The initial findings from the ongoing research were presented and discussed using the tunic of the Bernuthsfeld man as an example (Photo: J. Eichler, NIhK)

Textile Archaeology in the Bog and in the Lab

Textile archaeology is much more than just examining yarns and fabrics. That is why the team, which has been working since November 2025 on re-examining the clothing of the Bernuthsfeld Man, came together and first traveled to the site where that man was buried in the bog around 700 AD. 

There, near Aurich, archaeologist Dr. Jan Kegler (Ostfriesische Landschaft) explained the historical context, while geologist Dr. Martina Karle (NihK) and bioarchaeologist Dr. Corina Knipper (CEZA, Mannheim) discussed the possibilities and prerequisites for strontium isotope analysis, aiming to gather new information about the man's origin. 

To discuss further scientific approaches and conservation aspects, among other topics, conservator Dr. Sylvia Mitschke from Mannheim (Reiss-Engelhorn Museums) and Dr. Annette Paetz gen. Schieck, director of the German Textile Museum in Krefeld, also traveled to East Frisia. At the NIhK, Dr. Susan Möller-Wiering explained the current status of the textile analyses, supported by project director Prof. Dr. Hauke Jöns, as well as by the head of the Textile Archaeology Department, Christina Peek M.A., and by Dr. Katrin Struckmeyer, who is responsible for the microscopic imaging of the textiles.

The results of the research are scheduled to be displayed in 2027 at the Redbad exhibition at the East Frisian State Museum in Emden.

Group photo of the project team in the NIhK textile laboratory. Standing, from left: S. Mitschke, K. Struckmeyer, M. Karle, J. Kegler, A. Paetz gen. Schieck, H. Jöns; in front: S. Möller-Wiering, C. Peek (Photo: J. Eichler, NIhK).