Papers by Ida Demant
Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission Band 99, 2021
The burial site of Lønne Hede in Southwest Jutland, Denmark, was discovered in 1968,
and in the s... more The burial site of Lønne Hede in Southwest Jutland, Denmark, was discovered in 1968,
and in the spring of 1969 an inhumation burial from the Early Roman Iron Age containing
exceptionally well-preserved textiles was excavated1. The grave was interpreted as a
female burial, and the textiles, which attracted a great deal of attention, were described as
a costume comprising a blouse and a skirt of blue wool with red borders. The costume has
been reconstructed on numerous occasions, and the depiction of the so-called “blue girl”
or “Lønne Hede Maiden” is often encountered when visiting Danish museums or their
websites (fig. 1 and fig. 141). This unique find has previously only been available as preliminary
or popular presentations, but as is shown in the following, the initial interpretation
and reconstructions of the costume are subject to debate.
In 1995, a new excavation was undertaken at Lønne Hede, and it became evident that
the grave had originally been surrounded by a further 25 cremation burials from the Late
Pre-Roman Iron Age and eleven inhumation burials from the Late Pre-Roman and Early
Roman Iron Age, of which several contained textiles and styled hair. Furthermore, a settlement
with long-houses and a smithy, as well as a small amount of pottery, possibly votive
deposits from the Early Pre-Roman Iron Age, came to light.
In 2009, when the textiles from the 1995 excavations were to be transferred from the
conservation department to the museum stores, Ulla Lund Hansen (University of Copenhagen)
became aware of this extraordinary material. It was decided to build a team of
experts and publish the find complex of Lønne Hede in full. The expert group consists of
Ulla Lund Hansen (initiator, project lead, co-author), Lene B. Frandsen (head of the 1995
excavation) and Tine Lorange both from Varde Museum (presentation of the excavations
and the finds), Ida Demant (textile analyses), Lise Ræder Knudsen (hair analyses), Annemette
Bruselius Scharff and Ina Vanden Berghe (dyestuff investigations), Irene Skals (fibre
analyses), Ulla Mannering (advisor), Pia Bennike † (burnt bone analyses) and Xenia Pauli
Jensen (editor).
This interdisciplinary research has provided several important insights shedding light,
for instance, not only on details regarding the use of dye in Iron Age textiles or the remarkable
styled hair preserved in the inhumation graves. More importantly, it forces us to
reconsider our perception of so-called “poor” graves with little or no grave goods. At Lønne
Hede, these seemingly “poor” people were buried in beautifully coloured costumes made
of extremely fine wool. Their hair was set in elaborate hairstyles inspired by the Roman
world – some even with hair-extensions.
1
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... Documentation of the excavations, preparation and presentation of the non-textile finds: muse... more ... Documentation of the excavations, preparation and presentation of the non-textile finds: museum curator Lene Frandsen, Varde Museum Registration and analyses of the textiles: Ida Demant Analysis of tablet weaves: Lise Ræder Knudsen, Conservation Centre Vejle Wood ...
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This is the presentation of my first results of the analysis of the textiles from Lønne Hede - a ... more This is the presentation of my first results of the analysis of the textiles from Lønne Hede - a first century gravefield in western Jutland, Denmark. As I am in doubt about the copyrights of this article, I have removed it as a downloadable file. However, if you are interested, please contact me.
Please note - I have started working on this material again - and this time around I find many more interesting details - which will be published in an article within the next few years.....
IDA
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Conference Presentations by Ida Demant
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Papers by Ida Demant
and in the spring of 1969 an inhumation burial from the Early Roman Iron Age containing
exceptionally well-preserved textiles was excavated1. The grave was interpreted as a
female burial, and the textiles, which attracted a great deal of attention, were described as
a costume comprising a blouse and a skirt of blue wool with red borders. The costume has
been reconstructed on numerous occasions, and the depiction of the so-called “blue girl”
or “Lønne Hede Maiden” is often encountered when visiting Danish museums or their
websites (fig. 1 and fig. 141). This unique find has previously only been available as preliminary
or popular presentations, but as is shown in the following, the initial interpretation
and reconstructions of the costume are subject to debate.
