First was started with the development of an Access database. I created 304 different fields in the database, which means that 304 different features per tunic (fragment) could be checked during the analysis of the objects.
The development of the Access Database has taken much time of the project, but resulted in a truly state-of-the-art research tool for comparative research. This database is not only suitable for storing data specifically for tunics, but also for the use as a tool for comparative study. The correlation between any detail and the core features of the tunics or any other detail, can be investigated.
I was able to visit nine museums with large collections of Egyptian textiles and I have managed to study an extensive amount of tunics, which was very crucial in order to carry out thorough and valuable comparative research. In total I analysed 287 objects, including 53 complete tunics, 150 fragments of tunics and 84 details.
The planned fieldwork studies in Egypt at the sites of Fag el-Gamus (BYU) and Hisn al-Bab (OeAI) were all cancelled. However, in September 2021, just after finishing my TUNICS project, I joined the BYU excavation team again for a season at Fag el-Gamus. During three weeks, I was able to complete important research on a number of Early Medieval tunics. During the project, the comparative study of the textiles from the two excavation sites in Egypt has been concentrated on objects that I was already able to study in 2018 and 2019. For the study of objects from Fag el-Gamus, the focus was mainly on the correlation between tunic types and context in the cemetery.
In march 2019, I already analysed 80 textilesfrom Hisn al-Bab. The research for Hisn al-Bab textiles during the TUNICS project concerned the comparison of these pieces with textiles from both Egypt and Nubia.
For the comparative research, I primarily focus on dividing the tunics into groups of different types. This classification was made on the basis of the technical characteristics, the types of finishing but also the different ways of embellishment.
A first group I studied was the tunic with scattered motifs embellishment. A second group were the woven-to-shape tunics made up of three parts of which 65 tunics were studied.
I also got involved in a project on the study of looms used in Ancient Egypt, initiated by my colleague M. Mossakowska. I investigated what the technical features of the tunics can learn us about the used looms. The study of the production of the linen and wool tunics on the different looms has taught me a lot about the how and why of different technical features and finishing methods.
Empirical research was also part of the TUNIC project. A replica was made of a hairnet in sprang technique. As part of experimental research, I co-organised a week-long workshop during which several weaving test were carried out using various looms.
The comparative research of the textiles of Fag el-Gamus has yielded the most innovative results. A new type of tunic was discovered, which is an intermediate form between the woven-to-shape style and and the tunics with vertical warp. In addition, during the study of one burial, four hairnets were found of a type of which only one copy had been found until then. The discovery of four such hairnets enabled me to fully analyse this type. An exceptional tunic was also found in the study collection at BYU. After studying the textiles of Hisn al-Bab, I concluded that this tunic has more similarities with typical features of Nubian textiles than with Egyptian tunics.
The results of the research carried out within the TUNICS project have been presented to the academic public at numerous international conferences, online lectures and seminars, and have been published in peer reviewed articles as well as in book chapters. I developed an open access dataset, where the basic features of all analysed tunics are made available online for both researchers and other interested people
