What mineralised textiles tell us about the Iron Age burial site at Creney... and about the future of advanced instrumentation in archaeology

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• Loic Bertrand (ENS Paris-Saclay)
• Friday 23 May 2025, 13:15-14:00
• Seminar Room, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Downing Site.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Qin-Qin Lü.

In recent years, we have been studying textile finds from the Iron Age site of Creney-le-Paradis in France. A total of 99 textile fragments, ranging in size from millimetric to centimetric, have been identified. These were analyzed using conventional methods as well as an innovative protocol combining synchrotron 3D microtomography with advanced data processing. This approach has enabled a comprehensive survey of the textiles found in the funerary context, confirming the elite status of the burial, and placing it on par with the far better documented sites of Vix or Lavau. The study of Creney-le-Paradis is particularly iconic due to the site’s troubled history. Early excavations, likely conducted in the 19th century, resulted in incomplete and scattered remains. A salvage excavation was carried out in the late 1980s, but soon after, the site was destroyed to make way for a motorway junction. The archaeological importance of the site was only fully recognized later. Beyond the positivist contribution of advanced instrumentation to the study of archaeological remains, we argue that this research exemplifies the challenges faced in many archaeological studies. Archaeological investigations often deal with heterogeneous, altered, and statistically limited material, requiring a combination of analytical strategies to extract the maximum amount of information. Rather than being peripheral obstacles, these challenges are central to the analytical process and can be leveraged to refine methodologies. In particular, we will discuss how incompleteness can be integrated into instrumentation thinking by appropriately coupling physico-chemical methods with statistical data analysis.

Bio

Loïc Bertrand is a senior researcher in the Chemistry Department at École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay. His research explores long-term aging processes, the exceptional preservation of biological remains and archaeological materials, historical manufacturing techniques, and the provenance of materials used in ancient artifacts. He specialises in developing multiscale photonic methodologies, with a particular focus on synchrotron-based techniques, working closely with instrumentalists and data scientists to advance analytical approaches.

This talk is part of the Pitt-Rivers Archaeological Science Seminar Series series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• AUB_Cambridge Seminars
• Pitt-Rivers Archaeological Science Seminar Series
• Seminar Room, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Downing Site

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