A Golden Horde period shawl woven in gold-metallic strands

Abstract

The results of complex analysis and reconstruction of a fragment of shawl woven in gold-metallic strands found in mausoleum No 5 of the Bolghar fortified settlement site are represented. The structure of the fabric and composition of the metallic strand coating have been studied with the microscopy and micro-roentgen spectroscopy methods. The study results of the gold-metallic strands make it possible to suppose their Western production origin. Similar shawls could possibly be imported from the Mediterranean. The present find can be attributed to expensive items, which testifies to the high social ranking of the buried person. Thin shawls have been encountered in female burials of Moslem countries dating from the 7th century. The shawl could probably be included in the mandatory set of Islamic women’s burial clothes. The finds of silk shawls on the Golden Horde fortified settlement sites attest to developed trade relations that had included the Volga River area into an integral system of the medieval world.

Keywords

• the Golden Horde
• the Bolghar fortified settlement
• silk
• shawl
• gold-metallic strands
• clothing
• technological studies
• burial rite