Cognitive and systematic examination, analysis, and documentation of textile artefacts as part of the post-excavation investigative conservation process provide valuable insights into artefact technology, material culture, and human and material adaptation. In addition to the study of the material state and features, the conservator1 assesses the nature and state of preservation. Through this, one gains insight into what changes have taken place to the textile, and when during the active and post-deposition lifetime of the object. There are multiple layers of evidence available, starting with diagnostic changes to the outer surfaces (e.g. loss of surface fibres), internal microstructural changes (e.g. fibre bioerosion), and chemical alterations (e.g. mineral perfusion of fibres). The state and nature of preservation of archaeological textiles testify not only to use during their active lifetime, such as wear, damage, and loss, but also to the nature of, and dynamic interaction with, their post-depositional burial environment. The conser vator's expert knowledge of this complexity and interactivity of textile materials with their environment enables them to help make sense of archaeological textiles. In this respect, conservation can contribute in a substantive way to a wider cultural, archaeological, and environmental interpretation of this material.

This chapter explores the contributions that the archaeological conservator's expert knowledge and specialist conservation skills can make to the study of textile artefacts. Its scope is not restricted by time period, cultural context, burial environment, or geographical region, although many examples are drawn from the north-eastern Atlantic region. The corpus of archaeological textiles and methodological approaches for their analysis and study are briefly described. It is the conservator's naked eye and observation using equipment readily available in most archaeological conservation laboratories (e.g. microscopy, X-radiography, etc.) that is fundamental for their investigation of textile artefacts. The range of analytical equipment that augments visual observation available in today's conservation laboratory varies widely from large national museums to local and regional museums. More specialised and expensive analytical instruments to which conservation professionals in smaller institutions cannot easily obtain access are not discussed here.