In the ancient civilizations of the Eastern
Mediterranean, textiles were generally much more costly than foodstuffs,
animals or bronzes; it is very likely that the same was the case throughout
prehistoric Europe. In this study, the first
for over seventy years, Klavs Randsborg examines completely preserved woollen
dresses, both female and male, from Danish oak coffin graves of the early
second millennium BC. These garments, matched in age and superb preservation
only by finds from Ancient Egypt, along with related artefacts such as images
and figurines, are used to build up a rich picture of Bronze Age society and
culture in the context of archaeological, ethnographical and historical
information from Europe and beyond.