High prestige Royal Purple dyed textiles from the Bronze Age royal tomb at Qatna, Syria

Matthew A. James; Nicole Reifarth; Anna J. Mukherjee; Matthew P. Crump; Paul J. Gates; Peter Sandor; Francesca Robertson; Richard P. Evershed; Peter Pfälzner

High prestige Royal Purple dyed textiles from the Bronze Age royal tomb at Qatna, Syria

Matthew A. James, Nicole Reifarth, Anna J. Mukherjee, Matthew P. Crump, Paul J. Gates, Peter Sandor, Francesca Robertson, Richard P. Evershed^*, Peter Pfälzner

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

During the on going excavations in the palace of the famous Qatna complex, the excavators noted patches of brown staining on the floor of a high status tomb. Chemical extraction revealed the presence of brominated derivatives of indigo and indirubin, and more detailed characterisation showed that it likely came from Hexaplex trunculus. In short, this was none other than the renowned Tyrian or Royal Purple mentioned by Pliny, which was to have such an influential career colouring the clothing of the powerful. Furthermore, it was associated in the tomb with ghosts of high quality textiles preserved in gypsum.

Translated title of the contribution	High prestige Royal Purple dyed textiles from the bronze-age Royal tomb at Qatna, Syria
Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1109-1118
Number of pages	10
Journal	Antiquity
Volume	83
Issue number	322
Publication status	Published - Dec 2009

Bibliographical note

Other: No DOI for this journal

Keywords

Qatna
Syria
royal tomb
sediments
biomarkers
indigoids
indirubinoids
shellfish purple
textiles
gypsum
chemical mapping
excavation technique
INDIGOID DYES
TYRIAN-PURPLE
6,6'-DIBROMOINDIGO
IDENTIFICATION

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@article{9e9cd31a931f468ca7ab03f0191921c9,

title = "High prestige Royal Purple dyed textiles from the Bronze Age royal tomb at Qatna, Syria",

abstract = "During the on going excavations in the palace of the famous Qatna complex, the excavators noted patches of brown staining on the floor of a high status tomb. Chemical extraction revealed the presence of brominated derivatives of indigo and indirubin, and more detailed characterisation showed that it likely came from Hexaplex trunculus. In short, this was none other than the renowned Tyrian or Royal Purple mentioned by Pliny, which was to have such an influential career colouring the clothing of the powerful. Furthermore, it was associated in the tomb with ghosts of high quality textiles preserved in gypsum.",

keywords = "Qatna, Syria, royal tomb, sediments, biomarkers, indigoids, indirubinoids, shellfish purple, textiles, gypsum, chemical mapping, excavation technique, INDIGOID DYES, TYRIAN-PURPLE, 6,6'-DIBROMOINDIGO, IDENTIFICATION",

author = "James, {Matthew A.} and Nicole Reifarth and Mukherjee, {Anna J.} and Crump, {Matthew P.} and Gates, {Paul J.} and Peter Sandor and Francesca Robertson and Evershed, {Richard P.} and Peter Pf{\"a}lzner",

note = "Other: No DOI for this journal",

year = "2009",

month = dec,

language = "English",

volume = "83",

pages = "1109--1118",

journal = "Antiquity",

issn = "0003-598X",

publisher = "Cambridge University Press",

number = "322",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - High prestige Royal Purple dyed textiles from the Bronze Age royal tomb at Qatna, Syria

AU - James, Matthew A.

AU - Reifarth, Nicole

AU - Mukherjee, Anna J.

AU - Crump, Matthew P.

AU - Gates, Paul J.

AU - Sandor, Peter

AU - Robertson, Francesca

AU - Evershed, Richard P.

AU - Pfälzner, Peter

N1 - Other: No DOI for this journal

PY - 2009/12

Y1 - 2009/12

N2 - During the on going excavations in the palace of the famous Qatna complex, the excavators noted patches of brown staining on the floor of a high status tomb. Chemical extraction revealed the presence of brominated derivatives of indigo and indirubin, and more detailed characterisation showed that it likely came from Hexaplex trunculus. In short, this was none other than the renowned Tyrian or Royal Purple mentioned by Pliny, which was to have such an influential career colouring the clothing of the powerful. Furthermore, it was associated in the tomb with ghosts of high quality textiles preserved in gypsum.

AB - During the on going excavations in the palace of the famous Qatna complex, the excavators noted patches of brown staining on the floor of a high status tomb. Chemical extraction revealed the presence of brominated derivatives of indigo and indirubin, and more detailed characterisation showed that it likely came from Hexaplex trunculus. In short, this was none other than the renowned Tyrian or Royal Purple mentioned by Pliny, which was to have such an influential career colouring the clothing of the powerful. Furthermore, it was associated in the tomb with ghosts of high quality textiles preserved in gypsum.

KW - Qatna

KW - Syria

KW - royal tomb

KW - sediments

KW - biomarkers

KW - indigoids

KW - indirubinoids

KW - shellfish purple

KW - textiles

KW - gypsum

KW - chemical mapping

KW - excavation technique

KW - INDIGOID DYES

KW - TYRIAN-PURPLE

KW - 6,6'-DIBROMOINDIGO

KW - IDENTIFICATION

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

SN - 0003-598X

VL - 83

SP - 1109

EP - 1118

JO - Antiquity

JF - Antiquity

IS - 322

ER -

High prestige Royal Purple dyed textiles from the Bronze Age royal tomb at Qatna, Syria

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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