Rare Roman discovery found in Carlisle
Roman Imperial Purple - Tyrian Purple - paint pigment was found as part of the city’s Uncovering Roman Carlisle project
Last updated 3rd May 2024
A rare archaeological object - thought to be the only one of its type in the former Roman Empire - has been discovered in Carlisle.
Roman Imperial Purple - Tyrian Purple - paint pigment was found as part of the city’s Uncovering Roman Carlisle project.
A lump of a soft mysterious purple substance was discovered at a Roman Bathhouse (in the drains), within the grounds of Carlisle Cricket Club, during the 2023 excavation by archaeologists and volunteers.
The part of the drains it was discovered in related to a monumental building with a bathhouse built in the 3rd Century - during the time of the Emperor Septimius Severus.
The purple was tested with the support of British Geological Society and further analysis is ongoing with the Newcastle University.
Experts from Newcastle University showed it was organic and contained levels of Bromine and beeswax - this almost certainly indicates it is Tyrian Purple, the colour associated with the Imperial Court in the Roman Empire.
The ongoing archaeological project is delivered by a partnership of Cumberland Council, Carlisle Cricket Club, Tullie, and Wardell Armstrong LLP.
Frank Giecco, Technical Director at Wardell Armstrong, said:
“For millennia, Tyrian Purple was the world’s most expensive and sought after colour. It’s presence in Carlisle combined with other evidence from the excavation all strengthens the hypothesis that the building was in some way associated with the Imperial Court of the Emperor Septimius Severus which was located in York and possibly relates to a Imperial visit to Carlisle.
“Other evidence being an inscription stone to the Empress Julia Domna, the date of the monumental building - among the largest on Hadrian’s Wall - coinciding with Emperor Septimius Severus campaigns in Scotland, and an ancient source stating Septimius Severus was in Carlisle, and the high quality of the objects discovered at the bathhouse, granting of civic status to the local Celtic tribal capital at Carlisle; which in effect is the beginning of the city of Carlisle.
“It’s the only example we know of in Northern Europe - possibly the only example of a solid sample of the pigment in the fort of unused paint pigment anywhere in the Roman Empire. Examples have been found of it in wall paintings (like in Pompeii) and also some high status painted coffins from the Roman province of Egypt.”
Tyrian Purple is made from thousands of crushed seashells from the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, or Morocco. It was phenomenally difficult to make and expensive and was worth more than gold pound for pound (three times as much in some sources).
It was most famously produced around the city of Tyre in the Eastern Mediterranean which gives it its name. Tyre is in modern day Lebanon. It was also produced in North Africa, and off the coast of Morocco too.
Councillor Anne Quilter, Cumberland Council’s Executive Member for Vibrant and Healthy Places, said:
“This is exciting news for Carlisle and our wider area. Following the discovery of the two Roman monumental heads and the other precious items, the project is unearthing some fascinating and globally significant finds. More digs are planned, as well as the opportunity to visit the site and see the ground breaking work underway.”
The award-winning community archaeological dig, Uncovering Roman Carlisle (URC), is set to return to Carlisle’s Roman Bathhouse to discover more of the remaining mysteries of the site.
The dig at Carlisle Cricket Club will take place between Saturday 11 May and Saturday 15 June.