Kirsty Mckenzie
AN ancient piece of fabric found inside a small cave hidden in the Sierra Morena hills, near Cordoba in southern Spain, is the oldest evidence of textiles in the Iberian Peninsula.
Experts from the University of Cordoba have revealed that the fabric uncovered in Obejo is the oldest example of loom-woven textiles ever to be discovered along the peninsula in southwestern Europe,
Dating back to 5,400 years old, the textiles were discovered in the Cerro de la Calera cave alongside human remains in 2016. Experts believe the cloth was left as ‘grave goods’ along with fragments of wood and cork, and some pottery vessels.
After almost five years of study, scientists have confirmed the age of the fabric.
Researchers said:“Although small and fragmentary, the textile finds from Peñacalera add important new information to our understanding of the development of textile technologies in the Iberian Peninsula and Europe during the Late Neolithic period and Copper Age.
“By the second half of the fourth millennium cal BC, loom-woven textiles were being used by the south Iberian populations, as also indirectly confirmed by the loom weight evidence.
“The Peñacalera finds are a key reference for understanding the development of textile technologies during the Neolithic and Copper Age in western Europe and beyond.”
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