Palaikastro Shells and Bronze Age Purple-Dye Production in the Mediterranean Basin.pdf

Palaikastro Shells and Bronze Age Purple-Dye Production in the Mediterranean Basin

Author(s): David S. Reese

Source: The Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 82 (1987), pp. 201-206

Published by: British School at Athens

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30103089

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PALAIKASTRO SHELLS AND BRONZE AGE

PURPLE-DYE PRODUCTION

IN THE

MEDITERRANEAN

BASIN

PART I

Patellaare the most common shell at Palaikastro, and were also eaten at other Minoan sites.

At EM II Myrtos on the south coast they make up 70 per cent of the 317 shells and were

found in groups of 25 (two), 23, 22, 15, etc.1 At nearby Pyrgos (Myrtos) they are common,

and found in groups of 20 and ii (personal analysis). They are also present at Neolithic to

MM I Trapeza cave, today over 15 km from the sea,2 the LM II-IIIA-B Unexplored

Mansion at Knossos,3 about 5 km from the sea, the MM-LM IIIC Royal Road at Knossos

(personal analysis), MM-LM III Tylissos,4 about 7 km from the sea, are the most common

shell (about 22,500) from EM II to EM IIIC Kommos on the south coast (personalanalysis),

Ayia Triadha, about 4 km from the sea (personal analysis), Phaestos,5 about 7 km from the

sea, and MM II/III-LM III Greek-Swedish excavations at Chania. The LM IIIAI

pit 5-

reach a length of 40-50 mm and are found on rocksor stones, usually on relatively

horizontal surfaces in the splash zone and lower half of the middle shore. P. lusitanicaare

slightly smaller and also found on rocks, usually on relatively vertical surfaceson the upper

half of the middle shore.

Monodontawere eaten at Myrtos, Pyrgos, the LM I villa of Makrygialos in the southeast

(personal analysis, 1982), Trapeza, Tylissos, Kommos (with over 1,500oo

in groups of 272, 97,

6o, 37, etc.), Ay. Triadha, and Chania. There are painted examples in the late MM III

'Temple Repositories' at Knossos6and they are also found at the Juktas peak sanctuary, about

13 km from the sea (personalanalysis).

Monodonta

are generally 30-35 mm high and 25-35 mm in diameter and are found on rocks

in the lower shore and uppermost zone of shallow water and in rock crevices, often associated

with Patella.Monodontawere used in the Greek and Cypriote Late Bronze Age to make finger

rings,7 with Minoan examples coming from Chania (now two) and possibly the Unexplored

Mansion.8

There are fragments of six Charonia

from the 1963 excavation and one complete C. sequenzae

c. 250 mm long from a LM III deposit in Trench 4 found with two tripod cooking pots.9

I thank L. H. Sackett for allowing me to

study the I963 shells in 1980 at the Stratigraphic Museum at

Knossos and for providing information on their date and con-

text. The study was undertaken while the 1980-I recipient

of the Harriet Pomerance Fellowship of the Archaeological

Institute of America, to which I extend my grateful thanks. I

thankJ. L. Davis, C. M. Edens, C. Pulak, R. R. Stieglitz, and

I. Ziderman for comments, references, and information.

I N. J. Shackleton in P. Warren, Myrtos (Oxford 1972)

321-4.

1 H. W. Pendlebury, J. D. S. Pendlebury, and M. B.

Money-Coutts in BSA 36 (1935-6) 126 fig. 27.

3 D. Evely in M. R. Popham et al., TheMinoan Unexplored

Mansionat Knossos (Oxford I1984) 246, 256, and personal an-

alysis.

4 J. Hazzidakis in Ark. Eph. (1912) 232 fig.- 41 nos. 4, 12;

Tylissos a l'Epoque Minoenne

(Paris 1921) 79 fig.- 41 nos 4, 12.

5 L. Pernier, II PalazzoMinoicodi FestbsI (Rome 1935) 87

fig. 27, bottom right.

