You may be surprised to know that the history of rugs is almost as old as the history of mankind itself. We know that man has used rugs even in the Neolithic times, or the Stone Age, which started around 7000B.C.

The First Use of Rugs

Even when man lived in caves, he used rugs to avoid the cold of stone walls and floors. At that time, animal hide was used not only to fashion some clothes, but also to make leather rugs for the floors as well as the walls of the caves. The techniques of rug making were already highly advanced by 2000B.C. based on findings from the excavation in Mesopotamia and Egyptian tombs. These cultures made use of the flat-weaving technique of rug making. On the other hand, cultures in Asia and the Middle East were known to be weaving pile rugs even before this time. They mainly made Wool Rugs from sheep wool.

The Oldest Rugs in the World

The oldest surviving rug in the world is the 'Pazyryk' carpet, unearthed in 1949 and considered to be from the 5th century B.C. The second oldest rug is called the 'Spring Carpet of Chosroes' which was once owned by the King of Persia and is dated 550 B.C. It measured 400ftx100ft, weighed a few tons and was woven with silk, gold, silver, wool and precious stones. While none have survived, one can only imagine how exquisite Contemporary Rugs of that time must have been!

Rugs in Western Europe

It is believed that rug making came to Western Europe only around 1000 A.D. It started in Spain, considering it is closest to other rug making countries like Persia, Egypt and Mesopotamia. However, rug making started in other parts of Europe only as late as the 18th and 19th century. Nonetheless, our ancestors were no strangers to rugs even though they hadn't yet cultivated the expertise to produce them. There is enough historical evidence that shows that royalty and nobility regularly imported traditional rugs from Persia and the Orient. Unfortunately, the tradition of rug weaving in Europe ended almost as soon as it started. The age of Industrialization made it possible to manufacture rugs with the help of machines and inability to compete with low cost of labor in the Middle East and the Orient led to this demise of handcrafting Rugs in Europe.