Fourth c. Gold and Purple Shrouds to be on display – History

The large gold and purple textiles found in the graves of the early Christian church in Autun, France in 2020 have been fully excavated in 2020 and are on display for the first time.

From the early 3rd century to the late 5th century AD, the earliest funerals must have included some of the earliest Autun Christians. In the late 2nd century, more than 230 funerals were made in the excavations of ancient cemeteries, and their history can be traced back to the late 5th century AD. According to ancient sources, the first Autun Bishops were buried in the cemetery, but not just Christianity. Several of the funerals belong to the city’s elite and contain high prestigious objects, including a set of 4th-century amber dots, the only product of its kind ever and an extraordinary diagnostic glass in France.

Fragments of textiles woven with gold thread were found in six graves, including five of which were buried in the lead coffin and one wooden coffin. The lead coffin in the grave contains the largest textile. The bones break down in six inches of soil in the coffin, but textile residues woven with metal threads and purple fabrics cover the entire length of the coffin, negatively numerals of the head. In the conservation laboratory, it was removed in four soils removed in a size of about 10 x 10 inches.

Refrigerate the blocky plants to prevent mold formation and fiber degradation. They were scanned for CT, providing archaeologists with a map of what they were excavated in the soil. They are then gradually dried for a year to remove the fabric. Tweezers took a year to do a hard excavation, only to extract textile fragments from the first of four blocks.

All four blocks have now been excavated, allowing archaeologists to more clearly depict the fabric in the 47 graves, enough for reconstruction. It is either a top or shroud, probably 5 by 10 feet and must completely wrap the dead.

The gold cloth is probably one of the largest antiques found so far. It is made of threads composed of textile cores and is surrounded by gold bars. Due to repeated penetration in the coffin, there is almost no organic material now, only the gold thread is retained. Some samples are very thin, every 100 cm (i.e., the diameter of each thread is 100 microns) and about 300 microns wide gold bars). These gold threads are evidence of luxury fabrics made from precise and detailed. The presence of curved patterns suggests the use of tapestries to incorporate strips of gold thread fabric into purple fabrics. They painted geometric and curved elements that might correspond to plant and floral themes.

Autun’s gold fabric is first presented on Musée DuQuai Branly. this The Line of Gold: The Art of Dressing From the East to the Rising Sun The exhibition lasts until July 6, 2025.