Belgian archaeologists have discovered traces of gaude, madder and dyers’ woad, the three most important dye plants of the Middle Ages.
The plants played a crucial role in textile production, but archaeological evidence of their use is rare.
They were uncovered during excavations in Brussels and Mechelen.
“This is the first time that we have met the three together most important dye plants in Belgium,” declares archaeologist Lien Speleers.
“It is the first archaeological evidence of pastel in Belgium,” says Speleers. “This makes this discovery truly exceptional.”
The dye plants gaude (Reseda luteola), madder (Rubia tinctorum) and woad (Isatis tinctoria) were essential in the medieval textile industry.
“Gaud produced yellow, madder red and pastel blue, but the techniques to obtain these colors were very different,” explains Speleers, archaeologist at the Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels.
Pastel in particular required specialized techniques, carried out by blue dyers.
“These three plants formed the basis of the primary colors. They were often combined to create other hues, such as green, orange, purple and even black.”
Speleers collaborated with his colleagues from the Royal Institute of Artistic Heritage (IRPA), urban.brussels, the Art & History Museum, the Hof van Busleyden Museum in Mechelen and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
The discoveries came from ancient river beds excavated at two archaeological sites: Parking 58 in Brussels and the Zakstraat in Mechelen.
Both cities were centres of textile production in the Middle Ages.
Dyers’ workshops were located along rivers, which provided the water needed for the dyeing process. In Brussels, the site is near the historic port along the Senne, while the excavations in Mechelen took place at the ancient Melaan, a waterway historically linked to dyers.
The discoveries come from fluvial layers dating from the 10th to 15th centuries.
Archaeologists have found several thousand remains of gaude, madder and woad.
“Gaud and madder had already been found in Belgium in the past, but the discovery of woad is a first,” explained Speleers. “Remains had already been discovered in neighbouring countries, and we already knew from historical sources that woad was used to obtain blue dye, but this is the first time we have found archaeological evidence of it. This finally gives us tangible evidence.Excavations in Brussels also show that dyeing activities began no later than the middle of the 12th century, well before what we find in historical sources.”
The remains are probably waste from dyers who worked along the river,” says Speleers. “Rivers were essential for dyeing. They not only provided water, but also provided a convenient place to dump waste.”
At the Parking 58 site, more than 70 samples revealed an abundance of madder seeds and fragments of madder roots, accompanied here and there by small woad fruits. In Mechelen, river deposits showed a similar pattern, with a mixture of dye plant remains and other waste.
Archaeological evidence of dye plants is rare, as the leaves and roots that were primarily used for dyeing preserve poorly. This is particularly the case for woad, whose leaves were fermented to extract indigotine.
