A kind of wool is made by the Egyptians from a tree...

The microscopic examination of a collection of over 55 textile remains from the North Kharga Oasis Survey (2001-2005) revealed useful information on the cotton textiles production in Roman Egypt. The most significant finding was the identification of four cotton tabbies and a further three of cotton and flax union. A coarse, loosely woven tabby cotton textile contained warp yarns that are hard and over-spun, while the weft yarns are soft and weak. The weft yarns appear to be spun of shorter fibers, thus contributing to their woolly appearance and weakness. These textiles also incorporate random use of double, triple and even quadruple-laid weft yarns. The cotton and flax union fabrics are woven of single, s-spun yarns, flax in one system and cotton in other. One of the textiles provided the evidence that the cotton weavers in the Oasis were using wool weavers' technique.