Archaeologists and volunteers excavating a Roman site in Great Britain have had the discovery of a lifetime. They came across a rare purple stone, which scientists say was worth more than its weight in gold in the days of the Roman emperors.
Extremely rare stone discovered in Great Britain
The color and the substance from which it was manufactured makes it so special. The rare stone was discovered in the drain of a Romanian bath, believed to have existed 1,700 years ago, at the Carlisle Cricket Club ground. To be sure, and at the same time intrigued by the discovery, the scientists sent the artifact to a laboratory for further investigation.
After analysis it turned out to be an extremely, extremely rare piece of Tyrian purple dye which, in popular culture is also called imperial purple, the most expensive and sought after color in the entire world.
The most expensive and sought after in the world
“For thousands of years, Tyrian purple has been the most expensive and sought-after color in the world,” said Frank Jicko, the project’s lead archaeologist. The same archaeologist also pointed out that the manufacturing process of such a dye was perhaps one of the most difficult to produce. It involves a large number of resources for the ancient era and involves thousands of crushed shells.
The imperial violet was produced only in the Mediterranean Basin area and in North Africa. Which is why the pigment was extremely expensive, more expensive than the gold pound. Dye made from snail shells was used for the robes and togas of the Roman elite almost two millennia ago.
The rare stone is found in the Mediterranean Basin and North Africa
“This is the only example known to us in northern Europe. Perhaps the only example of a solid pigment specimen,” Jikko said in the release. The scientist also stated that Tyrian violent was used in ancient Greek and Roman wall paintings and as a dye in textiles.
