Microscope image of blue fabric (Tx1) found at Bronze Age Beycesultan in western Turkey. Courtesy Çiğdem Maner, Eşref Abay, Recep Karadağ, Emine Torgan Güzel, “Untwisting Beycesultan Höyük: The Earliest Evidence for Nålbinding and Indigo-dyed Textiles in Anatolia” Antiquity 99 (2024), CC BY 4.0.

Textiles play an important role in the world of the Bible. From the finely crafted garments described in the book of Exodus to the special robe given to Joseph in Genesis, clothing in biblical narratives often signals status and wealth. Yet actual textiles rarely survive in the archaeological record because they are made of organic fabrics that decay easily. Usually, scholars reconstruct ancient textile production indirectly through tools such as spindle whorls, loom weights, and textile impressions left on clay. A recent study of two burnt textile fragments discovered at Beycesultan in western Anatolia (Turkey) offers a rare glimpse into textile production during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages (roughly 2000–1200 BCE)—eras often associated with the patriarchal period of the Bible.

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Beycesultan is a large settlement mound that was occupied for thousands of years. Excavations first conducted in the 1950s uncovered numerous occupation layers dating from the late Chalcolithic period through the end of the Bronze Age. Among the most notable discoveries was a large palace complex destroyed by fire. Renewed excavations beginning in 2007 have continued to reveal evidence that the settlement was an important regional center during the Bronze Age. The textile fragments discovered there were found adhered to the ground within the burned remains. The charring stabilized the fabric and prevented it from decomposing entirely.

The two textile fragments analyzed in the study were discovered in different contexts within the settlement. The first fragment (Tx1) was found in a Middle Bronze Age structure dating to approximately 1915 to 1745 BCE. Nearby, archaeologists discovered pottery vessels, storage jars, and a stone weight, as well as four systematically spaced postholes likely used for a loom frame. The second fragment (Tx2) was uncovered in a later domestic structure dating to roughly 1700 to 1595 BCE. This room contained numerous textile tools including spindle whorls, loom weights, a weaving comb, bronze needles, and beads. The concentration of tools strongly suggests that this space was regularly used for textile production.

To understand how the fabrics were made, researchers used several scientific techniques. Optical microscopy allowed them to study the structure of the threads, while scanning electron microscopy helped identify the fibers themselves. The team also used high-performance liquid chromatography to detect any dyes that may have been applied to the cloth.

The first fragment (Tx1) produced the most surprising results in terms of weave, material, and color. Microscopic analysis showed that the fabric lacked the typical structure found in woven cloth. The threads formed loops created by passing a single needle through earlier stitches, indicating that the textile was made using the technique known as Nålbinding or “single-needle” knitting. This looping method predates modern knitting and creates a dense, durable fabric. If this interpretation is correct, the fragment may represent the earliest physical example of this technique discovered in Anatolia and possibly the broader Near East. Further analysis revealed that the yarn was made from hemp fibers, a material rarely identified in Bronze Age textiles from this area. Chemical testing revealed another remarkable feature: the cloth had been dyed blue. Researchers detected indigotin, a compound likely derived from the plant Isatis tinctoria (woad), making this the earliest known example of blue-dyed fabric from a Bronze Age context in Anatolia.

Microscope image of Tx1 (cropped), evincing the Nålbinding or “single-needle” looping technique. Courtesy Çiğdem Maner, Eşref Abay, Recep Karadağ, Emine Torgan Güzel, “Untwisting Beycesultan Höyük: The Earliest Evidence for Nålbinding and Indigo-dyed Textiles in Anatolia” Antiquity99 (2024), CC BY 4.0.

Finds from the second fragment (Tx2) were simpler but still informative. Microscopic analysis showed that it featured the most basic weaving pattern, tabby weave. The fibers were likely plant-based, though heavy burning made precise identification difficult. Chemical analysis detected no dye, suggesting that the cloth was probably intended to show its natural color.

Together, these finds reveal that the inhabitants of Beycesultan produced a range of fabrics using different techniques, fibers, and levels of craftsmanship. Such discoveries help scholars reconstruct the economic and technological landscape of the ancient Near East. For readers of the Bible, they provide valuable context for the many references to clothing, weaving, and dyed fabrics—reminding us that behind the biblical texts stood a vibrant world of skilled artisans. Blue textiles are of particular significance: Israelite priests wore blue threads in their garments (Exodus 28:31–35), the broader Israelite community was instructed to use blue cords to attach tassels to the corners of their cloaks (Numbers 15:38–39), and the tabernacle curtains featured blue alongside purple and scarlet (Exodus 26:1). The blue-dyed fabric from Beycesultan offers a tangible example of how such prized colors could be produced, helping us better imagine the luxurious, symbolically charged textiles that colored the biblical world.

Lauren K. McCormick is an assistant editor at Biblical Archaeology Review and a specialist in ancient Near Eastern religions, visual culture, and the Bible. She holds degrees in religion from Syracuse University, Duke University, New York University, and Rutgers University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship on religion and the public conversation at Princeton University.

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Photo: Dafna Gazit, IAA

Because of their nature as organic materials that inevitably decompose, textiles rarely survive in the archaeological record. When circumstances align for their preservation, these fragile artifacts provide a window into the social, economic, and technological spheres of the ancient world.

