purple dye more prcious than gold

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Purple dye ‘more precious than gold’ found in Biblical-era fabric by Israeli archaeologists
Andy Gregory
Sat, 30 January 2021, 9:25 pm
<p>Archaeologists working in the field in the Timna Valley, an ancient copper mine, have discovered purple-dyed fabric</p> (Israeli Antiquities Authority/AFP via Getty Images)

Archaeologists working in the field in the Timna Valley, an ancient copper mine, have discovered purple-dyed fabric
(Israeli Antiquities Authority/AFP via Getty Images)

Purple-dyed fabric dating back to the purported Biblical reigns of David and Solomon has been discovered in Israel for the first time, according to archaeologists.

Possibly invented in Phoenicia as far back as 1570BC, using the distilled glands of sea snails, “royal” or “Tyrian” purple dye was associated with regality and wealth in the ancient world and is believed to have been more valuable than gold.

Its use on fabrics in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age is referenced in numerous Christian and Jewish texts – including in connection with Solomon’s Temple.

But scientists had never previously found direct evidence of this esteemed ancient industry in the region save for remnants of mollusc shell and traces of purple on pottery fragments.

While examining coloured textiles from Timna Valley – an ancient copper production district in southern Israel – researchers were surprised to find remnants of woven fabric, a tassel and fibres of wool dyed with royal purple.

Radiocarbon dating confirmed the samples date from approximately 1000 BC, corresponding to the supposed monarchies of David and Solomon in Jerusalem.

"This is a very exciting and important discovery,” said Dr Naama Sukenik, curator of organic finds at the Israel Antiquities Authority.

"This is the first piece of textile ever found from the time of David and Solomon that is dyed with the prestigious purple dye. In antiquity, purple attire was associated with the nobility, with priests, and, of course, with royalty.

“The gorgeous shade of the purple, the fact that it does not fade and the difficulty in producing the dye, which is found in minute quantities in the body of molluscs, all made it the most highly-valued of the dyes, which often cost more than gold.”

According to the study published in the PLOS One journal, true purple (argaman) was produced from a gland located near the rectum of three species of mollusc indigenous to the Mediterranean Sea, by means of a complex distillation process lasting several days.
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