Following a Thread: Tracing technology and techniques along the Silk Road

The medieval silk trade has been the subject of substantial research. A key topic within this field is the origins of silk textiles traded over long distances, something particularly difficult to determine in silk textiles of simple construction, such as tabby (plain-weave).
This thesis combines experimental archaeology with microscopy to identify potentially diagnostic criteria for determining the provenance of often overlooked tabby silk textiles from medieval contexts. Silk reeling and processing experiments were conducted between August 2021 and January 2022 using specially constructed equipment based on historical and archaeological evidence. The resulting reference collection of silk filament and yarn samples were analysed using a combination of reflected and transmitted light microscopy, and Scanning Electron microscopy leading to the identification of a number of distinct visual characteristics indicative of processing methods. Two sets of early- to high-medieval silk tabby textiles, one from Coppergate, the other from Winchester Cathedral also underwent light microscopy and SEM analysis.
This research generated a number of new protocols for the analysis of silk textiles which support more accurate identification of plied silk yarn, and the differentiation of silk degumming processes. In addition to these key findings a number of observations were made regarding the different techniques employed to produce silk and transmission of knowledge related to both the technology and processes involved. These observations are relevant to the broader topics of medieval craft production and trade. The comparison of the archaeological silk textiles with the experimental reference collection ultimately supported the identification of variations in processing steps across the textiles from both collections. These results provided an indication that the silk textiles may have been imported from a number of different regions that may have intersected at different stages of production which has important implications for our understanding of the medieval silk trade.