Ball of Tyrian purple dye found in Carlisle

A purple nodule, roughly the size of a ping pong ball, has been discovered during ongoing excavations at Carlisle Cricket Club in northern England. Analysis by experts at the British Geological Society and Newcastle University have confirmed its composition to be Tyrian purple with traces of beeswax and bromine. Sourced from the glands of murex sea snails (Bolinus brandaris), Tyrian – or imperial – purple was a reddish-purple natural dye. Manufacturing it required extensive labour, with around 12,000 snails needed to produce less than 2 g of pigment. The dye's exceptional value exceeded that of gold threefold. It was used exclusively among the elite of Roman society to dye clothing. Lead archaeologist Frank Giecco said: “It's the only example we know of in Northern Europe – possibly the only example…

You're reading a preview of

Ancient History (Digital) - 1 Issue, AH 50

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.