From Britannica Online: Hemp originated in Central Asia, and its cultivation for fibre, recorded in China as early as 2800 BC...

And about linen:
Fibre, yarn, and fabric made from the flax plant.

Flax is one of the oldest textile fibres used by humans; evidence of its use has been found in Switzerland's prehistoric lake dwellings. Fine linen fabrics have been discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs. The fibre is obtained by subjecting plant stalks to a series of operations, including retting (a fermentation process), drying, crushing, and beating. Linen is stronger than cotton, dries more quickly, and is more slowly affected by exposure to sunlight. Low elasticity, imparting a hard, smooth texture, makes linen subject to wrinkling. Because linen absorbs and releases moisture quickly and is a good conductor of heat, linen garments feel cool to wearers. Fine grades of linen are made into woven fabrics and laces for apparel and household furnishings.

Helen, this writer doesn't say where she got her info., but it sounds likely to me:
To make rope, the ancient Egyptians used reeds and fibre from date palms, as well as grass, papyrus, flax, and camel-hair. But the rope was used not for binding together bolts of cloth or sheaves of any sort; rather it served as a means for gangs of slaves to combine their strength so they might move the enormous stones necessary for construction of the pyramids and other great monuments. The ropes were thick as a wrist; once the stone was set on a sledge with rollers, men, often nearly 200 at a time, could haul it by pulling on four or more long and many-stranded ropes. The Egyptians also used rope for rigging their boats, creating it from strips of leather as well as palm and papyrus fibres.
http://www.barcelonareview.com/19/e_bfl.htm