14 DAY TRIAL // A natural fabric is impossible to be preserved: being organic, in just a few years at most, bacteria decompose the material. In fact, all that is organic (wood, leather, paper) is out of archaeologists' reach.
That's why Greek archaeologists were very surprised to discover a rare 2,700-year-old piece of fabric inside a cylindrical burial copper urn imitating the complex cremation of soldiers, described in Homer's "Iliad", the literary work narrating the Troy war.
"The yellowed, brittle material was found in the urn during excavation in the southern town of Argos," stated a Culture Ministry announcement on Wednesday.
"This is an extremely rare find, as fabric is an organic material which decomposes very easily. Only a handful of such artifacts have been found in Greece." said lead archaeologist Alkistis Papadimitriou.
Inside the urn there were also found dried pomegranates, probably offerings to the old gods of the underworld, but also ashes and burnt human bones from a 7th century B.C. cremation.
The fabric must have been preserved for about 3 millennia by the corroding copper urn, as copper oxides are toxic for the bacteria that normally would have fed on the material.
"Our first concern is to save it. Afterward, it will undergo laboratory tests to tell us about the precise fabric and weaving techniques." explained Papadimitriou about the efforts of the conservationists with the fragile find.
The cremation discovery was the only one among the 6 closely grouped graves found on the site.
"Cremation was very unusual in Argos, and this too makes it a special find. In my opinion, an affluent citizen may have wanted to imitate a funerary custom described by Homer to stand out among his peers buried nearby - who were not cremated." Papadimitriou said.
The poet's "Iliad" and "Odyssey" enjoyed huge popularity throughout Greece. "Iliad" and "Odyssey" were composed in the 8th century B.C, and rooted in a war which took place around 1,200 B.C. The poem depicts the way slain heroes were cremated in elaborate funerals, which later were abandoned.
Modern Argos (northern Peloponnese, at 90 miles (144 km) south of Athens) is built over the ancient city, a famous flourishing ancient city state which took part in the Troyan war on the Greek side.