Remains of fabrics dyed with royal purple have been found during archaeological work in Israel. They have been dated to about 3,000 years, during the era of kings David and Solomon
The dye, which is produced from species of mollusks found in the Mediterranean, more than 300 kilometers from the valley of Timna, where the discovery took place, it is often mentioned in the Bible and appears in various Jewish and Christian contexts.
This is the first time that Iron Age textiles are dyed purple in Israel, or indeed throughout the South East. The finding is published in PLOS ONE.
“This is a very exciting and important discovery,” explains the doctor Naama sukenik, Curator of organic finds in the Israel Antiquities Authority-. It is the first piece of fabric to be found from the time of David and Solomon that is dyed with the prestigious purple dye. “
Part of the wool fibers dyed with royal purple found in the valley of Timnah, Israel. Photo: DPA
The researcher recalls that “in ancient times purple clothing was associated with nobility, priests and, of course, royalty. The beautiful tone of purple, the fact that it does not fade and the difficulty of producing the dye, which is found in tiny amounts in the body of mollusks, made it the most valued dye, which is often it costs more than gold“.
And he points out that “until the current discovery, we had only found residues from mollusk shells and bowls with dye stains, which provided evidence of the purple industry in the Iron Age. Now, for the first time, we have direct evidence of the dyed fabrics themselves, preserved for about 3,000 years, ”he celebrates.
the teacher Erez Ben-Yosef, From the Department of Archeology of the Tel Aviv University, States that “the archaeological expedition has been continuously excavating in Timna since 2013. As a result of the extremely dry climate of the region, we can also recover organic materials such as textiles, ropes and leather from the Iron Age, from the “The time of David and Solomon, which gives us a unique view of life in biblical times. If we dug for another hundred years in Jerusalem, we would not have discovered tissues from 3,000 years ago,” he admits.
The original purple is extracted from three varieties of molluscs from the Mediterranean Sea.
He recalls that Timna was a center of copper production, the equivalent of the Iron Age to today’s oil. The smelting of copper required advanced metallurgical knowledge which was a secret and those who possessed this knowledge were the experts in “High technology” of the time.
And the Pujol dels Esclaus is the largest copper smelting site in the valley and is full of piles of industrial waste, such as slag from smelting furnaces. Precisely in one of these piles were three pieces of colored cloth. “The color immediately caught our attention“But it was hard for us to believe that we had found a real purple from such an ancient time,” he explains.
According to researchers, true purple (argaman) was produced from three species of molluscs native to the Mediterranean Sea: the murex (Hexaplex trunculus), la Poirieria zelandica (Bolinus brandaris) and the Stramonite hemastoma.
Today, most scholars agree that the two precious dyes, purple (argaman) and light blue, or azure (tekhelet), were produced from the purple dye mollusk under different conditions. exposure to light. These colors are often mentioned together in ancient sources, and both have a symbolic and religious meaning to this day. The priests of the Temple, David and Solomon, and Jesus of Nazareth they are described as wearing purple clothes.
The analytical tests carried out in the laboratories of the Bar Ilan University, Together with the dyes reconstructed by Professor Zohar Estimar and Dr. Sukenik, they make it possible to identify the species used to dye Timna fabrics and the desired tones.
The dye was identified with an advanced analytical instrument (HPLC) that indicated the presence of unique dye molecules, Originating only in certain species of mollusks. According to Dr. Sukenik, “most of the colored fabrics found in Timnah, and in archaeological research in general, were dyed with various dyes of plant origin that were easy to obtain and dye. The use of dyes from animal origin is considered much more prestigious, and served as an important indicator of the high economic status and user social “.
The remains of purple-dyed cloth that we have found are not only the oldest in Israel, but in the southern East in general, he points out. We also believe that we have managed to identify the double dye method in one of the fragments, in which two species of molluscs were used in a sophisticated way, to enrich the dye. This technology is described by the Roman historian Pliny the Elder, From the 1st century AD, and the dye it produced was considered the most prestigious. “
Professor Ben-Yosef identifies the copper production center in Timna as part of the biblical kingdom of Edom, Which bordered the kingdom of Israel to the south. According to him, the spectacular findings should revolutionize our concepts of Iron Age nomadic societies.
“The new findings reinforce our assumption that there was an elite in Timna, which testifies to a stratified society. In addition, since mollusks are native to the Mediterranean, it is clear that this society maintained trade relations with other peoples who lived on the coastal plain. However, we have no record of any permanent settlement in Edomite territory, “he admits.
As he recalls, “when we think of nomads, we find it difficult to get rid of comparisons with nomads contemporary Bedouins and therefore it is hard for us to imagine kings without magnificent stone palaces or walled cities. However, under certain circumstances, nomads can also create a complex socio-political structure, which biblical writers could identify as a kingdom, ”he says.
The researcher points out that “this whole debate has repercussions on our understanding of Jerusalem in the same period. We know that the tribes of Israel were originally nomadic and that the settlement process was gradual and prolonged. Archaeologists are looking for the palace of King David but it is possible that David did not express his wealth in splendid buildings, but with objects more proper to a nomadic heritage, such as fabrics and artifacts. “
According to Ben-Yosef, “it is a mistake to assume that if no great buildings and fortresses have been found, then the biblical descriptions of the United Monarchy in Jerusalem they must be literary fiction. Our new research in Timnah has shown us that even without such buildings, there were kings in the region who ruled complex societies, formed alliances and trade relations, and waged war. The wealth of a nomadic society was measured in things that were no less valued in the ancient world, such as the copper produced in Timnah and the purple dye that was traded with its copper smelters. “