In January 2021, researchers at the site of Timna, in southern Israel’s arid Negev region, announced a unique discovery. They had recovered wool fabric not only dated all the way back to the tenth century B.C.E.—but also dyed purple! These are the first Iron Age purple textiles from the entire southern Levant.

Led by Erez Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv University, the Central Timna Valley Project found three purple textile fragments in a heap of industrial waste on “Slaves’ Hill” (a large copper smelting camp) at the site. The fabric has been dated by radiocarbon to the late 11th–early 10th centuries B.C.E. (early Iron Age), which places these fragments in the days of the biblical kings David and Solomon. Some scholars believe that Timna at that time was a copper mine and smelting center for ancient Edom, Israel’s neighbor to the east.^a Despite the name of Slaves’ Hill, the workers at this site were not slaves, but highly skilled metalworkers.

The dye on the textile fragments was analyzed at Bar-Ilan University. Through High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), the researchers ascertained that the dyestuff was true purple—dye from murex snails—known throughout history as royal purple. The process of extracting dyestuff from the snail’s hypobranchial gland is laborious, which made it expensive. With each snail containing less than a gram of dyestuff, hundreds of snails were required to dye one textile. Usually only the elite could afford to purchase purple garments, whereas fabric colored with plant dyes was more affordable. In the Bible, purple garments are mentioned primarily in regard to the wardrobe of the priesthood and royalty and to the decoration of the tabernacle and the Temple.

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Since the art of dyeing with murex shells stopped in antiquity, researchers had to rely on historical texts, such as Pliny the Elder’s Natural History (9.62, 137) from the first century C.E., that describe the process, and on experimental archaeology. Professor Zohar Amar of Bar-Ilan University even traveled to Italy to reconstruct some of the complex multistep dyeing process!

Several varieties of sea mollusks common to the Mediterranean Sea were used for purple and blue dye in antiquity: the banded dye-murex (Hexaplex trunculus), spiny dye-murex (Bolinus brandaris), and red-mouthed rock-shell (Stramonita haemastoma). While B. brandaris and S. haemastomaproduce a pink-purple hue, H. trunculus produces more violet-blue hues.

The three species of mollusks used to produce purple dye in antiquity (from left to right): S. haemastoma, H. trunculus, and B. brandaris. Shachar Cohern, Courtesy of Zohar Amar

Researchers ascertained that dyestuff from either B. brandaris or S. haemastoma was used to color two of the purple textiles from Timna. While it’s impossible to narrow to the specific species, the experiments showed that extracting dyestuff from S. haemastoma is slightly more convenient because the gland is larger and contains more dyestuff.

The third purple fabric seems to have been dyed with a “double dyeing” method that involves dipping the threads in two baths of dye. Pliny the Elder describes this technology and the resulting color as the most prestigious shade of purple. Coloring the thread with dye from either B. brandarisor S. haemastoma and then with dye from H. trunculus would achieve a color similar to the third purple textile from Timna.

The earliest archaeological evidence for true purple dye might date to the 19th century B.C.E. At Minoan sites (on modern Crete), archaeologists found large piles of murex shells, potentially serving as indirect evidence of the dye extraction process. They have also uncovered ceramic basins with dye stains, dated from the 14th to seventh centuries B.C.E., at several sites along the Mediterranean coast of Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. Textual evidence of purple dye comes from 15th-century Nuzi (Iraq), 14th-century Amarna (Egypt), 13th-century Knossos (Crete), and from later, classical sources.

The Phoenicians, who lived on the Mediterranean coast, became famous as producers and sellers of purple cloth. Not surprisingly, most of the archaeological sites with evidence of the purple dye industry in the southern Levant appear in Phoenicia: Tyre, Shikmona, Tel Kabri, and Tel Keisan. Even the Bible records their mastery: When King Solomon began building the Jerusalem Temple, he asked King Hiram of Tyre to please send him “an artisan skilled to work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, trained also in engraving” (2 Chronicles 2:7).

Wool fabric from 10th century B.C.E. found in Timna. Photo: Dafna Gazit, IAA

The excavators believe that the cloth recovered from Timna was produced in Phoenicia. Its presence in an Edomite copper production facility testifies to the trade networks in place during the early Iron Age and to the elite standing of the workers there. The smelters were some of the most highly skilled people in their society. Excavations at Timna have revealed that these metalworkers even enjoyed luxurious food^b—in addition to wearing purple clothing! Unfortunately, the lower-class miners would not have experienced the same high standard of living.

The authors of the study note an interesting parallel between their discovery and Judges 8:26, which describes the kings of Midian as wearing gold and “purple garments.” Although the kingdom of Midian has not been identified archaeologically, it was likely a neighbor in the desert areas south of Edom. The events described in Judges 8 have traditionally been dated to the early Iron Age, the same period as the purple fabric fragments from Timna. Thus, a biblical text describing roughly the same period associates purple garments with the elite class of a nomadic or semi-nomadic desert kingdom.

There’s no doubt that Timna’s purple textiles provide insight not only into the semi-nomadic kingdom of Edom but also into the greater economy and technological advances of the southern Levant in the early Iron Age.

Members, Read more in the BAS Library:

Archaeological Views: Biblical Archaeology’s Architectural Bias by Erez Ben-Yosef

Condemned to the Mines: Copper production & Christian persecution by By Mohammad Najjar and Thomas E. Levy

Life Was Not So Bad for Smelters
 by Hershel Shanks

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