6 A. Evans, ThePalace of Minosat Knossos

i (London 1921)

517-I9 figs. 377-8; iv/i (London 1935) Iio

n. 1, I18.

display in the Herakleion Museum, Room VI, Case 50.

7 D. S. Reese in BSA 79 (1984) 237-8.

8 Evely (above n. 3) 246 pl. 222 no. 9, top right.

9 L. H. Sackett and M. R. Popham in BSA 6o (1965) 276

pl. 80g.

00oo2-6

there produced Ii 2 Patella (personalanalysis.)

P. caerulea

Acknowledgements.

202

DAVID S. REESE

TABLE I. PalaikastroShell species

68 Patellacaerulea Linnaeus, 1758

Patellalusitanica Gmelin, 1790

Limpet (Greek:petalida)

c. 53 Murex (= Trunculariopsis,

= Hexaplex) trunculus

(Linnaeus, I758)

(Lam.))

Charonia nodifera(Lamarck, 1822) (= C. lampas(L.), = C. rubicunda

(Aradas and Benoit, 1876) (= C. variegata

(Perry))

Triton, Trumpet shell (triton,tritones)

6 Mondonta

(= Trochus)

turbinata

(Born, I1778)

Topshell (trdchos)

5 Spondylus

Linnaeus, 1758

Spiny or Thorny oyster (spOndylos)

3 Cerastoderma

gaederopus

edule glaucum(Bruguiere, I1789)

(Common) Cockle (kydoni,methjstra)

3 Glycymeris

(= Cardium)

(= Petunculus)

glycymeris

(Linnaeus, 1758)

(Linnaeus, I1758)

(Red-nosed or Knotted) Cockle (kydoni,Methjstra)

I Erosaria (= Cypraea)

(= Rudoicardium)

tuberculata

Cowrie (cypraea)

2 unidentified gastropods

spurca(Linnaeus, I1758)

An EM III deposit at Palaikastro produced two broken triton shells.10The EM/MM burial

enclosure at Ta Ellenika produced 'a fragment of a triton-shell, an object constantly found in

the ossuaries'.11A triton shell was found under the skull of a MM II burial and Room 8

produced a cist of thin slabs of slate 'containing a triton shell which has in all probability been

concealed there as a charm'.12 Room 6 in Block Y produced a triton shell on the floor.3

Recently, the Roussolakkosarea produced an unmodified 275 mm sequenzae

found with c. 85

from other sites in Crete and elsewhere in the Aegean, Cyprus, and the Near East

are describedelsewhere.15

All Glycymeris

present were collected dead on the beach. Of special note is a large LM III

shell, 74 x 74 mm which has a naturally-made hole at the umbo (shell 'beak') and may have

been used as an ornament or small vessel. Similarly holed shells are known from EM IIA

Knossos, Pyrgos, Mallia,16 the LM IIIA-B Unexplored Mansion,"7 the Royal Road, Tylissos,18

Kommos, Phaestos,"9 and Chania.

The LM IIIC mother-of-pearl pendant found in 1963 and thought to be made from a

(Noble) Pen shell, Pinnanobilis fragment20 is probably a fragment of a fossil scallop, a form

also found at Kommos, the MM IIIA fill of Gypsades Tomb XVIII,21 the Juktas peak

sanctuary, and the Idean cave (personalanalyses).

'o C. T. Currelly in BSA o10

(1903-4) 202.

1 R. M. Dawkins in BSA 10 (1903-4) 197.

12 R. C. Bosanquet in BSA 8 ( (1901-2) 296, 308.

13 R. M. Dawkins in BSA 9 (1902-3) 291.

14 J. A. MacGillavray and H. Sackett in BSA 79 (1984) 129

pl. IIg.

15 D. S. Reese in V. Karageorghis, Excavations

xlix no. 2.

17 Evely (above n. 3) 246, 296 n. I64 pl. 222 no. 9, left.

18 Hazzidakis (above n. 4) fig. 41 nos. 8, 13.

19 Pernier (above n. 5) fig. 27, centre left and in the Neo-

lithic here; A. Mosso, The Dawn of Mediterranean Civilization

(London 1910) 71-4 fig. 36.

