Examining artifacts discovered in the Negev in the 1930s, Israeli archaeologists have identified in an ancient lamp a linen wick from around the 6th century CE. Amanda Borschel-Dan explains the find’s significance:
Microscopic analysis . . . showed that the wick was made of linen, a cloth derived from flax. Naama Sukenik of the Israel Antiquities Authority said that only two other examples of flax wicks have been discovered inside similar [lamps] in Israel, and that such wicks are very rare finds around the world.
Flax was cultivated in the Levant for thousands of years, and people in the region were very familiar with its uses, she said. The earliest examples of flax garments and thread [in Israel] date from some 10,000 years ago. . . .
In addition to being mentioned in the Bible, the cultivation of flax also appears in the famed Gezer inscription from ca. 100 BCE. Sukenik noted as well that flax’s use as a wick is attested in the second chapter of the talmudic tractate Shabbat, which is read as part of the Friday-night liturgy in [many Jewish communities]. This particular passage deals with what material is acceptable for lighting lamps on the Sabbath, and rules that combed flax (as opposed to uncombed flax) is acceptable.
Read more on Times of Israel: https://www.timesofisrael.com/tiny-1500-year-old-flax-lamp-wick-illuminates-ancient-jewish-law/