Meticulous work with a major impact: the tunic reveals its details

Under high magnification, the gauze, which had been secured to the historical textile with stitches, was gradually removed (Photo: R. Kiepe, NIhK).

Since autumn 2025, the NIhK has been examining the garments of the man buried in the bog near Bernuthsfeld around 700 AD as part of a research project funded by the State of Lower Saxony. In recent days, a very important stage of the work has now been successfully completed. The gauze – a wafer-thin, veil-like fabric – placed over the tunic many decades ago to protect it had to be removed with the utmost care. Pauline Marksteiner, a student at the abk Stuttgart with a particular interest in the conservation and restoration of textiles, was recruited for this task. Once the gauze had been removed, the structures of the fabrics sewn into the tunic were once again clearly defined, and the colours appeared rich and vibrant. In the next stage of the work, over the coming weeks, the seams of the tunic will be studied, meticulously documented and further fibre analyses carried out.