Wow, it looks like they did, according to an article by the Guardian:
Nanotechnology World
Nanotechnology is ancient history
The manipulation of material at the atomic and molecular scale to create new functions and properties sounds like it should be a profoundly modern concept. But artisans from the past also controlled matter at the tiniest scales. By modern-day standards, they were working in a branch of nanotechnology called nanocomposites. These are bulk materials in which nanoscale particles are mixed to improve the properties of the overall or composite material.
