Textiles burning: Understanding charred textiles from cremation graves through experimental charring

Traditionally, textile remains found in cremation graves are interpreted as subsequent wrapping, even if they are associated with burnt and deformed metal objects. Although this may often be the case, we want to postulate another possibility based on the results of experimental charring of textiles. Cremation experiments were carried out in an interdisciplinary cooperation between anthropologists, forensic scientists, and archaeologists in 2012, 2018, and 2019 in Asparn an der Zaya, Austria. A detailed documentation of the textiles before and after experimental cremation, as well as the burning conditions, permitted us to investigate the changes that the textiles underwent during the process. The textiles were analysed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results were compared with the data obtained from detailed textile charring tests carried out under controlled laboratory conditions at the University of Cambridge in 2018, which investigated the shrinkage of fibres, threads, and cloth in flax and wool textiles with respect to differences in temperature and exposure time.