Ancient Textiles Found in Timna Valley

Archeologists think they will soon have a better idea about the kind of clothing the Jews and their neighbors wore during the period of Bayis Rishon.

An unprecedented, large find of textiles and other artifacts in the Timna Valley that archeologists believe date to that period could provide the key.

“No textiles have ever been found at excavation sites like Yerushalayim, Megiddo and Hazor, so this provides a unique window into an entire aspect of life from which we’ve never had physical evidence before,” Tel Aviv University’s Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef said. “We found fragments of textiles that originated from bags, clothing, tents, ropes and cords.”

“The wide variety of fabrics also provides new and important information about the Edomites…We found simply woven, elaborately decorated fabrics worn by the upper echelon of their stratified society. Luxury grade fabric adorned the highly skilled, highly respected craftsmen managing the copper furnaces. They were responsible for smelting the copper, which was a very complicated process.”

Most of the fabrics were made of sheep’s wool, but they also discovered linen.

Besides the textiles, seeds, leather and other rare artifacts, “This is the first time seeds from this period have been found uncharred and in such large quantities,” said Dr. Ben-Yosef.