Written evidence about textiles in ancient Cyprus is scanty. A handful of inscriptions and a few literary texts witness of some professional figures (fullers, purple workers, employees of the gymnasium in charge of the linen, launderers, weavers), and the glosses record some peculiar terms of the Cypriot dialect concerning textiles productions, clothes, shoes and hairdressing. The production of wool and above all flax is documented. It seems that some Cypriot productions, particularly polychrome tapestries and purple, were highly appreciated and commercialised.