complex weave linen

Ingredients

linen, cotton (from repair), sodium sulfate, ammonia, stale urine, alum, tannic acid

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The linen is pretreated with sodium sulfate or ammonia or even stale urine to soften the fibrils in boiling water (p. 10). The pH is adjusted to pH 9-10, then the fabric is rinsed and mordanted with alum or a combination of alum and tannic acid (p. 10). The author notes that survivors of the black death in 1347 created demand for luxury goods like linen imported from the Far East (p. 7).

Evidence

"The Shroud of Turin is a large piece (4.3 x 1.1 m) of complex weave linen... The Shroud has been radiocarbon dated at the 95% confidence level to between 1260 and 1390 AD in substantial conformity to the Shroud’s authenticated historical date of circa 1356 AD."

Remarks

The cloth is described as having a 'complex weave' (p. 1). There is mention of an early repair using cotton fibers which potentially contaminated the radiocarbon samples (p. 1). The paper also discusses the history of textile printing being known in Europe via the Islamic world from about the 12th century (p. 8).