Montreal Gazette - Key to ancient carpet's magic was bugs, plants

Chemistry professor Joe Schwarcz in The Gazette: "There really is a magic 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 comes upon an ancient tomb during an archeological dig. No treasures were to be found, grave robbers having long ago absconded with them. But in the 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 coloured carpet has been perfectly preserved by the Siberian cold! He knows it is old, but not until the fabric is radiocarbon dated does the archaeologist realize that he has come upon the earliest known carpet, dating back to roughly 500 B.C.!…"