Ancient Egyptian textile fragment from Karanis dated 30 BC – AD 395

Heavy, closely woven fabric. Warps flax, doubled. Wefts brown, with narow stripes of yellow and blue (degraded) border. An intricate geometrical design has been embroidered in undyed flax thread, the pattern beign produced by the uncovered brown weft. The surface of the flax is slightly glazed.

Ancient Egyptian textile fragment from Karanis dated 30 BC – AD 395

Object details

  • Reference: BOLMG:1930.19.211
  • Material: flax linen
  • Period: Roman Period
  • Excavator: Joseph Starkey
  • Dated: 30 BC - AD 395
  • Object name: textile fragment
  • Dimensions: Length: 122mm , Width: 113mm
  • Published references: Jane C Batcheller Late Roman Textiles from Karanis Egypt an investigation into the characterization of archaeological textiles PhD thesis Manchester University 2002
  • Site: Karanis
  • Latitude: 29.517778
  • Longitude: 30.903333