Flax has a long and fascinating history. This plant was domesticated around 8,000 bce¹ in the Fertile Crescent area², first for its seeds and then for its fibres^1,3. Although its uses existed long before domestication, residues of flax yarn dated 30,000 years ago have been found in the Caucasus area⁴. However, Ancient Egypt laid the foundations for the cultivation of flax as a textile fibre crop⁵. Today flax fibres are used in high-value textiles and in natural actuators⁶ or reinforcements in composite materials⁷. Flax is therefore a bridge between ages and civilizations. For several decades, the development of non- or micro-destructive analysis techniques has led to numerous works on the conservation of ancient textiles. Non-destructive methods, such as optical microscopy⁸ or vibrational techniques^9,10, have been largely used to investigate archaeological textiles, principally to evaluate their degradation mechanisms and state of conservation. Vibrational spectroscopy studies can now benefit from synchrotron radiation¹¹ and X-ray diffraction measurement in the archaeometric study of historical textiles^12,13. Conservation of mechanical performance and the ultrastructural differences between ancient and modern flax varieties have not been examined thus far. Here we examine the morphological, ultrastructural and mechanical characteristics of a yarn from an Egyptian mortuary linen dating from the early Middle Kingdom (Eleventh Dynasty, ca. 2033–1963 bce) and compare them with a modern flax yarn to assess the quality and durability of ancient flax fibres and relate these to their processing methods. Advanced microscopy techniques, such as nano-tomography, multiphoton excitation microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used. Our findings reveal the cultural know-how of this ancient civilization in producing high-fineness fibres, as well as the exceptional durability of flax, which is sometimes questioned, demonstrating their potential as reinforcements in high-technology composites.

亚麻有着悠久而迷人的历史。这种植物大约在公元前 8000 年 1 在新月沃地 2 被驯化，^首先是^为了它的种子，然后是为了它的纤维^1,3。^{尽管它的用途早在驯化之前就已经存在，但在高加索地区4}已经发现了 30,000 年前的亚麻纱残留物。然而，古埃及为亚麻作为纺织纤维作物的种植奠定了基础⁵。如今，亚麻纤维用于高价值纺织品和天然致动器⁶或复合材料中的增强材料⁷. 因此，亚麻是连接不同时代和文明的桥梁。几十年来，非破坏性或微破坏性分析技术的发展导致了大量关于保护古代纺织品的工作。非破坏性方法，例如光学显微镜⁸或振动技术^9,10，已广泛用于研究考古纺织品，主要是评估其降解机制和保护状态。振动光谱研究现在可以受益于同步辐射¹¹和历史纺织品考古研究中的 X 射线衍射测量^12,13. 迄今为止，尚未研究过古代和现代亚麻品种之间的机械性能守恒和超微结构差异。在这里，我们研究了可追溯到中世纪早期（第十一王朝，约公元前 2033-1963 年）的埃及太平间亚麻布纱线的形态、超微结构和机械特性) 并将它们与现代亚麻纱进行比较，以评估古代亚麻纤维的质量和耐用性，并将这些与它们的加工方法联系起来。使用了先进的显微技术，例如纳米断层扫描、多光子激发显微术和原子力显微术。我们的研究结果揭示了这个古老文明在生产高细纤维方面的文化知识，以及有时受到质疑的亚麻的卓越耐用性，证明了它们在高科技复合材料中作为增强材料的潜力。