On Friday, July 7th, we were just about done with digging. Everyone was helping sweep out EU 24 and was excited to be done for the weekend. Then someone (Grace!) found an intact base of a pitcher. Of course, we had to take a point on it! Then the trench supervisor found a fully intact murex shell next to the pitcher. With an exhausted sigh and an eye roll, he helped set a point on the shell. Out of all the finds thus far (I write this in the second week of digging so I may bite my words.), this one was the most exciting to me. 

Murex shells are particularly fascinating due to their quality and high demand. The murex is a type of sea snail that was used to make what would become known as “Tyrian purple”. This purple was a natural pigment that was incredibly difficult to make with a process that often involved high amounts of labor for only a small amount of dye. The purple comes from a secretion from the snail’s defensive glands and often the fastest way to get this mucus is to crush the snails. Because of the difficult process, this dye was very expensive in ancient times and became famously associated with the emperors of Rome, the most famous customers, and the Phoenicians, the most famous producers of the dye hence the name “Tyrian purple”. 

What fascinated me the most about this little shell was its surprising appearance on our site. Its link to prosperity and higher social classes does not easily overlap with our military fort which not have housed highly wealthy leaders. Cyprus has always been a trading center between the Aegean and the Levant, so it’s not completely baffling to see it. It was still a wonderful surprise that set my head spinning for the rest of the day.

audrey