, Tel Aviv University, and Bar-Ilan University has discovered dyestuff used to dye textiles from the time of kings David and Solomon at Timna Valley.
Excavations were conducted in the Timna Valley since 2013. Dozens of fragments of 3,000-year-old textiles, which were preserved thanks to the region’s extreme arid climatic conditions, were discovered here. The textiles date to the early Iron Age (12th – 10th centuries BCE), the time of the biblical kings David and Solomon and some are decorated with a red-and-blue bands pattern.
These are the earliest examples of plant-based dyes in the country and in the Levant (the Eastern Mediterranean). The dyes were identified at the Bar-Ilan University laboratories using HPLC advanced analytical equipment.
On analysis, the data indicated the use of two main plants. Both are among the best-known plant dyes in the ancient world:
- Madder - which roots provided a red dye.
- Indigotin – probably produced from woad, which was used as a blue dye in a long and complex process involving reduction and oxidization that lasted a number of days.
Once grown specifically for dyeing in the Land of Israel, the use of those two colors continued up to the discovery of synthetic colors. The textiles from Timna were colored with true dye, which is characterized by a chemical bond between dye and fiber, attesting to professional knowledge and skill in the art of dyeing during this period.
Fragments of dyed woolen textile with red and blue stripes
(Photo credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)
“The findings indicate that the society at Timna, identified with the Kingdom of Edom, was hierarchical and included an upper class that had access to colorful, prestigious textiles”, explain Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv University and Dr. Naama Sukenik of the IAA.
The context in which the textiles were found suggests that the metalworkers responsible for operating the smelting furnaces were members of this class. The task of turning stone into copper demanded considerable skill. It was one of the most specialized crafts of the ancient world and the metalworkers apparently enjoyed high social status and wore distinctive, colored garments. In this sense, the findings are a real innovation, since they contradict the previous research supposition that the furnaces in the heart of the desert were operated by slaves.
The rare find of 3,000-year-old dyed textiles provides an exceptional opportunity to address intriguing research questions, including: The “fashion” of the elite in the Iron Age, social stratification and organization of early Edom, the economic status of the local population, trade connections, technological capabilities, etc. These rare textiles are being kept under strict climatic control in the Israel Antiquities Authority’s organic-materials storage facility.
The research was published on June 28, 2017, and was led by Dr. Naama Sukenik of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv University, in cooperation with a research team from Tel Aviv University, Bar-Ilan University, and the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The Timna excavations site (Photo Credit: Erez Ben-Yosef, Tel Aviv University)