Pillow stuffings from Amarna

Abstract

Report on an analysis of nine samples of masses of fibres excavated at Amarna in the 1920s, which were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Wool, flax, and cotton fibres were present and also fibres from a fur-bearing animal, feathers, and small slivers of wood. These masses were previously identified as the remains of pillow-stuffings. The presence of cotton in some samples indicates that they date at the earliest to the Roman period and may even be relatively modern. Recent gerbil activity at Amarna has been noted and these specimens therefore seem very likely to be the remains of gerbil nesting material, rather than connected with any human occupation at the site.