NESAT Update

Although the volume of papers from the proceedings of the eleventh North European Symposium on Archaeological Textiles ("NESAT XI") is, unfortunately, not yet published, scheduling for the program of NESAT XII, scheduled to take place in May 2014 in Hallstatt, Austria, is well underway. The tentative program for NESAT XII may be viewed here.

Unsurprisingly in light of the fact that NESAT XII is being held in Hallstatt, near the salt mines where many fascinating Bronze Age textile finds have been made, several of the program items will focus on those finds. Other interesting papers are expected as well, however.  Here are some of the planned program items that particularly interest me: 

• U. Mannering: Costume and Textile Design in the Nordic Bronze Age
• K. M. Frei: Strontium isotope investigations of Danish Bronze Age textiles
• S. H. Fossoy: Seams and embroidery on Bronze Age costumes in northern Europe
• B. Klessing: Textile Tools from Viking Age Graves in Gothland, Sweden: a Preliminary Exploration
• H. Lukesová: Old Fragments of Women's Costumes from the Viking Age - New Methods for Identification
• S. Desroiers: Chinese silks in the Merovingian graves of Saint-Denis Basilica?

I continue to look forward to more useful, in-depth information from archaeological discoveries as the technologies available for analyzing fiber finds advance.