20 Sackett and Popham (above n. 9) 303-4 fig. 20 no. g19.

21 D. S. Reese in BSA 77 (1982) 249-

at Kition v/in

(Nicosia 1985) 353-64.

16 H. Chevallier in Etudes Crdtoises

xx (Paris 1975) I59 pl.

(Rock or Banded) Murex (porphjra)

7 Charonia

sequenzae

Dog-cockle (melokidono)

3 Euthriacornea (Linnaeus, 1758)

Whelk

2 Acanthocardia

conical cups, 'offering stands' and other MM III/LM I remains.'14

Charonia

BRONZE AGE PURPLE-DYE PRODUCTION

IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

BASIN

203

TABLE2. Distribution of Palaikastro

shells

Tr. XI -

EM II

4I Patella

3 Monodonta

2 Charonia

i Murex

i Cerastoderma

fragments (I ww)

fragment

I Glycymeris

I Erosaria

(ww)

MMIA

Tr.XI 3,

3 Patella

I Murex

I Spondylus

I Cerastoderma

I Acanthocardia

fragment

MM III

Tr. 2, PitI

I Spondylos

I gastropod fragment (ww)

MM III-LM IA Tr. XI

I Patella

I Charonia

fragment

i gastropod (ww)

not later than MM III/LM I 1/7 48ACrushed Murex sample

LM IA Tr. H3A I Patella

LM IB destruction, House N, Room II (BB, Tr. 6 A )

2 Monodonta

(b)

2 Euthria (b)

LM I-III

Tr. H3

Patella

I Monodonta

g19

LM IIIA

Tr. H3L

2 Patella

2 Charonia

i Euthria

LM III

Tr. 4

I Charonia

LM III

House N, near surface (BB, Tr. 6 A)

LM IIIC

Tr. 2,&

I Patella

I Charonia

(ww, h)

-4,,

(2 fragments, i w)

I Murex fragment

I Spondylus

I Cerastoderma

fragment

I Glycymeris

(ww)

LM IIIC

Tr. 3

2 Spondylus

(i w)

Key: ww = water-worn

b = burnt

(Linnaeus, 1767). All are edible and have been used as a fish-bait and an ornament.

They are found in slightly differenthabitats and produced slightly differentcolours.

The dye is made from the hypobranchial gland found in the mantle cavity of living animals,

with the animal often extracted by crushing or piercing the shell. After extraction and before

exposure to sun and air the animal was mixed with salt and water and boiled for several days.

Various colours were possible based on the species utilized, amount of sunlight and air, weave

and type of textile, employed. The colour varied from a pale pink or rose to a dark violet or

black-purple; our modern idea of 'purple' is only one of the possibilities.

The dye, known variously as Royal, Tyrian, Hyacinthine, or Imperial purple, was colour-

fast and required enormous numbers of shells. Recent experimentation has shown that each

I Glycymeris

h = holed

w = worn

PART 11

In the MediterraneanBasin three majorspecies of relatedshellswere utilized to make purple

dye, Murex trunculus, Murex (= Bolinus) brandaris (Linnaeus, I1758), and Thais (= Purpura)

haemastoma

204

DAVID S. REESE

sample saved from the 1963 excavation at Palaikastrodates no later than

MM III/LM IA (c.16OO B c) and includes 64 columella (gastropod central 'stem') fragments,

17 apical fragments, as well as numerous body fragments from at least 53 individuals.

R. C. Bosanquet reports two deposits of crushed trunculus

from Palaikastro associated with

MM II pottery23 (c.I8oo-1625 BC). R. R. Stieglitz found additional remains when he visited

the site in 1981 (personal communication, 1982). M. S. F. Hood24notes that these 'heaps' of

crushed murex are from 'Middle and Late Minoan times if not earlier'.

Murex were found at the Palace of Zakrosfurtherto the south.25

Bosanquet reports much broken trunculus

found with Kamares sherds, a MM jug, and a hut

wall on the small island of Kouphonisi (Leuke) off the south-eastern coast.27 Stieglitz found

crushedmurex deposits here in I981.

