"BA" Guide to Artifacts: Seashells and Ancient Purple DyeingAuthor(s): I. Irving ZidermanReviewed work(s):Source: The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 53, No. 2 (Jun., 1990), pp. 98-101Published by: The American Schools of Oriental ResearchStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3210101 .Accessed: 18/05/2012 03:31

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BA Guidke to A1rtifacts

Seashells by I. Irving Ziderman

and ncient Purp le Dyeing

mong the most precious treasures of antiquity were the purple textiles produced by the Phoeni-

cians along the Mediterranean basin. Ranking in value with gold, these purple cloths were very impor- tant in international trade and trib- ute as well as for the adornment of sovereigns and sanctuaries (Born 1937; Forbes 1964; Franklin 1984; Jensen 1963).

It was probably partially as a result of the quest for new sources of purple dye that the Phoenicians de- veloped their navies and established colonies at so many sites around the Mediterranean littoral. Punic, the Latin designation of "purple-colored" and of the dialect of ancient Carthage, derives from "Phoenician" (compare Numbers 26:23; see Astour 1965). The Phoenicians called themselves Canaanites, and their territory was part of Canaan, so there are ample references to them in the Bible. They organized themselves into city-states and are designated in the Bible ac- cordingly as Tyrians, Sidonians, and so on (compare Genesis 10:15-19). Purple dyeing became a major source of economic prosperity in these city- states. In fact, it was King Hiram of

Tyre who provided King Solomon with a craftsman expert in red-purple,

kermes, and blue-purple used in the construction of the first temple (see 2 Chronicles, chapter 2).

The first written records of purple dyeing, from Nuzi, Mesopo- tamia, are about 3,500 years old, followed by texts in Hebrew (the Book of Exodus, 3,300 years old), Ugaritic (3,000 years old), Akkadian (2,700 years old), Greek, and Latin. Archaeological evidence of purple dyeing dates to seventeenth-century- B.C.E. Crete. Banded dye-murex shells found in 1903 in association with pre-Phoenician artifacts on Leuke (modern-day Konfonision), a small island southeast of Crete, con- stitute the earliest evidence for a purple dyeing works that is more than 3,700 years old.

The Phoenicians produced two distinct purple products, a blue- purple, hyacinth, and a red-purple, Tyrian purple; both are often referred to in the Bible where they are respec- tively called, in Hebrew, tekelet and

'arginmuin. These two dyed wools are

mentioned many times in Exodus (chapters 25-40), together with another colored wool called tOlacat shini in Hebrew; this was made with kermes, a red insect that lives on certain species of oak.' The Book of Exodus prescribes the use of blue- purple, red-purple, and crimson

wools in the fabrication of priestly vestments and tabernacle awnings; chapter 4 of the Book of Numbers describes their use for covering sa- cred vessels when being transported from the sanctuary. Every Jew was required to attach blue-purple cords to the tassels on his four-cornered garments (Numbers 15:38). This observance was abandoned in the seventh century C.E., when the purple dyeing industry collapsed during the Arab conquest of the Levant with the destruction of Tyre in 638 and the Jewish exile from the Golan Heights. Thereafter purple dyes were produced sporadically in a few Byzantine centers until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 C.E., when the craft ceased to be practiced in the Mediterranean basin.

The Manufacturing Process Ancient purple dyes were made from certain shellfish that were gathered from the shallow seafloor near the Mediterranean coast. Colorless dye precursors are present in the hypo- branchial gland, which was removed from fresh snails and then used to dye wool by exposure to sunlight and air so as to develop the purple artifact. Small shells were crushed and processed in toto. The impor- tance of sunlight in this process is mentioned by the ancient authors. A major source for details of the ancient dyeing techniques is Pliny's Natural History, in which we read as follows:

The vein already mentioned is then extracted and about a sex- tarius [approximately 7 pounds] of salt added to each hundred pounds of material. It should be soaked for three days, for the fresher the extract, the more powerful the dye, then boiled in a leaden vessel. Next, five hun- dred pounds of dye-stuff, diluted with an amphora [about 8 gal- lons] of water, are subject to an even and moderate heat by plac- ing the vessels in a flue com- municating with a distant fur-

98 Biblical Archaeologist, June 1990

nace. Meanwhile the flesh which necessarily adheres to the veins is skimmed off, and a test is made about the tenth day by steeping a well-washed fleece in the liquefied contents of one of the vessels. The liquid is then heated till the colour answers to expectations. A frankly red col- our is inferior to one with a tinge of black. The wool drinks in the dye for five hours and, after carding, is dipped again and again until all the colour is absorbed (Book 9, paragraphs 133 and 134, as translated by K. C. Bailey, 1929: 29; see Baker 1974; for a slightly different translation, see Rackham 1967: 252-55).

