TRADE AND THE PURPLE DYE

The Phoenicians were successful traders of powdered Tyrian Purple, purple dye used by the wealthy

Greeks to colour their clothes. This dye was extracted from the mucous of the Murex sea-snail from the Tyre region as early as 1570 BC. The dye was greatly prized because the colour not only did not fade, but became brighter despite washing and exposure to sunlight. Because thousands of snails had to be boiled in order to extract small amounts of the dye, it was a very expensive process. It was also a very smelly process!