This paper describes the on-site cooperation between a textile specialist and a bioarchaeologist, using three examples from ongoing fieldwork: two cemeteries at Naqlun in Egypt, dated to the fifth–seventh and eleventh–thirteenth centuries CE, and medieval crypts in Old Dongola, Sudan; thereby offering three different settings and various standpoints. The two first cases, at Naqlun, consist respectively of Late Antique mummy-like burials set in tombs cut in the bedrock, and coffin burials set in pit graves located among sand-covered ruins. The third case, in Old Dongola, concerns shrouded bodies laid in subterranean tombs, vaulted and built with bricks under the floor of a monastery building. This paper describes these settings and the way we dealt with the different problems encountered. We both have a background in archaeology. By combining our expertise—on textiles and osteology—we were able to develop a degree of understanding allowing us to get the most from the fieldwork conducted and not to compromise either bone or textile evidence. Here we present our reflections on our long standing cooperation and its results.