Bremen (epd). The approximately 7,000 textile fragments from the 16th and 17th centuries that were recovered during development work in Bremen’s Überseestadt in 2007 are of nationwide importance. “After extensive restoration cleaning, a true textile treasure is revealed,” explained Dieter Bischof, scientific advisor at Bremen State Archeology, on Friday at the presentation of the first analysis results. “It is the largest known textile complex of this period in Germany to date, and can also be attributed to the Renaissance bourgeoisie in Bremen.”
During excavation work, the textile pieces were discovered alongside numerous metal parts, jewelry and weapon remains in a former city ditch that had apparently been filled in around 1600. According to Bishop, the finds are special because, as a rule, only valuable princely robes from this period have been preserved in museums or tombs. “These rare fabrics reveal much more about early modern clothing and its production than contemporary paintings or the few surviving robes of the nobility from this period.”
The textile discovery and its analysis shed an exciting spotlight not only on the tailoring trade, but also on the cultural, social and everyday history of the Hanseatic city 400 years ago, it was said.
