A fragment of fabric has been found in Israel, dating to 1000 BCE, the time of King David. Any material that old is a rare treasure, but this one drew special attention. It had been dyed with the “more valuable than gold” purple made from the murex mollusk. Previously in this region, traces of the purple dye had only been found on shell and pottery fragments. Because of the great value of it, only kings and the highest elites could wear purple clothes. Archaeologists unearthed the textile fragment at the site of Timna, 200 km south of Jerusalem in the Negev desert.
Click here for BBC News “Israeli archaeologists find ‘Biblical royal purple dye’.”