Religion News Service reports:
Israeli archaeologists have discovered fragments of “remarkably preserved” 3,000-year-old fabrics, leather and seeds dating to the era of the biblical kings David and Solomon.
This is the first discovery of textiles dating from the 10th century B.C. “and therefore provides the first physical evidence” of what residents of the Holy Land wore, said Erez Ben-Yosef, the lead archaeologist with the Tel Aviv University excavation team that did the dig. The excavation, carried out in southern Israel at the ancient copper mines of Timna — believed by many to be the site of King Solomon’s mines — took place in late January and February.
….Ben-Yosef said the fabrics, which vary widely in weaving style, color and ornamentation, provide “new and important information” about the Edomites, the descendants of Esau who often fought against the Israelites and mined in Timna.
Image: Rope made of the fibers of a date palm tree found at Site 34. Photo by Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority