Tyrian purple, a natural dye, was so expensive that its use was restricted to royalty. It was discovered about 1,500 BCE. The dye was obtained from two genera of one species of shellfish. It was estimated that 8,500 shellfish were required to produce one gram of dye, so only small amounts could be produced and the price was very high. Ultimately, a restrictive policy of the eastern emperors caused the art to be practised by only a few, and around the start of the 1100s CE, when Byzantium was suffering from attacks without and dissensions within, the secret of Tyrian purple was lost. Thankfully, the secret of Tyrian purple was rediscovered in England around the year 1683.
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