Textiles from a recently excavated early Roman tomb in Carmona (Sevilla, Spain)

Recent rescue excavations in Calle Sevilla at Carmona (Sevilla, Spain) have brought to light a Roman mausoleum dated between the end of the 1st century BC and the middle of the 1st century AD, which contained eight vaulted loculi or niches where the urns containing the cremated remains and burial offerings were deposited. Six loculi contained cinerary urns of different styles and materials: four were rectangular stone boxes with a lid; while two were glass vessels with glass lids protected by lead containers. Two of the stone urns contained textiles remains, while one of the glass urns preserved traces of a fine fabric also on its exterior. The paper presents the preliminary results of the textile analysis. All the textile remains are heavily mineralised resulting in poor micro-preservation of the fibres. The fabrics identified include several tabbies, a twill, and a very unusual tabby fabric with well twisted warp and untwisted weft which may be a half silk, and therefore a likely exotic import.