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First chemical evidence of royal purple as a material used for funeral treatment discovered in a Gallo–Roman burial (Naintré, France, third century AD)

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Abstract

Violet–purple residues collected from a Gallo–Roman burial dated back to the second half of the third century A.D. and excavated at Naintré (France) were chemically investigated by multi-analytical methodology involving the use of Raman spectroscopy, direct exposure-mass spectrometry (DE-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC–UV–visible). Little is known about funeral treatment and rituals during Roman times. Retrieving valuable information on these by chemical analysis of organic residues was thus a key aspect of this work. Analyses demonstrated the presence of the very precious purple colorant obtained from shellfish glands commonly known as Tyrian or royal purple and its exceptional preservation. Chemical investigation and archaeological evidence have shown that purple was widely spread after the deposition of the body for burial. These results are the earliest chemical evidence of purple colorant used during funeral rituals (not as textile dye) and enabled us to highlight new aspects of funeral practices in Roman times.

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Acknowledgements

The Italian National Project PRIN07 is acknowledged for funding part of this research.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Thibaut Devièse

    Present address: Department of Conservation and Scientific Research, British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG, UK

  2. Martine Regert

    Present address: CEPAM (Centre d’Etudes Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen Âge), Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis – UMR 6130 CNRS, Campus Saint-Jean-d’Angély - SJA3 24, Avenue des Diables Bleus, 06357, Nice Cedex 4, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Pisa, Via Risorgimento 35, 56126, Pisa, Italy

    Thibaut Devièse, Erika Ribechini & Maria Perla Colombini

  2. Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, UMR CNRS 171, Palais du Louvre - 14, Quai François Mitterrand, 75001, Paris, France

    Thibaut Devièse & Martine Regert

  3. Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 183, 41100, Modena, Italy

    Pietro Baraldi

  4. INRAP, 122 rue de la Bugellerie, 86000, Poitiers, France

    Bernard Farago-Szekeres

  5. Laboratoire d’Anthropologie des Populations du Passé, UMR 5199 PACEA – Université Bordeaux 1, Bâtiment B 8, Avenue des Facultés, 33405, Talence Cedex, France

    Henri Duday

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  1. Thibaut Devièse
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Correspondence to Thibaut Devièse.

Additional information

Published in the special issue Analytical Chemistry to Illuminate the Past with guest editor Maria Perla Colombini.

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Devièse, T., Ribechini, E., Baraldi, P. et al. First chemical evidence of royal purple as a material used for funeral treatment discovered in a Gallo–Roman burial (Naintré, France, third century AD). Anal Bioanal Chem 401, 1739–1748 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-011-5217-7

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