Amongst the artefacts were numerous textile objects, reaching from simple wool fabrics to precious silk embroideries. The TexRec project will focus on the over 80 fragments belonging to several different tapestries. The tapestry fragments show scenes with finely crafted human figures, weapons, animals, carriages, and houses, as well as geometric symbols. This collection is one of a kind and the fragments therefore constitute a unique source of knowledge about Viking Age design, mythology, and textile technology.
TexRec will seek answers to how the individual scenes have formed coherent narratives and to the use of dyes and colours in the production of the textiles. This will form the basis of a virtual reconstruction. We aim also in developing a modern conservation strategy for these vulnerable textiles. A wide range of methods within chemistry, archaeology, computer science, imaging, material science, botany and conservation will be applied to answer the research questions.
Five main research areas
The project consists of five main parts, all of them with special challenges.
Research area 1: Analyses of the fabrics
In this research area, the fabrics will be investigated thoroughly. The main focus lies here on the analyses of the original dyestuffs.
However, most colours have bleached out, and sample taking is very restricted. Therefore, beside using well-established techniques like HPLC, we will adapt Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) to the needs of the Oseberg textiles.
To identify the bleached-out dyestuffs, the decomposition products of the dyestuffs will be characterized. Based on knowledge of the degradation pathways, the presence of certain compounds formed during the decomposition of a dyestuff allows conclusions on the original colour.
Production of mock-ups are an important part of the project. The mock-ups are used as references in the different analytical approaches and will help us to study historical dyeing technologies, conduct aging and decomposition studies and investigate interactions between dyestuffs and potential conservation agents.
Different types of photography, such as Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) technique, will help us visualize details of the motifs that are today monochrome High resolution electron microscopy and biochemistry techniques will be used to research degradation processes of the fibres on a molecular level.
Research area 2: The puzzle program and virtual reconstruction
The results gained in research area one will be the fundament of a virtual reconstruction of the tapestries in area 2. The key question here is: How did the more than 80 fragments fit together?
Since the fabrics are very fragile, unnecessary moving must be avoided. Therefore, in a first step, all fragments will be photographed using a 3D scanner. The scans will be used to determine parameters such like thickness of threads, weaving characteristics, and others. Together with results of chemical analyses of dyestuffs and fibres, they will be inserted into a computer program, which will be newly developed to meet the requirements of the Oseberg textiles.
This "puzzle program", based on a cluster analyses, will assist the archaeologist to create a virtual reconstruction of the appearance of the tapestries.
Research area 3: Interpretation
Why are we so interested in what the tapestries looked like? A multitude of figures and motifs are depicted in high detail on the tapestries, most of them seem to be dedicated to warfare and religious ceremonies: male and female warriors wearing armours and weapons, a warrior on a wagon without a horse, a procession, a grove, a tree with hanged man – there are a lot of open questions on what they could tell us.
If we manage to piece together some of the fragments, we will also get a better idea of what stories these tapestries convey. Do they resemble stories we know from medieval written sources or from other artefacts, or do they tell stories completely unknown to us? In this research area we will follow these exciting questions.
Research area 4: Conservation strategies
This research area is dedicated to the development of proper conservation strategies for the fabrics. Consolidants currently used in textile conservation suffer from several drawbacks. We aim to explore new conservation agents, focusing on bio-inspired materials.
Following the motto "Learning from nature" we will evaluate different biopolymers and their derivatives, aiming in tailor-made and, as far as possible, biomimetic consolidants. The envisioned materials will not only help to preserve the Oseberg textiles but, hopefully, also textiles in other collections.
Research area 5: Dissemination
Since we are working at a museum, dissemination of our research is an important part of TexRec. Part 5 includes academic presentations and publications as well as outreaching to the public. We plan for small courses and demonstrations for younger people, including experiments on historical dyeing techniques.
Collaborating partners
- Botanic Garden, Oslo
- University of Bergen (focusing on textile conservation)
- University of Bologna (focusing on dyestuff analyses)
- DWI – Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials (focusing on bio-inspired materials)
- University of Nottingham (focusing on bio-inspired materials)
- University of Krakow (focusing on RTI photography)
Other collaboration