2024-05-14 11:31:42
London: Archaeologists in England have found a mysterious substance from the Roman period during excavations. Researchers have claimed that its value would have been higher than gold at that period of history. Researchers were investigating Roman remains in the cathedral city of Carlisle, England, when they found this soft purple substance. In a statement issued by archaeologists, it was said that this substance was found during the excavation of a Roman bathhouse in the year 2023. It was a 3rd century building. Archaeologists said they worked with the British Geological Society to test the materials. Experts at Newcastle University investigated the substance further and found it to be an organic substance, containing trace amounts of bromine and wax. Due to the results of the investigation, researchers have identified this substance as Tyrian Purple. It was a special color, which was associated with the royal court of the Roman Empire.
Big discovery regarding Roman history
The substance is made from thousands of crushed seashells from North Africa and Morocco. It was exceptionally difficult to make at that time and was so expensive to produce, making it worth more than gold. This discovery has opened the door to a greater possibility of history that perhaps the Roman emperor of that period, Septimius Severus, had visited Carlisle. Frank Gecko, technical director of the organization leading the excavation, has called it a major discovery in Europe.
It is the only example to our knowledge in Northern Europe, Gecko said, or possibly the only example of a solid sample of paint pigment anywhere in the Roman Empire. Other such objects have been found in wall paintings at Pompeii and in some high-class painted coffins from the Roman province of Egypt.