Archaeologists find evidence of 'scarlet worm' red dye mentioned in the Bible
Archaeologists find evidence of 'scarlet worm' red dye mentioned in the Bible
Christian Post,
Fresh color has been added to the black-and-white text of the Scriptures thanks to the combined efforts of researchers working together on an extensive project to identify dyes in archaeological textiles.
A piece of rare textile measuring less than 2 centimeters in size has offered the earliest evidence of the use of scale insects to create red dyes ever found.
The fragment was discovered in 2016 in the "Cave of Skulls" in the Judean Desert in the course of excavations carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the Hebrew University as part of efforts to thwart antiquities thieves in the race to recover precious artefacts.
The team of researchers was led by Naama Sukenik from the IAA, and professors Zohar Amar and David Iluz from Bar-Ilan University, and was supported by the Israel Science Foundation. They found that the 3,800-year-old textile contained dye from oak scale insects, or kermes, which they identified with the biblical reference of "Tola'at Hashani" (scarlet worm). In an article submitted to the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the researchers described the technology used to analyze the dye, and how carbon-14 was used to date the fragment to around 1767-1954 BC in the Middle Bronze Age. "Identifying the dye in the ancient textile was achieved using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), a device commonly employed in biology and chemistry laboratories to separate and identify substances in minute quantities, and it also serves archaeology," Sukenik wrote.
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