FIBRANET started with a research in translated ancient texts of writers such as Aristotle, Herodotus, Plato, Pliny and Theophrastus, for references of textiles and fibres. Documentation of these references recorded the type of fibre mentioned, the term used to describe it, the object described (e.g. costume, rope, decorative object), its provenance, and whether there was information on a textile/fibre making process or on a plant, or animal. Simultaneously, published articles of peer scholars on fibre identification of excavated finds were reviewed, documenting information on the date and place of origin of the finds, the archaeological context, the methods applied for fibre identification and of course the results. These two tasks informed the list of the fibres to be collected for the project. An interesting challenge was that not all fibres could be found processed and used to make a textile object, like certain wild silks from the Mediterranean and certain plants (e.g. palm). A methodology developed in the laboratory was used for fibre extraction from the cocoons or plants respectively. A very important part of the project was the experiments specifically designed to simulate deterioration in an excavation context, as this is typically manifested across Europe (namely mineralisation, carbonisation and biodeterioration). Experiments were successfully carried out to a large variety of both plant and animal fibres, and allowed for a comprehensive study of the effects of these types of deterioration to the morphology of the fibres. Experience and knowledge gained by carrying out the tasks of FIBRANET have been communicated through a Workshop organised the University of Copenhagen and the Danish Royal School of Conservation, the Centre’s for Textile Research/UCPH Summer School and teaching at UCPH and the University of Warsaw (the latter jointly supported by the Erasmus+ programme). Experimental design and results and literature review findings are the focus of different papers in peer reviewed journals (one already published, one under review, two in writing). Results from the literature review, the fibre analyses and the experiments are all included in the on-line database FIBRANET, accessible through CTR/UCPH site.
