîéíè êúñ÷åòà òúêàí, êàòî íàé-äîá-

ðå çàïàçåíè ñà â áëèçîñò äî åäèíèÿ ðåæåù

ðúá. Âñè÷êè ôðàãìåíòè ñà â îáèêíîâåíà (ëè-

òà) òåõíèêà, îò ôèíà äâîéíî ïðåñóêàíà

íèøêà. Ìàêðîñêîïñêèÿò àíàëèç ïîçâîëÿâà

èçâîäà, ÷å êàìàòà å óâèòà ñ åäèíè÷åí êúñ

òúêàí, ïî âñÿêà âåðîÿòíîñò ëåíåíà.

Ìàêàð è ìàëîáðîéíè, òåêñòèëíèòå íàõîä-

êè îò ïðàèñòîðè÷åñêè ãðîáîâå îò òåðèòîðèÿ-

òà íà Áúëãàðèÿ ñâèäåòåëñòâàò çà óñòàíîâåíè

òðàäèöèè è óìåíèÿ â îáëàñòòà íà òúêà÷åñòâî-

òî îùå ïðåç êúñíèÿ õàëêîëèò. Íàé-êúñíî îò-

òîãàâà äàòèðà è âêëþ÷âàíåòî íà òåêñòèëíè èç-

äåëèÿ â ïîãðåáàëíèòå ïðàêòèêè è ðèòóàëè.

Ëåíúò å ïðåäïî÷èòàíàòà ñóðîâèíà çà èçðàáîò-

êà íà òúêàíè çà ïîãðåáàëíè öåëè êàêòî ïðåç

õàëêîëèòà, òàêà è ïðåç áðîíçîâàòà åïîõà.

Âàíÿ Ïåòðîâà

Ðåçþìå

- 34 -

Fig. 1 - Copper axe with textile fragments fromVarna cemetery, Grave 40 (Photo courtesyVarna Historical Museum).

Fig. 2 - Bronze dagger from a collective findfrom the region of Khaskovo (published with thepermission of the author).