The purple dye produced from Murex sea snails was a precious rarity in the Bronze Age Mediterranean region, explained bioarchaeologist Deborah Ruscillo of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Now, a team of archeologists believe that the Greek island of Aegina was the home of a purple dye workshop. The findings are described in a study published June 12 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

The rich purple dye—described in the Bible as argaman, a precious color reserved for royals and priests—comes from the dye glands of live murex sea snails found on the shores of the ...

QUMRAN, ISRAEL—Analysis of three 2,000-year-old pieces of fabric found in the Wadi Murabba'at caves, not […] ...

Dyeing a Purple with Murexid. Join Our Community of Science Lovers! Sign Up for Our Free Daily Newsletter. Email Address.

A storehouse of ancient treasures, including precious jewels and gold beads, has been uncovered by archaeologists on an island near Crete devoted to making a precious purple dye from sea snails ...