Textile Crafts and Cultures

Textile Crafts and Cultures is a joint national endeavour of CTR and the National Museum of Denmark.
Seen from an archaeologist's perspective, Scandinavia is a treasure box where organic and inorganic manmade remains have had unique conditions for preservation. At the same time, Scandinavia has a strong tradition for excavating, recording and preserving archaeological artefacts and remains. Whether we are concerned with Stone, Bronze, Iron or Viking Age, Scandinavia possesses an enormous wealth of finds that in different ways can enlighten our understanding of the lives of the early inhabitants in this area.
The common aim is to investigate the development of northern European textile and skin production until c. AD 400 by combining various approaches and methods in archaeology, history, conservation and the natural sciences and to focus on the environment and the long-term strategies, from breeding sheep and cultivating textile crops to the international trade and exchange in textiles and their final destination in bogs, settlements and graves. Irrespective of the scale of a community, the production of raw materials for textiles and skins requires long-term planning, knowledge of animal husbandry and cultivation technology, and exploitation and management of available natural resources. Thus, textile and skin production represent important parts and aspects of agriculture. Within this research platform old and new analyses and information will form the basis for the discussion of the environmental, economical and cultural development of past societies.