Linen was made from flax, a plant that requires a good deal of moisture and grows wild on the shores of the Mediterranean in the Near East. Flax provided the first plant fibers that were used to weave cloth for garments in Syria, in about 7000 BC. Plant fibers were spun and woven before animal fiber, like sheep's wool or goat hair, was used. It is believed that the child who wore this tunic was killed with his family after they had sought refuge in one of the tower tombs in the necropolis at the time of the Sassanid invasion of 610 CE.
Provenance: Ḥalabīyyā (ancient Zenobia).
Substance: linen.
Dimensions: 66 x 57 cm.
Era: 600 CE.
Text: Michel Fortin (p. 209, translated by Jane Macaulay).
Photo: Jacques Lessard.
Collection of the National Museum of Damascus.
Michel Fortin, Syria, Land of Civilization. Les Éditions de l'Homme, Musée de la Civilisation de Québec 1999.
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