The Minoan Origin of Tyrian Purple

@article{Stieglitz1994TheMO,
  title={The Minoan Origin of Tyrian Purple},
  author={Robert R. Stieglitz},
  journal={The Biblical Archaeologist},
  year={1994},
  volume={57},
  pages={46 - 54}
}
  • R. Stieglitz
  • Published 1 March 1994
  • Art
  • The Biblical Archaeologist
Tyrian purple was the most expensive dye in the ancient world. Manufactured from the secretions of species of the Mediterranean mollusk Murex, the discovery and distribution of "royal purple" are commonly credited to the Phœnicians. Yet archaeological and epigraphic data from the Aegean suggest that the "royal purple" industry first developed on Crete. Before 1750 BCE, Minoans on Crete and some Minoanized islanders, such as those on Kythera, were already manufacturing sea-purple, generating an… Expand
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