Boffins say these well-preserved trousers, believed to be the world’s oldest, are so stylish they were like the “Versace” of the ancient world.
This is after they managed to recreate three identical pairs, right down to the wool being spun in the same way as in ancient times.
Made in China, the slacks belonged to a man believed to have lived between 3,000 and 3,200 years ago.
The trousers were discovered in an old tomb during road construction work in the city of Turpan in the north-western Chinese region of Xinjiang.
A team of historians, archaeologists, geologists and fashion designers have been analysing the ancient trousers for five years.
But the secrets they hold are only being revealed now – by a team of scientists working in the city of Chemnitz in the eastern German state of Saxony.
The team has managed to recreate how they would have looked brand-new, as seen in these photos.
The result of the team’s work went on display at an exhibition at the State Museum of Archaeology in Chemnitz last Friday, 4th March.
Professor Mayke Wagner, 58, of the German Archaeological Institute said: “We wove three almost identical pairs of trousers to see how it worked back then.”
(D. Hosner, DAI/Newsflash)
To test the pants, the researchers even rode horses with them on, as their original owner would have done.
The team found that the slacks were made from wool from sheep similar to today’s Skudde breed, which is found in Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Switzerland.
Wagner described the wool, which would have been fashioned into the trousers using a kind of homemade back loom, as “coarse-haired, not too soft”.
She added: “The thread was kept taut by bending back and forth while weaving. The fabric was stable in the end, but also elastic for a tight fit.”
Such trousers were worn by horsemen in Siberia and parts of China. This is attested to by the pattern on the knees, which can also be found on ceramics from the period.
Professor Wagner said: “The design was extremely chic and super hot. Today it could compete with Versace!”
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Story By: William McGee, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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