Makrygialos produced numerouscrushed trunculus

and one Thaisand Pyrgos

all three species as well as one of the much rarerMurex (= Ocenebra)

(Linnaeus, 1758).

Various excavations at Mallia produced the occasional Murex and Thais.27Hood found a

surface collection of worn crushed trunculusnorthwest of the palace here associated with MM

pottery. The sample preserved(in the Stratigraphic Museum, Knossos) includes 152fragments

with 85 of the columella (personalanalysis).

At Knossos trunculusand brandarisare known from the Neolithic and EM levels,28 and

Minoan levels excavated by Sir A. Evans,28 trunculusand brandaris

erinacea

three trunculus

from Gypsades Tomb XVIII, eight trunculus

and one Thaisfrom the Unexplored

from a MM III dump,30

from the Royal Road.

It has been suggested that shell purple-dye was made at Knossos31although the quantity of

shells known and distance from the sea does not indicate that it was manufactured here.

However, it was certainly known at Knossos; the term 'royal purple' is first known from a

thirteenth century Linear B tablet from Knossos (KN X976), and others refer to purple-dyed

textiles.32

Tylissos produced murex; there are two water-worn brandaris pictured in the publication

which are called trunculus.33

and brandaris

All three forms are present at Juktas, about 13 km from the sea.

Minoan Kommos produced about 400oo

and ten Thaisfrom all areas.34

The Greek-Swedish excavation at Chania produced both species of Murexand in 1980

crushed trunculus

trunculus,15 brandaris,

shells were found in the LM I (c.1550-1450 BC) floor of Room F. Greek

excavations here produced at least one water-worn brandaris.35

22 On Mediterranean shell purple-dye in general see D. S.

Reese in Libyan Studies ii (1979-80) 79-93; F. Bruin in M.

Mollat (ed.) Societiset compaignes de commerce

en Orientdans

l'OcianIndien (Paris 1970) 73-90; L. B. Jensen in JNES 22

(1963) 104-18; R. J. Forbes, Studiesin Ancient Technology

28 N. J. Shackleton in BSA 63 (1968) 266 and personal

analysis.

29 Evans (above n. 6, I935) III n. 3.

30 R. W. Hutchinson, PrehistoricCrete (Harmondsworth

1962) 239.

31 Ibid.; Jenson (above n. 22) io6; Bruin (above n. 23) 75;

J. Milgrom in BAR 9/3 (1983) 62.

32 M. G. F. Ventris and J. Chadwick, Documents

(Leiden 1956) 112 21; W. Born in CibaReview 4 (1937) 1o6-

23; P. G. Moatsou, The Porphyra

(Alexandria 1932, in Greek).

23 R. C. Bosanquet in BSA 9 (1902-3) 276-7; JHS 24 (1904)

321. 24 S. Hood, TheMinoans (London 1971) 94.

5 N. Platon Zakros (New York 1971) 251.

26 Above n. 23 and Rep. Brit.Ass. (2903) 817.

27 F. Chapouthier, P. Demargne, with d'A. Dessenne, Fou-

illes Executiesa Mallia (Paris 1962) II pl. xxxix; O. Pelon in

BCH9o (1966) 584 fig. 32 no. 2; Chevallier (above n. 16) 157-

8 pl. xlviii.

in Mycenaean

Greek (Cambridge 1956) 321, 405.

33 Hazzidakis (above n. 4) fig.- 41 nos. 2, 19.

34 The Minoan deposits have not produced evidence for

purple-dye production, but there is good evidence for the use

of trunculus

to produce the dye in the late seventh century BC.

35 A. Zois, AnaskapheVrysonKydonias

i 974 (Athens 1976)

pl. 4oa, top right (in Greek).

shell contains only o-I mg of pure purple-dye. It has previously been noted that 12,00ooo M.

brandaris produce 1i5 gr of (pure) dye, enough to dye the trim of a single garment.22

The M. trunculus

fragments visible in the excavated rooms,

possible evidence for the industry. Myrtos produced eight trunculus

Mansion, and trunculus

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