Nettle as a distinct Bronze Age textile plant

TLDR

The production of plant‑fiber textiles in ancient Europe has been linked to the rise of agriculture and the cultivation of flax and hemp. The study aims to investigate the 2800‑year‑old Lusehoj Bronze Age Textile from Voldtofte, Denmark, to challenge the assumption that textile production relied solely on cultivated plants. The authors analyze the textile’s composition and provenance to assess its material origins. The textile is made of imported nettle from the Kärnten‑Steiermark region, indicating that Bronze Age Europe used wild plants like nettle alongside cultivated flax, prompting a reevaluation of textile resource management.

Abstract

It is generally assumed that the production of plant fibre textiles in ancient Europe, especially woven textiles for clothing, was closely linked to the development of agriculture through the use of cultivated textile plants (flax, hemp). Here we present a new investigation of the 2800 year old Lusehoj Bronze Age Textile from Voldtofte, Denmark, which challenges this assumption. We show that the textile is made of imported nettle, most probably from the Kärnten-Steiermark region, an area which at the time had an otherwise established flax production. Our results thus suggest that the production of woven plant fibre textiles in Bronze Age Europe was based not only on cultivated textile plants but also on the targeted exploitation of wild plants. The Lusehoj find points to a hitherto unrecognized role of nettle as an important textile plant and suggests the need for a re-evaluation of textile production resource management in prehistoric Europe.