by Sarah Todd

Created on: December 16, 2008   Last Updated: April 03, 2012

A line from the ancient Egyptian verse "Hymn to Hapi", commemorating the annual flooding of the Nile River, reads: "People are clothed with the flax of his fields." Ancient Egyptians considered the flax plant a gift from the Nile River - the river's annual flooding deposited valuable silt on the banks, meaning flax and other crops could be planted and harvested.

Fibres from the flax plant were used by the ancient Egyptians to make linen, the textile used for almost all their clothes. Linen was favoured because it was cool to wear, making it well suited for the country's arid desert climate. In the ancient world almost every family grew flax to weave their own linen. Textile fibres from 8,000 BC have been found in Central Europe.

Although the Phoenicians were responsible for the introduction of the flax plant to mainland Europe, particularly Italy and Germany, other cultures used the plant for the same reason. The priests and priestesses from the island of Crete wore garments made from flax, usually embroidering their clothes and dyeing the fabric in four different shades of crimson. Both men and women wore loincloths. Ancient Greek and Roman tunics were often made from linen. The first records of an established linen industry date back 4,000 years, and are attributed to Egypt.

Linen is a strong, durable fabric and the more it is washed the softer it becomes. It is stronger than cotton, but much less flexible. Flax fibre is obtained from the skin of the plant's stem, and is soft and flexible. To ensure the fibres remained long and strong the plants were pulled out of the ground by male workers. Flax stems were soaked for several days to enable easy separation of the fibres. After separation the fibres were beaten and combed, before being attached to a spindle and twisted into a strong thread. The thread was then woven into a piece of fabric on a loom. The best fibres were obtained from young flax plants. Fibres from mature plants were used to make rope and mats.

The linen was rarely dyed, and sold in its natural white shade. Washing clothes was a difficult task. At the time soap did not exist, so lye made from castor-oil or soapwort detergents were used. Linen becomes heavy when wet, so laundry was usually handled by pairs of workers. It was washed and rinsed in the river or canal, then beaten before being left to bleach and dry in the sun. Pleats had to be reset every time a garment was washed, and this was achieved by pressing the garment into grooves on a

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