(ORDO NEWS) — Archaeologists in France have for the first time demonstrated a unique golden fabric, as well as numerous artifacts that they managed to find while studying a couple of hundred ancient tombs.
The official website of the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research of France says that experts were excavating the church of Saint-Pierre-l’Estrier, which dates back to the early Christian period.
Work began two years ago. The excavations were carried out under the supervision of employees of Inrap, as well as the archaeological service of the city of Autun.
Then it was possible to unearth almost 230 very old tombs. Inside the tombs, according to experts, unique artifacts were found.
Among them, incredibly beautiful jewelry made of gold, pins made of jet coal and amber attracted special attention. One of the most interesting finds was diatreta, which has no analogues in the world. This is an old domed vessel.
In another tomb, experts found a lead sarcophagus, which was made in the 4th century AD. From above it was covered with a huge piece of cloth, which was dyed purple and also woven with gold threads.
To date, this artifact has been sent to the laboratory for analysis. A small piece of fabric was shown to the general public.
Scientists pay attention to the fact that the purple color of the fabric plays a big role. In ancient times, it was purple that was considered the “color of wealth and luxury.”
In ancient Rome, it was used to stand out from the crowd and demonstrate that a person belongs to the elite.
The found fabric was made from thin gold threads, which indicates the incredibly important position in the society of the deceased, who was buried in a lead sarcophagus.
Archaeologists said that they had previously found purple fabric in burials, but it was not decorated with gold. Most likely, the necropolis of Saint-Pierre-l’Estriers was used exclusively for local aristocrats and the elite.
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