Materials and Quality

Many different kinds of fibers were made into textiles in Karanis and in the wider ancient world. These textiles often varied in quality depending on their use, from very rough, thick, and coarse to very fine indeed.

Despite the intense processing required of flax to produce useable fibers from the plant, linen was a major industry in Egypt since the Dynastic Period. Thomas writes in “Textiles from Medieval Egypt, A.D. 300-1300”, it was typically produced in four grades of quality, as evidenced by the variation in the samples.

Goat hair, surprisingly enough, was also made into fabric! Though they made up only about 3% of the 3,000+ textile fragments found at Karanis, this is a typical percentage for Roman sites. Batcheller, who made a study of some samples found at Karanis, determined from tax records that the goats were probably herded together with sheep on the outskirts of the villages of the Fayum.

These fibers were from the common goat (not a fancier breed, bred for good quality hair) and based on the state of the roots and uncut tips were shed, and not sheared. Goat hair was obviously not a priority! That said, some fragments have been found with more elaborate weaving techniques. Goat hair textiles would have been typically used as sacking and saddlebags.