Traces of Tyrian purple were discovered in cloth buried in the coffins of two Roman infants, the University of York announced in late April, the first time the imperial dye has been found in York. 

The burials date to nearly 1,700 years ago, from the late third or early fourth century CE, the statement explained, noting that one of the infants was buried alongside two adults in a stone coffin, while the second was interred in a lead coffin.  

Both were coated and preserved in gypsum, which preserved the purple-dyed fabric and flecks of gold from the remains of tassels.

The find aligns with the Roman funerary ritual of pouring liquid gypsum over the shrouded bodies of the dead - a practice being investigated by the "Seeing the Dead” project. After being poured, the gypsum would gradually harden into a plaster cast and protect the textile fragments and any dyes or imprints.

“For the first time we now have confirmation of the use of this costly dye in Roman York, indicating that the city’s wealthy inhabitants had access to expensive and exotic commodities from the other end of the empire,” said Professor Maureen Carroll, “Seeing the Dead” project director from the University of York’s archaeology department. 

“This remarkable discovery tells us a lot about the importance of children in Roman York and the willingness of the family to give their baby the best possible send-off in tragic circumstances.”

Locating traces of Tyrian, a color valued up to three times the price of gold in the Roman period, in infant burials not only indicated that the two had most likely belonged to families of significant social standing, but also challenged the idea the Romans did not mourn infant deaths.

Tyrian’s costly nature comes from the difficulty of its creation - made in a process similar to that of tekhelet, the blue dye traditionally used in Judaism to color strings of the tzizit, by crushing murex snails and then exposing the fabrics to UV light to create blue or leaving them in the dark to achieve the rich imperial purple.

Dr. Jennifer Wakefield, a postdoctoral research assistant in the university’s archaeology department, added that “races of purple were not always visible on the gypsum surface but chemical analysis has rewarded us with surprising results.”