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Fibres of silk, cotton and flax in a weaving workshop from the first century a.d. palace of Dedoplis Gora, Georgia

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Abstract

The character of fibres discovered in mineralized, charred and completely decomposed textiles from the weaving workshop of the Dedoplis Gora palace showed that cotton and flax fabric was produced here. Silk thread was mixed with cotton fibres to add lustre to the fabric. Textile was also woven of Juncus, and ropes were made of Cannabis. Among coloured cotton cloth, rose and blue shades were predominant. The discovery of silk fibres is the first one not only for Georgia, but also for the whole Caucasus.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the administration of the National Museum of Georgia for the financial support for participation in the 14th Symposium of IWGP. We are grateful to J. P. Wild from University of Manchester for his consultations and publications sent to us. Thanks also to K. Wasylikowa, M. Grupa and A. Bieniek for their helpful comments and advice.

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Correspondence to Eliso Kvavadze.

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Communicated by A. Müller-Bieniek.

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Kvavadze, E., Gagoshidze, I. Fibres of silk, cotton and flax in a weaving workshop from the first century a.d. palace of Dedoplis Gora, Georgia. Veget Hist Archaeobot 17 (Suppl 1), 211–215 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-008-0175-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-008-0175-5

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