They Made Dye from Rotting Shells—And It Was Worth as Much as a House

They Made Dye from Rotting Shells—And It Was Worth as Much as a House

It wasn’t just a color. It was power.The Phoenicians extracted a rich purple dye—known as Tyrian purple—from rotting sea snails, and sold it for a price comparable to an entire house. So rare and prestigious was this dye that even emperors wore it with reverence.The Hills Still Hide the PastTo this day, if you dig in the hills surrounding Tyre, in modern-day Lebanon, you’ll find layers of crushed shells buried in the earth—remnants of a once-thr…