Oldest evidence of patterned silk loom found in China
The technology fed the Silk Road trade
![ancient pattern loom](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/041917_BB_loom_main.jpg?fit=860%2C460&ssl=1)
LOOM ROOM Excavation of a roughly 2,100-year-old tomb in southern China uncovered four small-scale models of pattern looms, including these two shown where they were found alongside several wooden figurines. These discoveries represent the earliest clues to a weaving technique that transformed silk production.
Tao Xie, Feng Zhao et al/Antiquity 2017