Linen was made from flax, a plant that requires a good deal of moisture and grows wild on the shores of the Mediterranean in the Near East. Flax provided the first plant fibres that were used to weave cloth for garments ir Syria, in about 7000 BC. Plant fibres were spun and woven before animal fibre, like sheep’s wool or goat hair, was used. It is believed that the child who wore this tunic was killed with his family after they had sought refuge in one of the tower tombs in the necropolis at the time of the Sassanid invasion of 610.