The archaeological evidence for the fashion of costumes in the Levant, C. 1565 up to 586 BCE. Volume 1

Abstract

Every human being is born naked, but during his or her lifespan s/he wears various types of attire, made in various forms and styles. Why? Wearing apparel was and is necessary for both health and survival. Apart from being a necessity, it also bears considerable social significance in the life of any society. Dress has always been an integral part of an individual, a means of asserting one's identity. It is a way of differentiating between individuals, based on gender, age, social role and social class, as well as differentiating cultural groups. In Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3 we find Polonius advising his son Laertes to dress well since 'the apparel oft proclaims the man'.Clothing has always been an integral part of past and present communities and societies. Indeed as illustrated by Ebeling, 'An interesting ostracon dating from the seventh century BCE from the site of a fortress at Mesad Hashavyahu, near the coast of southern Israel, demonstrates the value of clothing in ancient Israel. In this inscription, which was apparently dictated to a scribe, a field worker appeals to the governor of the fortress for the return of an item of clothing that he complains had been unjustly confiscated by a man named Hoshabyahu ben-Shobi. Although the item of clothing is not specified, it was probably a mantle or cloak given its apparent worth to the worker. Clearly, this clothing item was considered valuable to the field worker, and he took the necessary steps to attempt to get it back'.