Research has revealed three rare 2000-year-old textiles that were dyed with the crimson snail

The fabrics discovered by Dr. Naama Soknik from the Antiquities Authority represent the most prestigious colors in antiquity: light blue, scarlet, and the second worm, mentioned in Jewish sources * To date, only two fabrics dyed with the true crimson have been found in Israel

In the Judean Desert, in the Negev and Araba regions, thousands of textiles from the Roman period were discovered. So far, only two of them dyed by the scarlet snail have been discovered, and now, as part of a study by Dr. Naama Soknik from the Antiquities Authority, three more rare textiles have been uncovered, belonging to pieces of prestigious textiles that may have been used as clothing details in the Roman period.

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Dr. Naama Soknik's doctoral thesis was done under the supervision of Prof. Zohar Amar from the Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archeology and Dr. David Iloz from the Department of Life Sciences at Bar Ilan University. The examination of the textiles was done by Dr. Orit Shamir, curator of organic finds at the Antiquities Authority.

These prestigious textiles, from the Wadi Murbaat caves located south of Qumran, were revealed as part of a study that examined the dye materials of 180 textile samples from the Judean desert caves. Among many textiles, most of which were dyed with plant materials, two crimson-burgundy textiles were found, which were dyed in double dyeing using two of the expensive materials. Most in ancient times - thorny dark crimson and Armenian aphid.

A third fabric, made of wool, which indicates that the fibers of the threads were dyed by exposure to light or cooked after being dyed and represent another use of the crimson snail to achieve the blue shade and it is possible that we have a light blue fabric made using a technique similar to the blue in the tassel. The importance of this fabric is great, since it has almost no parallels in the archaeological find.

The colors were tested using advanced analytical equipment for the identification of dyes (HPLC) by Dr. Suknik and with the assistance of Dr. Alexander Vervak.

The examination of the fabrics, which was done by Dr. Orit Shamir from the Antiquities Authority, indicated that the two crimson fabrics were spun in a unique way with a twist that is typical of imported fabrics, and on the other hand, the blue fabric was made with a twist that is typical of local fabrics.

Of all the dyes that were used, crimson was considered the most prestigious color from ancient times, but it seems that in the Hellenistic-Roman period public sympathy for it reached its peak. Fabrics dyed in crimson testified to the prestige of the garment and the social status of its owner.

There were periods when the wearing of crimson was forbidden to the masses and allowed only to the emperor and his family. These moves only increased the popularity of the color crimson, whose price soared and was the same as the price of gold.

It is difficult to know for sure how luxury textiles were rolled into the Murbaat caves. It is possible that these textiles were part of the property of those Jewish refugees from the time of the Bar Kochba revolt and represent their good economic situation even before the outbreak of the revolt.

Another possibility is that they were part of the property of a small Roman military unit which, according to the findings, was stationed in the Morba'at caves after the Bar-Kochba rebellion. It is possible that those soldiers brought part of their property outside the borders of the country, and the other part they acquired during their service in the country from the local Jewish population.

The three fabrics shed light on the square caves and represent the most prestigious colors in antiquity: the light blue, the crimson and the second worm.