Question about the historical accuracy of knots.

[MorganTyre]

Just how far back to knots go? Obviously the majority of functional knots - bowlines, reef knots, etc. are as ancient as sailing but what about decorative knots? The running turkshead (the one strand kind such as what I've illustrated elsewhere is period for sure with documentation to prove it but I'm wondering about some of the hitching, the multipart turksheads, the rope mats, etc. They look pretty and salty but I get the impression that most only go back to the 19th century. Am I wrong in this? What sort of documentation have you guys seen?