The Huldremose Iron Age textiles, Denmark: an attempt to define their provenance applying the strontium isotope system

• Published in: Journal of archaeological science 2009-09, Vol.36 (9), p.1965-1971
• Main Authors: Frei, Karin Margarita, Skals, Irene, Gleba, Margarita, Lyngstrøm, Henriette
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Europe; Huldremose; Iron Age; Metal Ages; Methodology and general studies; North West Europe; Other materials; Plant fibre; Prehistory and protohistory; Provenance; Strontium isotopes; Textiles; Typology, technology and attribute analysis; Wool
• ISSN: 0305-4403; 1095-9238
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2009.05.007

Archaeological textiles recovered on two occasions from the Huldremose bog, Denmark, represent some of the best preserved and complete garments from the Danish Iron Age (500 BC–AD 800). In order to address the question regarding the provenance of the textile's raw material, we applied a recently developed method based on strontium isotopes to wool and plant fibres from these ancient garments. Textile plant fibres from Huldremose I find are of non-local provenance, whereas the wool from which the garment was made stemmed from sheep grazing on glaciomoraine soils developed on Cretaceous–Tertiary carbonate platform sediments widely found in Denmark. The Huldremose II find consists of an unusually large and well preserved garment, which is composed of wool from at least three different provenances. One source is again local, whereas the other two sources, characterized by elevated 87Sr/ 86Sr ratios, are compatible with geologically older (Precambrian) terrains which are typical for Northern Scandinavia, e.g. Norway or Sweden. Our study suggests that wool and plant fibres were either traded or brought as raw materials for textiles more commonly and over longer distances than previously assumed.