Remains of fabrics painted with royal purple were found during archaeological work in Israel. They were dated to about 3,000 years ago, in the time of kings David and Solomon
The paint, which is produced from mollusk species found in the Mediterranean Sea, more than 300 kilometers from the Timnei Valley, where the discovery took place, it is often mentioned in the Bible and occurs in various Jewish and Christian contexts.
It is the first time that purple-dyed Iron Age textiles have been found in Israel, or indeed in the southern Levant. The finding is published in Plus one.
“This is a very interesting and important discovery,” explains the doctor. Naama sukenik, Curator of Organic Discoveries at the Authority for Antiquities of Israel. It is the first piece of fabric found from the time of David and Solomon that was dyed with the prestigious purple dye “.
Some of the royal purple-dyed wool fibers found in the Timna Valley, Israel. Photo: DPA
The researcher recalls that “in ancient times purple clothing was associated with nobility, priests and, of course, royalty. The beautiful shade of purple, the fact that it does not fade and the difficulty of producing the paint, which was found in small quantities the body of mollusks, made it the most appreciated dye, which often it costs more than gold“.
And he points out that “until the current discovery, we found only remnants of mollusk shells and dye-stained bowls, 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.
Teacher Erez Ben-Yosef, of the Department of Archeology al Tel Aviv University, states that “the archeological expedition has been continuously excavating in Timna since 2013. Due to the extremely dry climate in the region, we can also recover organic materials such as textiles, ropes and leather from the Iron Age, from the time of David and Solomon., Which gives us a unique vision of life in biblical times. If we had excavated another hundred years in Jerusalem, we would not have discovered tissues from 3,000 years ago, “he admits.
The original violet was extracted from three varieties of mollusks from the Mediterranean.
Remember that Timna was a center of copper production, the equivalent of the Iron Age with today’s oil. The smelting of copper required advanced metallurgical knowledge, which was a secret, and those who possessed this knowledge were experts. “High tech” of the time.
And Slave Hill is the largest copper smelting site in the valley, full of piles of industrial waste, such as slag from smelting furnaces. In one of these piles were three pieces of colored cloth. “The color immediately caught our attentionBut it was hard to believe that I found a real violet from such an ancient time, “he explains.
According to researchers, true purple (argaman) was produced from three species of mollusks originating in the Mediterranean: murex (Hexaplex trunculus), la Poirieria zelandica (Bolinus brandaris) and Stramonita haemastoma.
Today, most scholars agree that the two precious dyes, purple (argaman) and light blue, or azure (tekhelet), were produced from the mollusk painted purple in different light exposure conditions. These colors are often mentioned together in ancient sources and both have a symbolic and religious significance to this day. The priests of the temple, David and Solomon, and Jesus of Nazareth they are described as wearing purple clothes.
Analytical tests performed in laboratories in Bar Ilan Universitytogether with the dyes reconstituted by Professor Zohar Amar and Dr. Sukenik, they allow the identification of the species used for dyeing Timna fabrics and the desired shades.
The dye was identified by an advanced analytical tool (HPLC) that indicated the presence unique dye molecules, originating only from certain species of molluscs. According to Dr. Sukenik, “Most of the colored fabrics found in Timna and in archaeological research in general have been stained with various dyes of plant origin that are easy to obtain and dyed. The use of dyes of animal origin is considered much more prestigious., And served as a important indicator of high economic status and social of the user “.
The remnants of purple-painted cloth I found are not only the oldest in Israel, but in the southern Levant in general – he stands out. We also believe that we were able to identify the double dye method in one of the fragments, in which two species of mollusks 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 paint he produced was considered the most prestigious. “
Professor Ben-Yosef identifies the Timna copper production center as part of the biblical kingdom of Edom, which borders the southern kingdom of Israel. According to him, spectacular discoveries should revolutionize our concepts of nomadic societies in the Iron Age.
“The new findings strengthen our assumption that there was an elite in Timna, which attests to a stratified society. Moreover, since molluscs are indigenous to the Mediterranean, it is clear that this society has maintained trade relations with other peoples who lived on the coastal plain. However, we have no evidence of a permanent settlement on the territory of the Edomites “, he admits.
As he recalls, “when we think of nomads, it is difficult for us to escape comparisons with contemporary Bedouin and therefore it is difficult for us to imagine kings without magnificent stone palaces or built cities. However, in certain circumstances, nomads can also create a complex socio-political structure, which Bible writers could identify as a kingdom, “he says.
The researcher notes that “this whole debate has repercussions on our understanding of Jerusalem at the same time. We know that the tribes of Israel were initially nomadic and that the settlement process was gradual and prolonged. Archaeologists are looking the palace of King David but it is possible that David did not express his wealth in splendid buildings, but rather with objects more typical of a nomadic heritage, such as textiles and artifacts. “
According to Ben-Yosef, “It is a mistake to assume that if no large buildings and cities were found, then the biblical descriptions of United Monarchy in Jerusalem it must be literary fiction. Our new research in Timna showed us that even without such buildings, there were kings in the region who ran complex societies, formed alliances and trade relations, and waged war. The wealth of a nomadic society was measured in things that were no less appreciated in the ancient world, such as the copper produced in Timna and the purple dye that was sold from its copper smelters. “