The Shells The primary artifacts that mark pur- ple dyeing locations are the shells left behind by the dyers. An enormous mound of Phoenician banded dye- murex shells was found near Sidon in 1864. This mound of shells, all broken above the chromogenic gland, revealed the species from which blue- purple was manufactured. Nearby, but carefully separated from this mound, was a second pile containing shells of only two other species, spiny dye-murex and the rock shell or oyster drill, Thais haemastoma. Here was a striking indication of a

separate dyeing site whereby the two species in the second mound served for dyeing red-purple.

Banded dye-murex (Phyllonotus (Murex) trunculus) lives in shallow shore waters around the Mediterra- nean Sea at depths from 1.5 to at least 12 meters (around 5 to 39 feet) on rocky bottoms or coarse sand covered with pebbles. The shell has blunt spikes arranged in a spiral band and a broad channeled beak. It is interesting to note that purple dye can be made in the absence of light from banded dye-murex (from no other species, however), but the hue obtained may differ from that formed in sunlight. These shells have been caught in modern times, just as they were in antiquity, by lowering mussel-baited wicker baskets into the depths.

The second predominant species of purple shell, spiny dye-murex (Bolinus (Murex) brandaris), oc- cupies a sandy, silty, or muddy habi- tat at considerable depths (10 to 150 meters, around 33 to 492 feet) off the Mediterranean coast. The shells of this species are characterized by an elongated beak and prickly spikes. The antique deposit at Tyre is exclu- sively spiny dye-murex; accordingly, the red-purple manufactured there was the extolled Tyrian purple.

The two species just described are among those referred to by Pliny

as types of pelagia (sea purples) or murex. Spiny dye-murex is probably Pliny's "mud-purple" or his "melting- purple," the latter designated by him as the best source for dye, whereas banded dye-murex is probably the "pebble-purple" that he states is remarkably suitable for dyeing. Dye- ings made solely with sea purples are called conchylia by Pliny.

Thais haemastoma dwells on rocks in waters less than 150 centi- meters (or 5 feet) deep, both in the Mediterranean Sea and, more widely, on the Atlantic coasts of Africa; thus, it is particularly accessible, al- though less abundant than the other species. Its shells are round in shape, and it is recognizable by the striking red coloration within the large shell orifice that has a characteristically serrated outer edge. We identify this rock shell as Pliny's "trumpet-shell" (buccinum) that did not yield a fast dye alone and was therefore used in admixture with murex species (pelagia) for purpuras dyeings.

At some locations, a particular species might predominate and thereby determine the type of purple dye made locally, for example, blue- purple at Sidon and Sarepta and red- purple at Tyre. By defining the species of shells found in an excavation, the archaeologist can ascertain whether blue- or red-purple was made locally. Before a firm conclusion can be

The shell pictured at left is banded dye-murex (Phyllonotus trunculus), the species used to manufacture blue-purple (hyacinth in English, t'kelet in Hebrew). This shell has blunt spikes arranged in a spiral band and a broad chan- neled beak. Pictured at right is a fragment of the same species with the spire broken off to permit excision of the chromogenic gland.

Biblical Archaeologist, June 1990 99

reached, however, it is necessary to provide supplementary evidence that the shells were in fact used in dyeing rather than for some other purpose, such as lime production as at Berenice. In Adriatic fish markets, purple snails are sold today as a culi- nary delicacy, so the archaeologist who finds a dye-murex deposit can- not exclude the possibility that what has been uncovered are merely kitchen middens. Because murex are cooked whole and the snail is re- moved without breaking the shell in preparation for human consumption, a deposit of broken or crushed shells indicates a dyeing site. D. S. Reese (1979-1980) has emphasized that analysis of beach- and water-wear al- lows for a determination of whether the shell was collected alive, neces- sary for food and purple dyeing, or dead, for ornamentation or possibly secondary use in lime production, pottery temper, or construction fill.

Other Artifacts Related to Purple Dyeing In addition to shells there are three other archaeological artifacts con- nected with purple dyeing: dyeing installations, colored potsherds, and dyed textiles. The assignment of industrial installations to dyeing has been the subject of dispute (see Horn 1968; Pritchard 1978).

