6 Shrl/s ns evidence of the Migtntious. 



Judging from the associated s^'inbols, particularly 

 those of the serpent, palm-tree, " mundane Q^^^ etc., it 

 seems to have a greater affinity with ser[jent and phallic 

 worship. 



At least two species of Ahirex, and one of Purpura, 

 appear to have been emplo)-ed by the Phoenicians in the 

 manufacture of Tj'rian purple. Lortet records that in the 

 vicinit}^ of Sidon, great banks, a hundred yards long and 

 several j'ards thick, occur composed entirely of broken 

 shells of Murex iruncnlns^ while at Tyre, according to 

 Tristram," large quantities of crushed and broken shells of 

 Murex brandcris, have been met with. Tyre, which is 

 reputed to have [)rodLiccd the best pur[)le in Asia, is 

 referred to by Strabo '" as unpleasant, as a place of 

 residence, owing to the great number of its dyeworks. 



The Tyrian method of dyeing differed slightly from 

 that narrated by Flin)', for the dyers merel)- made a bath 

 of the liquid in which the wool to be treated was steeped 

 for a certain time. It was then taken out and thrown 

 into another boiler, which contained an extract from the 

 RucciuiiDi. or Trumpet-fish, only. This process — the 

 so-called "purpurea dibapha" — gave to the stuffs a richer 

 and more vivid hue. Wool submitted to this double 

 process was so highly esteemed that, in the reign of 

 Augustus, each pound sold for one thousand Roman 

 denarii, or about thnty-six pounds sterling. We need 

 not wonder at this enormous price, considering the tedious 

 nature of the process and the small amount of tlye pro- 

 duccd from each shcll-fi.sh. Vox fifty pounds of wool, the 

 j ancients used no less than two hundred pouiuls of the 



■ L. Lorici, " La Syric ti'aujomd'hui,"' I'aris, iSSj, p. 102. 



' II. 1;. Tiistnim, "The Land of Israel," 1882,11.48. .See also Hcsnioi, 

 op. ii/.. |i. 770, for other references, and the use of Pnrf^iaa huinasiomn . 

 '•Slral)0. xvi., c. il. p. 7,6. 



