The oldest known hand knotted rug which is nearly completely preserved and can therefore be fully evaluated in every technical and design aspect is the pazyryk carpet dated to the 5th century bc.
Pazyryk rug wikipedia.
With the sophisticated tools we have grown accustomed to today it is hard to image how tattoos as intricate as those found on the pazyryk chief and the ice maiden could have been created.
The pazyryk rug the oldest hand knotted oriental rug known was excavated from the altai mountains in siberia in 1948.
The mummy of princess ukok wikimedia the pazyryk culture gives us another tiny glimpse into a large part of ancient human civilization.
The first tomb at pazyryk barrow 1 was excavated by the archaeologist m.
Barrows 2 5 were excavated by sergei ivanovich rudenko in 1947 1949.
The world s oldest rug.
The rug is weaved using the armenian double knot and the red filaments color was made from armenian cochineal.
The advanced technique used in the pazyryk carpet indicates a.
The pazyryk culture is a scythian nomadic iron age archaeological culture c.
The pazyryk carpet was excavated in 1949 from the grave of a scythian nobleman in the pazyryk valley of the altai mountains in siberia radiocarbon testing indicated that the pazyryk carpet was woven in the 5th century bc.
While many of the tombs had already been looted in earlier times the excavators unearthed buried horses and with them immaculately preserved cloth saddles felt and woven rugs including the world s oldest pile carpet a 3 metre.
Bc now in the hermitage museum in st.
The rug is woven using the armenian double knot and the red filaments color was made from armenian cochineal.
It was discovered in the late 1940s by the russian archeologist sergei rudenko and his team.
The first surviving pile rug.
6th to 3rd centuries bc identified by excavated artifacts and mummified humans found in the siberian permafrost in the altay mountains kazakhstan and nearby mongolia the mummies are buried in long barrows or kurgans similar to the tomb mounds of scythian culture in ukraine.
Anatolian rug is a term of convenience commonly used today to denote rugs and carpets woven in anatolia or asia minor and its adjacent regions geographically its area of production can be compared to the territories which were historically dominated by the ottoman empire it denotes a knotted pile woven floor or wall covering which is produced for home use local sale and export.
It was discovered in the grave of the prince of altai near pazyryk 5400 feet above sea level and clearly shows how well hand knotted rugs were produced thousands of years ago.
The eminent authority of ancient carpets ulrich schurmann says of it from all the evidence available i am convinced that the pazyryk rug was a funeral accessory and most likely a masterpiece of armenian workmanship.
This carpet is 183 by 200 centimetres 72 by 79 inches and has 36 symmetrical knots per cm 2 232 per inch 2.