During preliminary excavations before work began on expanding a cricket pitch in Carlisle, England, archaeologists made a surprising discovery. They came across the ruins of a large bathhouse from the time of the Roman Empire. On site, researchers also found a mysterious purple pigment inside a strange piece of rock.
Tyrian purple
Intrigued by the discovery, the archaeologists sent the material to be analyzed by Diana Blumberg, a specialist at the University of Newcastle. Tests revealed the presence of beeswax and bromine (indicating marine origin), which provided clues to unravel the mystery. They concluded that the strange pigment was actually Tyrian purple, an ink produced from the mucus secreted by several species of sea snails.
Tyrian purple was used in wall paintings in ancient Greece and Rome and as a dye in textiles. In ancient times, This ink was valued more than gold, as its production required heavy and time-consuming work (it was necessary to crush tens of thousands of snails to obtain it). Because of this, items colored with the pigment became associated with power and wealth, and no one in the entire Roman Empire was allowed to wear items dyed with the pigment other than the emperor.
Diana’s discovery caused archaeologist Frank Giecco, who led the excavations, to concluded that the bathhouse may have been built for the Roman emperor Septimius Severus, which arrived in Britain in 208 AD This is believed to be the first time that Tyrian purple has been found in an excavation in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, this is possibly the only example of a solid pigment sample of this paint anywhere in the Roman Empire.
