Pages: 173-212 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp265173212
This article presents a comprehensive study of textiles recovered from the necropolis of the Teshilovsky settlement, a small town of Ancient Rus’ situated on the right bank of the middle Oka River. The Oka Archaeological Expedition of the Paleoethnological Research Centre has conducted excavations at the site since 2022.
All the textiles examined share common features in their materials and decoration: they are made of silk and incorporate gold thread. The principal groups comprise fragments of silk samite with gold embroidery and gold-woven ribbons decorated with braided, animal, floral, and swastika motifs.
The study investigates manufacturing techniques, dye composition, provenance, and parallels. It adopts an interdisciplinary approach, combining conventional technological descriptions with scientific analyses, including X-ray fluorescence analysis of the gold threads, HPLC–MS analysis of the dyes, and radiocarbon dating.
The study of the textiles from the Teshilovsky settlement addresses two principal questions. First, dating individual textile finds may help establish when the necropolis came into use. Second, the textiles constitute an important body of evidence for reconstructing the development of textile production in Ancient Rus’.
Keywords: ancient Russian fabrics, Spas-Teshilovo, gold embroidery, RFA, HPLC-MS, necropolis, C14
Information about authors:
Ivan Goryachev (Moscow, Russian Federation). The Paleoethnology Research Centre. Novaya Pl., 12, block 5, Moscow, 109012, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Elena Tolmacheva (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. Mokhovaya St., 11, Moscow, 125009, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-9003-409X
Olga Orfinskaya (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Center for Egyptological Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Lenin Ave., 29/8, Moscow, 119071, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-5473-805X
Viktoria Korobkova (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Chemistry. M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. Lenin Mountains, 1, building 3, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Maria Iakovchik (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dmitry Ulyanov St., 19, Moscow, 117292, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Olga Dobrova (Moscow, Russian Federation). The Paleoethnology Research Centre. Novaya Pl., 12, block 5, Moscow, 109012, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Yurij Ikhlainen (Moscow, Russian Federation). M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. Lenin Mountains, 1, building 3, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Michael Statkus (Moscow, Russian Federation). Doctor of Chemistry. M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. Lenin Mountains, 1, building 3, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0003-3175-9338