In 1995, a new excavation was undertaken at Lønne Hede, and it became evident that
the grave had originally been surrounded by a further 25 cremation burials from the Late
Pre-Roman Iron Age and eleven inhumation burials from the Late Pre-Roman and Early
Roman Iron Age, of which several contained textiles and styled hair. Furthermore, a settlement
with long-houses and a smithy, as well as a small amount of pottery, possibly votive
deposits from the Early Pre-Roman Iron Age, came to light.
In 2009, when the textiles from the 1995 excavations were to be transferred from the
conservation department to the museum stores, Ulla Lund Hansen (University of Copenhagen)
became aware of this extraordinary material. It was decided to build a team of
experts and publish the find complex of Lønne Hede in full. The expert group consists of
Ulla Lund Hansen (initiator, project lead, co-author), Lene B. Frandsen (head of the 1995
excavation) and Tine Lorange both from Varde Museum (presentation of the excavations
and the finds), Ida Demant (textile analyses), Lise Ræder Knudsen (hair analyses), Annemette
Bruselius Scharff and Ina Vanden Berghe (dyestuff investigations), Irene Skals (fibre
analyses), Ulla Mannering (advisor), Pia Bennike † (burnt bone analyses) and Xenia Pauli
Jensen (editor).
This interdisciplinary research has provided several important insights shedding light,
for instance, not only on details regarding the use of dye in Iron Age textiles or the remarkable
styled hair preserved in the inhumation graves. More importantly, it forces us to
reconsider our perception of so-called “poor” graves with little or no grave goods. At Lønne
Hede, these seemingly “poor” people were buried in beautifully coloured costumes made
of extremely fine wool. Their hair was set in elaborate hairstyles inspired by the Roman
world – some even with hair-extensions.
1
Please note - I have started working on this material again - and this time around I find many more interesting details - which will be published in an article within the next few years.....
IDA
Conference Presentations by Ida Demant
and in the spring of 1969 an inhumation burial from the Early Roman Iron Age containing
exceptionally well-preserved textiles was excavated1. The grave was interpreted as a
female burial, and the textiles, which attracted a great deal of attention, were described as
a costume comprising a blouse and a skirt of blue wool with red borders. The costume has
been reconstructed on numerous occasions, and the depiction of the so-called “blue girl”
or “Lønne Hede Maiden” is often encountered when visiting Danish museums or their
websites (fig. 1 and fig. 141). This unique find has previously only been available as preliminary
or popular presentations, but as is shown in the following, the initial interpretation
and reconstructions of the costume are subject to debate.
In 1995, a new excavation was undertaken at Lønne Hede, and it became evident that
the grave had originally been surrounded by a further 25 cremation burials from the Late
Pre-Roman Iron Age and eleven inhumation burials from the Late Pre-Roman and Early
Roman Iron Age, of which several contained textiles and styled hair. Furthermore, a settlement
with long-houses and a smithy, as well as a small amount of pottery, possibly votive
deposits from the Early Pre-Roman Iron Age, came to light.
In 2009, when the textiles from the 1995 excavations were to be transferred from the
conservation department to the museum stores, Ulla Lund Hansen (University of Copenhagen)
became aware of this extraordinary material. It was decided to build a team of
experts and publish the find complex of Lønne Hede in full. The expert group consists of
Ulla Lund Hansen (initiator, project lead, co-author), Lene B. Frandsen (head of the 1995
excavation) and Tine Lorange both from Varde Museum (presentation of the excavations
and the finds), Ida Demant (textile analyses), Lise Ræder Knudsen (hair analyses), Annemette
Bruselius Scharff and Ina Vanden Berghe (dyestuff investigations), Irene Skals (fibre
analyses), Ulla Mannering (advisor), Pia Bennike † (burnt bone analyses) and Xenia Pauli
Jensen (editor).
This interdisciplinary research has provided several important insights shedding light,
for instance, not only on details regarding the use of dye in Iron Age textiles or the remarkable
styled hair preserved in the inhumation graves. More importantly, it forces us to
reconsider our perception of so-called “poor” graves with little or no grave goods. At Lønne
Hede, these seemingly “poor” people were buried in beautifully coloured costumes made
of extremely fine wool. Their hair was set in elaborate hairstyles inspired by the Roman
world – some even with hair-extensions.
1
Please note - I have started working on this material again - and this time around I find many more interesting details - which will be published in an article within the next few years.....
IDA