Fresh color has been added to the black-and-white text of the Scriptures because of the combined efforts of researchers working together on an in depth project to discover dyes in archaeological textiles.
A bit of rare textile measuring lower than two centimetres in size has offered the earliest evidence of using scale insects to create red dyes ever found.
The fragment was discovered in 2016 within the ‘Cave of Skulls’ within the Judean Desert in the middle of excavations carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the Hebrew University as a part of efforts to thwart antiquities thieves within the race to get better precious artefacts.
The team of researchers was led by Dr 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 three,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 analyse the dye, and the way carbon-14 was used so far the fragment to around 1767-1954 BC within the Middle Bronze Age.
“Identifying the dye in the traditional textile was achieved using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), a tool commonly employed in biology and chemistry laboratories to separate and discover substances in minute quantities, and it also serves archaeology,” Dr Sukenik wrote.
“This advanced analytical method enabled us to pinpoint the dye’s origin right down to the precise species of scale insect.”
Its distinctive scarlet-red color was prized as one in every of the traditional world’s most precious and expensive dyes, and there are many mentions of kermes, an oak tree that was the source of the beetles, in ancient trade documents, including cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia, dating back to 1425 BC.
“In the Bible, the dye extracted from oak scale insects is known as ‘scarlet worm’,” said Professor Zohar Amar of Bar-Ilan University.
‘Worm’ was used as a general term for various insects and their developmental stages in precedent days, and a reference to the color ‘scarlet worm’ appears twenty-five times within the Bible. Often mentioned alongside blue (Tekhelet) and purple (Argaman), probably the most precious and prestigious colors of the traditional world, it appears in association with luxurious clothing, Tabernacle textiles, and in other cultic contexts.
Despite the extensive written historical evidence for the widespread use of dyeing with scale insects in the traditional world, only a few physical specimens of kermes-dyed fabric predating the Roman period have survived, and this vibrant relic possesses a historical heft that belies its modest dimensions. Not only does it provide a direct link to the pages of the Bible, serving to remind us that the historically distant terms and phrases we discover in Scripture represent things that were a really real a part of their day-to-day world, however it also offers insight into Israel’s interactions with the broader world.
“Although it was discovered that Israel has a native species of scale insect living on Palestinian oak (Quercus calliprinos), capable of manufacturing a red-orange color, the analytical results indicate that within the case at hand, the species of scale insects is Kermes vermilio which lives on the kermes oak tree (Quercus coccifera),” said Professor Iluz.
“This tree species is common within the central and eastern Mediterranean region, including Spain, France, and other areas, but isn’t present in the Land of Israel.”
While a bit dye and a few insects won’t seem that necessary a discovery at first glance, their cultural significance signifies that they’ve been in a position to provide a wealth of knowledge about a complete cross-section of society.
“The necessary find bridges the gap between written sources and the archaeological discoveries, providing evidence that the traditional textile dyeing industry was — already at this stage, sufficiently established for dyeing using animals,” added Dr Sukenik.
“The rare textile is a testament to broad international industrial networks functioning already right now and indicates the presence of an elite society.”
