Séminaire du projet collectif Argiles : doubles conférences
19 juin 2026
14h-16h
MSM Monde, Bâtiment Ginouvès
Salle du Conseil, 4ème étage
Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter au séminaire organisé dans le cadre de l’action collective d’ArScAn « Argiles ».
À cette occasion, nous accueillerons Agata Ulanowska (Université de Varsovie) et Clélia Paladre (Musée du Louvre/ArScAn-VEPMO), qui présenteront leurs travaux portant sur une approche expérimentale des pratiques de scellement sur argile.
Retrouvez le résumé des présentations ci-dessous en langue anglaise.
TOWARDS INTEGRATED METHODOLOGIES
IN THE STUDY OF TEXTILE IMPRINTS ON CLAY
Agata Ulanowska (University of Warsaw)
Textile imprints on clay constitute a significant form of textile survival in archaeological record. Preserved as impressions on a non-organic matrix, they provide crucial evidence for textiles and textile production in periods and regions where organic remains rarely survive, particularly in the earliest archaeological contexts. My research on textile imprints on clay began in 2018 with the project Textiles and Seals, and is currently continued within two parallel projects: TEXTile digitisAtIon tooLs and mEthodS for cultural heritage (TEXTaiLES), and Exploring Textile Imprints on Clay from the 3rd and the 2nd Millennia BCE: Advancing Cutting-Edge Research and Documentation Protocols with Case Studies of Diverse Textile Consumption Contexts (ExplorTIC). The source material comprises both published and unpublished evidence of textile imprints
preserved on the undersides of clay sealings from Bronze Age Greece, stored in the Corpus der minoischen und mykenischen Siegel in Heidelberg, textile imprints on pottery from 3rd–2nd mill. BCE Poland, as well as experimental data.
In my talk, I will present the first results of both project and discuss the research potential emerging from the new integrated approach to the study of textile imprints.
Photographie de matériaux d’expérimentations utilisés pour un atelier d’empreintes sur de l’argile
Photographie d’un atelier d’expérimentations d’empreintes de textiles sur de l’argile
LET’S CLAY!
A NEW PROJECT FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL
RECONSTRUCTION OF SEALING PRACTICES
Clélia Paladre (Musée du Louvre/ArScAn-VEPMO) with Albert Dietz (LMU/BAdW) & Yvonne Helmholz (FU)
Let’s clay! is a Franco-German research project investigating ancient sealing practices through the systematic reconstruction of sealing processes. Combining experimental archaeology, material analysis, and detailed documentation, the project aims to reconstruct the full chaîne opératoire of sealing, from clay preparation and seal impression to the breaking and recording of sealings. At its
core, the project examines the technical and material conditions of sealing practices: how containers such as jars, boxes, textiles, or baskets were secured; which procedural constraints shaped their application; and which diagnostic traces these processes leave on the reverse of sealings. By replicating these practices under controlled conditions, the project seeks to identify the material signatures of different sealing techniques and to distinguish between intentional
actions and accidental traces. Beyond technical reconstruction, the project contributes to a broader understanding of how ancient societies controlled, stored, and administered goods. At the same time, it establishes an interdisciplinary and multigenerational research framework. Workshops in Paris, Berlin, and Munich bring together students and scholars from archaeology, archaeometry, conservation, geology, ceramics, art history, and digital archaeology, fostering sustained Franco-German collaboration and methodological exchange.
Le projet Let’s clay a fait l’objet d’une présentation complète dans un récent billet, à retrouver juste ici.
Séminaire organisé par CHITI Barbara et VILAIN Sarah.
