Majal Design School’s Textile Department hosted a masterclass this week exploring the 13th-century embroidery found with the naturally mummified remains of Assi el-Hadath in Lebanon’s Qadisha Valley. Led by Lebanese fashion historian Joe Challita, the session introduced students to one of the country’s most important archaeological records of medieval textile production in Lebanon.
The masterclass focused on how textiles can be read as historical evidence. Students examined embroidery motifs, materials, weaving and dyeing techniques, and learned how to place textile details within their archaeological and cultural context.
The Assi el-Hadath discoveries date to the late 13th century, when a group of villagers from Hadath sought refuge in a grotto in the Qadisha Valley during the Mamluk period. The site, located at an elevation of about 1,300 meters, provided conditions that naturally preserved the bodies and the garments they were wearing. The remains were discovered between 1989 and 1993.
Among the surviving textiles are tunics and other garments made from cotton and silk, with handspun threads and embroidery dyed using natural materials including indigo, madder root and gallnuts. The textiles offer evidence of the skills, materials and visual language used by Lebanese communities more than 700 years ago.
Challita, who founded Lebanese Fashion History, has devoted much of his work to researching and documenting Lebanon’s fashion and textile heritage. His research has included the Assi el-Hadath embroideries and their place in Lebanon’s history of dress and craftsmanship.
For Majal’s Textile Department, bringing this material into the classroom is part of its broader effort to document Lebanon’s textile heritage and make it accessible to future generations. The school’s Textile Design Certificate combines technical textile training with research into traditional techniques and cultural heritage.
The masterclass is part of Majal’s approach to textile education, which encourages students to look beyond contemporary design and understand the historical knowledge embedded in the materials and techniques they use today.