Montreal Gazette - Key to ancient carpet's magic was bugs, plants
Chemistry professor Joe Schwarcz in The Gazette: "There really is a magic聽carpet, you know. It doesn't fly, but it can let your imagination soar.
So, imagine this. The year is 1949 and Russian archeologist Sergei Rudenko聽comes upon an ancient tomb during an archeological dig. No treasures were聽to be found, grave robbers having long ago absconded with them. But in the聽corner lies a carpet, probably judged to be of no value by the thieves.
Rudenko can't believe his eyes when he examines the find. The brilliantly聽coloured carpet has been perfectly preserved by the Siberian cold! He聽knows it is old, but not until the fabric is radiocarbon dated does the聽archaeologist realize that he has come upon the earliest known carpet,聽dating back to roughly 500 B.C.!鈥�"