To make Tyrian purple, marine snails were collected by the thousands. The video above, by CreatureCast, recounts the story of Rome’s vaunted Tyrian purple, and the color’s close link with the marine snail Bolinus brandaris. Purple was expensive, because purple dye came from snails. And while purple is flashy and pretty, it was more important at the time that purple was expensive. In ancient Rome, purple was the color of royalty, a designator of status.
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