Visible Disabilities in Premodern Europe
Uncovering Stories of Disability Across Time
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Opening 26 June 2026
A Productive Life: ELS215's Textile Work in her Teeth
Dental calculus (tartar) is the mineralized plaque that forms on teeth. Using powerful microscopes, archaeological scientists can identify the debris trapped in dental calculus, revealing hidden evidence of the diet, health, work activity, and environment of past individuals.
Our team at University College Dublin recovered a large number of fibres from flax and wool, and fragments of a root used to make red dye. Dyer's Madder (Rubia tinctorum L.) root was used to dye textiles and fibres in shades of orange and red.
Cloth had practical value to the abbey as a source of everyday textiles for clothing. Religious women like ELS215 also produced elaborate textiles for liturgical use, giving spiritual value to her work. Textiles would also have been a commodity with economic value to the monastery. Richly embroidered textiles had considerable value as high-status objects of exchange.
Our experimental archaeology team uses authentically produced dyes and fibres to study the production of textiles, with careful attention to hand and arm motion.
ELS215 may have adapted her work as her posture and range of motion changed in with her advancing impairment from Pott's disease. Experiments are also conducted to see how dust from this and other forms of manual work end up in the human oral cavity.
