A new exhibition from the University of Haifa opened last weekend at the Silk Road Virtual Museum, an international initiative that tells the story of the Silk Road through dozens of heritage sites and archaeological finds from across the region.

The museum is home to exhibits from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, stretching from Italy’s Venice to the ancient Tibetan and Majapahit empires.

The University of Haifa’s exhibit, titled “From Trash to Treasure - Nahal Omer,” displays a collection of rare, well-preserved textiles and seeds discovered at the Nahal Omer archaeological site in the Arava in southern Israel, situated along the route of the ancient Spice Road.

It is the first exhibit from Israel to be featured in the museum. It was curated by Prof. Guy Bar-Oz, Prof. Gideon Avni, and doctoral student Nofar Shamir-Shapir from the University of Haifa’s Cultural Heritage Department.

Nahal Omer is a small agricultural village dating back to the Early Islamic period (mid-7th to 9th century CE) which was first surveyed in 1932. The most recent excavations began in 2020, when archaeologists excavated nearby middens (ancient trash heaps) and discovered the site’s remarkable connection to the trade route.

Excavation was carried out in thin layers, the exhibit explains, in order to identify different layers and types of ancient debris in the dirt. The dug-up sediment was carefully run through a sieve on site, and any finds were then sorted and recovered by hand to preserve smaller or delicate materials.

Nearly 3,900 textile fragments were found preserved at Nahal Omer.

Using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to study the fibers at an extremely high magnification, researchers found that while most of the fragments were cotton, other textile pieces were made of wool, linen, and silk.

The fragments included decorated cotton textiles from India and Bukhara in Central Asia, felt strips made from the hair of Bactrian camels native to the Central Asian deserts, and pieces of silk originating from China.

Additionally, more than 200 fragments of ikat fabrics - a technique of patterning textile where yarn is tied together and dyed before being woven -  were found at the site. According to the exhibit, the fragments found in the Arava likely did not originate there, citing similar textiles found in the region.

“Differences in fiber type, weave, and pattern suggest that some fabrics may have connections with weaving traditions known from Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean, others with Arabia and Iran, and still others with Central and South Asia,” a sign in the exhibit reads. “These links remain tentative, but the variety of techniques - ikat, zilu, fine cottons, wools, and dyed silks - indicates more than a purely local repertoire.”

Also found at the site were seeds, which, once identified, could reveal what the local plant life was like and what was traded and used at the site.

"Beyond its archaeological significance, the exhibition also offers a contemporary perspective on regional connections and cross-cultural links,” Bar-Oz said.

“It highlights that over a thousand years ago, the region already hosted extensive ties of trade, movement, and exchange of knowledge between the Middle East, Asia, and the Far East, and serves as a reminder that the region was part of a broad international network of cultural and economic connections in antiquity.”

The complete “From Trash to Treasure - Nahal Omer” exhibit can be viewed here.