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A rare Bronze Age linen textile was found inside a socketed axe, part of a bronze age hoard dating to circa 800 BCE, discovered in Somerleyton, Suffolk, in the 1920s. The recent loan of the objects from the hoard provided the opportunity for a collaborative study of the fragmentary textile and its original context and significance. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were undertaken to update and inform interpretations of its condition, character and function. The remounting of the textile was necessary for display. The conservation challenges this raised, and the solutions found, are detailed here. The wider study of the metalwork associated with the hoard and of the current state of knowledge regarding Bronze Age textiles in Britain allowed for several hypotheses to be put forward about the textile's functional significance in efficient hafting techniques and its potential votive symbolism. The Somerleyton textile serves as a reminder of the need to contextualise Bronze Age metalwork within wider networks of (organic) materials and the potential of older collections to provide new insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses results of organic residue analysis performed on ten copper-alloy daggers from Bronze Age Pragatto, Italy, c.1550–1250 BCE. Metal daggers are widespread in Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Europe, yet their social and practical roles are still hotly debated. Are they symbolic or functional? Are they tools or weapons? How were they used? For what tasks and on what materials? The research addresses these questions through a novel application of biochemical staining and SEM–EDX analysis. The method has proved successful in extracting and identifying animal residues located on cutting edges including bone, muscle, and tendons. These are interpreted as evidence of prehistoric carcass butchering and carving. Further residues were observed on blade faces and hafting plates or tangs; these are interpreted as remnants of bone handles and sheaths, the latter made of either wood fibers or processed hide and fur. The readings proposed in the article are validated by original experiments with replica daggers, as detailed in the Supplementary Materials. The analysis and experiments shed new light on Bronze Age metal daggers, showing that they were fully functional tools (and perhaps tool-weapons) primarily utilized for the processing of animal carcasses. This original research result contributes significant knowledge towards interpreting an under-studied, yet socially salient, prehistoric metal artifact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Susanna Harris is conducting a one-year research project at the University of Glasgow, funded by The Royal Society of Edinburgh, to uncover Scotland's earliest textiles from the Bronze Age. The project aims to use scientific and archaeological methods to explore the innovative textile industry of that time, focusing on materials like plant fibers, wool, and horse hair. Recent discoveries in England have enhanced the understanding of Bronze Age textiles, and this research will contribute to the field through academic publications and public outreach efforts. [Extracted from the article]

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The aim of this research is to compare the cloth cultures of Europe and Egypt in the Bronze Age and New Kingdom. The comparison focuses on the fourteenth century cal BC and includes four geographically separate areas, including the oak coffin burials of southern Scandinavia, the Hallstatt salt mines of central Europe, Late Minoan Crete, and the tombs and towns of the later Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. The comparative approach can bring insights even when applied to unconnected cultures or regions. However, in this study I concentrate on a restricted chronological period and areas that were connected, directly or indirectly, by widespread networks of trade or exchange. The concept of cloth cultures is used to include both textiles and animal skins as these were closely related materials in the prehistoric past. Information was gathered according to the following categories: raw materials, including textile fibre, and species of skins; fabric structure and thread count (only for textiles); decoration and finish; and use and context. From this study, it is possible to recognize the universally shared principles of cloth cultures and the great versatility and creativity in the regional cloth cultures of the Bronze Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the Cloth Cultures in Prehistoric Europe, a Postdoctoral Fellowship project that aims to examine evidence for textiles and animal skins in prehistoric Europe from the Neolithic and Bronze Age. It notes that the project examines several case studies including the Bronze Age Hallstatt salt mines. It also explores the similarities and differences between the techniques applied to textiles and animal skins in the production and use in the mines.