Roman Empire's 'Most Expensive and Sought After Color' Discovered, Dye Worth More Than Weight in Gold

Archaeologists have discovered a rare valuable item from the past in England. The discovery in question is Tyrian purple, found in 2023 by archaeologists and volunteers at the site of a Roman bathhouse located within the grounds of a sports club in the city of Carlisle, Newsweek reported. The man-made pigment was prized highly in the ancient Roman Empire, valued even more than gold.

The team found a lump of soft, mysterious, purple substance during their search in the sports club, Newsweek reported. On examination, it was found that the substance contained beeswax and an element known as bromine. The components indicated that the substance is a solid sample of Tyrian purple.

The pigment was worth more than three times its weight in gold, as per a Roman edict issued in 301 AD, BBC reported. The exact process that was used to make it was lost by the 15th century. At present, historians just have bits and pieces of information regarding the ingredients and the processes involved in the production of the elusive dye.

The dye was purple and originated with secretions from several species of predatory sea snails found in the Mediterranean region, Newsweek reported. Historians have no clear information about the next steps after secretion. All they know is that it involved collecting thousands of marine snails. Experts speculate that around 12,000 mollusks were needed to produce just one gram of dye.

Over the years historians have found multiple accounts related to Tyrian Purple but could never figure out how colorless snail slime was transformed into the dye, BBC reported. This is because the dyeing industry was hugely secretive in those times, according to researchers. Each manufacturer had their unique production method and kept it secret from everyone. The lack of writing tradition during that period made things more difficult to preserve and pass on. 

The complex methods required to create Tyrian Purple were one of the many reasons why the pigment was so expensive. The pigment was mostly used by the upper echelons of the society. "For millennia, Tyrian purple was the world's most expensive and sought-after color," Frank Giecco, an archaeologist with mining consultancy company Wardell Armstrong stated regarding the appeal of the color.

The popularity of Tyrian Purple declined after the pope decided to move on to red as the representative color for Christian power, BBC reported. The succession of excessive taxes made the church lose control over the pigment's production which facilitated this decision. Another reason that contributed to the end of production of the pigment was the overexploitation of snails.

The discovery of Tyrian Purple in the sports club took researchers by surprise, Newsweek reported. Samples of the pigment have been found in some wall paintings and high-status painted coffins from the Roman province of Egypt, but never in places in and around England. "It's the only example we know of in Northern Europe—possibly the only example of a solid sample of the pigment in the form of unused paint pigment anywhere in the Roman Empire," Giecco said.