Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

NAQLUN

EGYPT

SPECIAL TEXTILES

Three very beautiful decorated silks were
also excavated at Naqlun. Two of these were
found between the tombs (Nd.02.131,
Nd.02.199), one was a woman's shoulder
scarf (Nd.99-410, T. 127). All have broad
ornamental bands, some of them with short
Arabic inscriptions. On two silks the word
baraka ("blessing") is repeated. It is written
in a longed and pressed kufi style, mirrored
in pairs. This inscription pattern is only one
part of the design of these silks. The word

baraka is a very general wish, for Muslims,
Christians and Jews alike. In silk
Nd.02.199 [Fig. 7], also one word is
mirrored in pairs and repeated. It could be
read as yumn ("good luck") or more certainly
as amn ("peace, protection"). It is written in
a well balanced, big flowering kufi. In con-
trast to the other two silks, the inscription
here is a dominant part of the design. These
silks were woven in al-Andalus, that is,
Islamic Spain.

CONCLUSION

The Arabic inscriptions on textiles found in
cemetery A in Naqlun during fieldwork in
1999-2003 demonstrate the full domi-
nation of Muslim culture in Egypt in the
11th/12th centuries. The Christians had
widely humored this situation or adapted to
it in their daily life. It is known that it was
not an easy process because of repressions
against the dhimmis, the non-Muslims,
taking place in the time of the Fatimid
caliph al-Hakim, for example. The dress
and draperies of the Christian dead show no
clear Christian context. The inscriptions
found on these textiles mostly give general
blessings from God. Purely Islamic tiraz-
texts were also found, however, and they
indicate the status of integration of the

Christians in a Muslim society, and give us
dates.
In the light of this, the Coptic inscrip-
tion found on a woolen robe in Naqlun
may indicate that the owner was a clerical
person.8
The variety of material found in the
burial ground - from simple linen robes to
rich decorated silks — indicates the different
social status of the buried persons. The silks
show that even very precious material was
available and used. We know from the Arab
written sources, that silk textiles from Spain
came to Egypt from the 10th to the first
half of the 12th century. As we see, they
even reached provincial places, like Fayum,
in that period.

8 B. Czaja-Szewczak, "Naqlun 2003. From scraps to tunic", PAM XV, op. cit., 159-164. The inscription was published
by Jacques van der Vliet, 'In a Robe of Gold', Status, magic and politics on inscribed Christian textiles from Egypt, in
press.

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