Archaeologists Confirm 1,800-Year-Old Tyrian Purple in 2 Roman Infant Burials in York
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 31
Archaeologists Confirm 1,800-Year-Old Tyrian Purple in 2 Roman Infant Burials in York
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 31
Chemical tests on preserved textiles from two late-third- or early-fourth-century infant burials in York confirmed Tyrian purple—the first such traces found on Roman textile remains in the city.
The dye appeared on fine cloth wrapped around the babies, including fabric embellished with gold thread, indicating families of very high status because Tyrian purple was typically reserved for emperors and aristocrats.
University of York researchers said the pigment was worth up to three times the price of gold in the Roman period and is among only a handful of confirmed examples found anywhere in the U.K.
Gypsum poured over the clothed bodies during burial hardened over time, preserving textile fragments, dye residues and impressions that let archaeologists detect the luxury material 1,800 years later.
The find adds evidence that Roman York—then Eboracum, a provincial capital—had access to elite goods from across the empire and highlights the importance wealthy families placed on infant burial rites.
What does a dye worth more than gold, found in infant graves, reveal about the hidden power of Roman Britain?
Why spend a fortune on a luxury burial cloth famous for its overwhelming stench of rotting sea snails?