The oldest spider silk in the world dates from the Early Cretaceous Period, more than 120 million years ago and was described in the journal ‘Nature’ by Swiss researcher Dr Samuel Zschokke from the University of Basel. The strand is 4 mm (0.1 in) long and has tiny glue droplets which in modern-day spiders are used to catch insects. The specimen was recovered in 1969 from amber beds located near Jezzine, Lebanon but it was only in 2003 that their importance was recognised.