Purple dyeing techniques were

H " H C

H H

The chemical formula of purple dyestuffs. The molecule depicted is composed of atoms of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), and oxygen (0) that are linked by chemical bonds (- and =). Substituting hydrogen for each X in the above chemical structure yields the important dye compound indigotin (found in the archaic vegetable dyes woad and indigo). whereas a bromine substitution for X gives 6.6'-dibromoindigotin, the brominated indigo- tin that is the principal colorant of 7)rian purple, the red-purple 'argaman of the Bible. The banded dye-murex produces a mixture of both of these dyestuffs, forming the blue- purple tke-let of the Bible.

probably closely guarded secrets of Phoenician commercial dyers who handed them down discreetly to their successors. The authentic product was so valuable and in such great demand that a plethora of imi- tation purples of inferior quality were faked by ancient artisans. Be- cause of this phenomenon, purple colored potsherds and textiles must be subjected to chemical analysis before they can be designated as genuine shell-purple? Chemical analysis has identified true red- purple in many archaeological dye- ings and ceramics and in particular abundance from fourth-century-c.E. tomb textiles at Palmyra (Pfister 1937). The earliest sherds encrusted

with red-purple are from thirteenth- century-B.c.E. Sarepta (McGovern and Michel 1984).

Since the malacological and chemical natures of blue-purple have only recently been elucidated, investigators have hitherto been unable to study its possible occur- rence in archaeological artifacts. Moreover, the meager chemical evi- dence that was available could not be attributed to the presence of blue- purple. We can now ascertain, how- ever, that a woolen specimen from Palmyra, some 1,700 years old, is dyed with true blue-purple (Pfister 1937: 23). Furthermore, a seventh- century-c.E. woolen weave from cEn Boqeq near the Dead Sea is also pigmented with this elusive dye (Sheffer 1987), as are two textile frag- ments from first-century-B.C.E. Enkomi on Cyprus (Daniels 1985) and one from third-century-c.E. Roman Britain (Walton 1986). Ac- cordingly, it is now possible to cor- roborate the previous assignment of purple wool from the Bar-Kokhba

These three species of marine shells were used by the ancient Phoenicians in manu- facturing purple dyes. They are, left to right, banded dye-murex (Phyllonotus trunculus), used for making blue-purple, and spiny dye-murex (Bolinus brandaris) and the rock shell Thais haemastoma, both used for making red-purple. The Thais shell bears signs of water wear and the encrustations of other creatures.

100 Biblical Archaeologist, June 1990

period found in the Judean Cave of Letters, dated 135 c.E., as being an authentic imitation of blue-purple that was intended for use as the colored cord of Jewish ritual corner tassels (Yadin 1963: 182-87).

Purple dyeing was a singular fea- ture of ancient and classical culture. It has repeatedly kindled the imagi- nations of modern scholars in the quest to fathom its origin and tech- niques. Scientific research into the chemistry of dyeing with murex has helped solve the enigma (Ziderman 1981, 1982, 1986a, 1986b, 1986c, 1987a, 1987b, 1987c, 1988a, 1988b).

So much for the Old World. American archaeologists have dis- covered red-purple at many pre- Columbian locations. But, then, that's another story.

Notes 'In most English bibles based on the

King James version, these three dyes are translated, respectively, "blue," "purple," and "scarlet." T61lacat shIni, usually rendered "scarlet," is translated by some as "crimson"; both words originally designated a bluish shade of red that we now call crimson. Modem usage of "scarlet" for a red of orange tone origi- nated in the seventeenth century with the introduction of stannous chloride as a new mordant for dyeing wool with American cochineal (Gerber 1978: 12, 13, and 27); it is thus a misnomer for bib- lical red. The translation of tikelet as "blue" is, in my opinion, erroneous; the correct rendering, "violet," appears in the New English Bible (Oxford and Cambridge University Presses, 1970), The Jerusalem Bible (Darton, Longman and TIbdd, Lon- don, 1966), and in E. Fox's new English rendition of the Book of Exodus, Now These Are the Names (New York, Schocken, 1986: 140).

2Fortunately, shellfish purples have a unique chemical composition distin- guished by the presence of organic bro- mine. Red-purple has a single major colorant called ITrian purple that, chemically, is a brominated indigotin in which each molecule of dye contains two bromine atoms. On the other hand, blue- purple, as made from the banded dye-

murex, is a mixture containing two ma- jor colorants, brominated indigotin (the colorant of Tyrian purple) from the fe- male snails together with plain indigotin from the male snails. The latter material is also found in the archaic vegetable dyes, woad and indigo, as well as in the synthetic indigo used for dyeing jeans.

Bibliography Astour, M. C.

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Bailey, K. C., editor and translator 1929 The Elder Pliny's Chapter on Chemi-

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Baker, J. T 1974 Tyrian Purple: An Ancient Dye, a

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Born, W. 1937 Purple. Ciba Review 4: 106-29.

Daniels, V. 1985 Dye Analysis of Two Fragments from

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1986a 3600 Years of Purple-Shell Dyeing: Characterization of Hyacinthine Purple (Tekhelet). Pp. 167-98 in Historic Textile and Paper Materials, edited by H. L. Needles and S. H. Zeronian. Series: Advances in Chemistry Series Number 212. Washington, DC: American Chemi- cal Society.

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