Identification of Leather Tannages in Icelandic Historical Artifacts

Abstract

Investigations into leather from Icelandic archaeological sites have been relatively superficial until recent years, often only focused on count and weight of samples. In recent reports, more effort has been made in the attempts to identify what purpose the leather artifact was created for, rather than simply recording it as leather patches, scraps, or other similar terms. In an attempt to gain more information from artifacts this project investigates the different methods of determining how the leather artifacts were tanned. The two major methods found to be of use are X-ray fluorescence analysis and microscopic analysis of fibers and fiber networks. Using these methods, I was able to identify 36 out of 50 sampled leather artifacts from a number of sites dating to different periods. Many of the unidentified specimens suffered from heavy staining and decay but possibly could still be identified by creating fresh cross sections. This project should show that researchers can identify the tannages of leather samples using a variety of means, including several relatively inexpensive and accessible ones like microscopic study