ΗΝΑΜ inv. no Π 816_d

Traces of a very degraded blackish textile are visible on multiple areas of the surface of the first two fabric qualities. These remains belong to a different textile, now almost entirely disintegrated. Because such traces occur on both sides of the fragments, it is plausible that the linen textiles had originally been wrapped in another fabric. The poor state of preservation of this dark textile, together with its strong contrast to the linen fabric (quality 1), suggests that it was made of animal fibres, most likely wool, and was possibly dyed. This material is considered the fourth fabric quality. Unfortunately, the altered condition of the find did not allow for the extraction of a sample suitable for SEM analysis, and therefore the fibre identification could not be confirmed.

On the largest fragment of the linen fabric, an area of bright purple coloration is preserved among the traces of the black degraded textile. This colour originates from the deteriorated dark fabric and not from the linen itself. A non-destructive hyperspectral analysis conducted by Philippe Walter and Clarisse Chavanne (Sorbonne University) indicated the presence of true shellfish purple. However, an HPLC analysis performed by Dr Ilaria Serafini at the A3Tex Lab, Sapienza University of Rome, revealed that the fabric had in fact been dyed using a double-process plant dye, specifically a mixture of madder and indigo, to produce the bright purple colour still visible today.

This finding is groundbreaking, representing the first evidence of both dyes—madder and indigo—in ancient Greece. Madder has previously been identified in a wool fabric from Lefkandi (radiocarbon-dated to the 13th–10th c. BCE), while indigo has never before been detected in a Greek archaeological textile.