Linen archaeological

Weaving plant fibers is a relatively recent development in human history, apparently for technological reasons. Before our ancestors learned to spin or weave, they discovered which plants contained useful fibers and how these fibers could be extracted. According to archaeological evidence, one of the earliest plants used for fiber was flax (Linum usitatissimum). It was woven into linen at least 8000 years ago. The cultivation and uses of flax were beautifully illustrated on the walls of Egyptian tombs (Figure 7B). 

Deterioration of each of the fibres various components will affect the mechanical performance, but to different extents and through different mechanisms. Breakdown of the intercellular glue will obviously facilitate slippage of the ultimates, and this is often a particular problem for archaeological linen. Here though, we have chosen to focus mainly on the deterioration of the structural cellulose filler, which may be the more pertinent to the weakened condition of the Victory sailcloth. 

Passive soil burial experiments (Table 1.3) are often done under laboratory conditions, with soil and fibers incubated in closed containers. Typically, the soil and the fibers are moistened and the incubation container is sealed to ensure an adequate supply of water for microbial activity. For example, Peacock [43] maintained 65% relative humidity in incubation containers that contained linen, cotton, silk and wool in two different soil types. The goal of this work was to simulate wet archaeological burial environments to assess the decay of textile fabrics. The order of susceptibility to biodegradation was found to be linen > cotton > wool > silk. No nutrients were added to these soils [43]. In contrast, Modelli et al. [18] used the soil burial method (Table 1.3), but added ammonium and phosphate to stimulate microbial activity to ensure these essential nutrients were not limiting in the moistened soil. These were incubated under aerobic conditions for up to 180 days. 

HGM Edwards, E Ellis, DW Farwell, RC Janaway. Preliminary study of the application of Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy to the analysis of degraded archaeological linen textiles. J Raman Spectrosc 27 663-669 (1996). 

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