Numbered, weighed, cut!. At the origins of textile archaeology: the destiny of textile samples in museums late 19th-early 20th century

A comparative study of the history of two archaeological textile collections is presented here. The first comes from the antique cemetery of Les Martres-de-Veyre in France and is Roman. The second comes from the salt mines of Hallstatt in Austria and dates to the Bronze and Iron Ages. Both were discovered during the 19th century. Their respective history and study differ, depending on the museum where they are kept and on the scholarship traditions of the two countries. In France, the textile industry gave the first methodological frame for the study of archaeological textiles, while in Austria, laboratory’s investigations brought the first results. The paper brings also information on the restoration and the museography of the two collections.