Here is a look back at the history of carpet, but not just any history: Ancient History.
Carpet has been around for centuries and the specific origin has never been verified, but it is known that the floor covering has been used in ancient times, including in the Persian and some Oriental cultures.
The Pazyryk Carpet is the oldest known carpet on earth and it has been dated back to the 5th Century B.C.
It was discovered in the tomb of a Scythian prince in the Pazyryk Valley of Siberia by Russian archaeologist Sergei Rudenko in the late 1940s. Rudenko believed that the carpet he discovered was a part of the Achaemenid Empire, but mystery still surrounds the exact source of the rug.
Historians say that the carpet survived because the gravesite was robbed and left open, which turned the carpet into a block of ice and preserved until it was discovered by Rudenko’s team over sixty years ago.
Despite the fact that it is over 2500 years old, the carpet exhibits a level of sophistication in its craftsmanship that wasn’t thought to be possible by modern historians because most woven carpets and rugs from the same time period are from a more primitive construction.
The most interesting part of the historic carpet is not simply that it survived 25 centuries, but that it tells a story of the Scythian people. The Scythians were known as excellent horsemen with an empire ranging from Eastern Europe to Western Asia. The images woven in the carpet are of griffins, deer, and riders on horseback.
More than likely, the Pazyryk Carpet was a prized possession and even though vacuums were over a millennia away from being invented, the carpet was well taken care of.
At CRI, we are always encouraging people to take care of their carpet for many reasons, especially for the longevity. Now we don’t promise that maintaining your carpet will keep it around for 2500 years, but that it will be a strong aspect of your indoor environment that keeps your feet comfortable and your air clean.
