This paper is aimed to study Egyptian textiles from the grave 213 dated to 5–7 AD that belongs to the Deir al-Banat necropolis (Fayum). These textile finds are published for the first time which would extend our know-ledge on Egyptian Late Antique burial custom and would further enrich our understanding of the function that textiles had in Egyptian funeral practice. Moreover, the data from this burial would help us to study Egyptian weaving technologies of that time. The textile finds from the grave 213/1 are rather diverse. The male body from the grave was stretched out on its back with the head towards the west. It was dressed in three wool and one (closest to the body) linen tunics and wrapped in the fourth wool tunic. A rectangular linen cloth covered the face of the deceased. The head was resting on a pillow, under which an unfinished wool rectangular textile was found. A similar pillow was placed at the foot of the man. Fourteen textiles of different quality were used to wrap the body. Twelve of them were of a poor quality («wrappings» or «coarse funeral shrouds»). Two other textiles from the upper layer of the «wrappings» (probably, reused furnishing textiles) quite differed from the ordinary coarse shrouds. There are different groups of textiles: reused furnishing textiles, coarse funeral shrouds, tunics. Coarse shrouds with simple decorations were woven presumably on a vertical loom with two beams. This kind of loom was rather primitive and could have been used in small workshops specializing in production of large number of low quality textiles for burial needs. The woven-to-shape three-piece tunics and furnishings were not produced on the same loom as the coarse shrouds. Both one-piece and three-piece tunics have starting/finishing borders and were attached to a wooden bar or string but not simply looped around the beam. All these objects were rather heavy and demanded certain skills from a weaver. Besides large and complicated looms, Egyptian weavers could have probably used rather small and simple devices such as a band loom with a rigid heddle. Textiles of different functions were used in burial practice. Among them were both textiles specially intended for burial (coarse funeral shrouds) and reused lifetime items (tunics, furnishing textiles). From other archaeological sources, it is known that Egyptians of Late Antiquity did not have special garments for funeral. The economic context of the textiles from the grave 213 is rather unclear. Some of the objects could have been produced in small household workshops, the others demand professional skills.

Key words: Late Antique Egyptian textiles, burial custom, textile technologies, «Coptic textiles».

DOI: 10.20874/2071-0437-2017-38-3-016-028

02.10.2017

O.V. Orfinskaya

Center for Egyptological studies of RAS, Leninskiy pr., 29, Moscow, 119071, Russian Federation

E-mail: orfio@yandex.ru

E.G. Tolmacheva

Center for Egyptological studies of RAS, Leninskiy pr., 29, Moscow, 119071, Russian Federation

E-mail: etolma@mail.ru

G.A. Belova

Center for Egyptological studies of RAS, Leninskiy pr., 29, Moscow, 119071, Russian Federation

E-mail: galinabell@yahoo.com