Across the ancient Mediterranean, few luxury commodities were as prized, rare, and expensive as Tyrian purple, a dye used in ...

Located at Tel Shiqmona in coastal Israel, the facility turned sea snails into purple dye at an industrial scale ...

Israel’s northern coast has uncovered evidence of the ancient production of purple dye for industrial purposes, according to ...

But the “Tyrian purple” associated with royalty—believed to have originated in Phoenicia (modern Lebanon) as early as 1200 B.C.—was made by extracting mucus from snails found along the ...

In Tunisia, Mohamed cracks and scrapes at snails to make authentic Tyrian purple dye. Farther south in Uganda, Akello pounds and grinds nuts by hand to make silky, luxurious East African shea butter.

The much sought-after source of purple dye came from one of the glands of a sea snail called the murex. This particular shade, known as Tyrian, was unusual because it didn’t fade and became more ...

from natural latex mattresses and bespoke dress shoes to handmade calligraphy ink and ancient Tyrian purple dye. Our first stop is New Hampshire in the United States, where a master bladesmith has ...