Tyrian Purple definition for dye and textile industry

Tyrian Purple Definition - Definitions for the Clothing & Textile Industry

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Tyrian purple is a purple dye first made in the ancient city of Tyre. It was made from a secretion of various marine molluscs, such as Murex trunculus and Murex brandaris. The expensive dye was prized by Roman noblemen, who used it to color ceremonial robes.

The archaeological discovery of substantial numbers of Murex shells on Crete suggests that the Minoans may have pioneered the extraction of Royal purple centuries before the Tyrians. Dating from colocated pottery, suggests the dye may have been produced during the Middle Minoan period in the 20th-18th century B.C

The main chemical constituent of the dye was discovered by Paul Friedlander in 1909 to be 6,6′-dibromoindigo, a substance that had previously been synthesized in 1903. However, it has never been synthesized commercially.