Purple Mountain (Kerry) metres. Purple Mountain (Kerry) Purple Mountain () at high, is the 21st–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 28th–highest according to the Vandeleur-Lynam scale. Purple mountain is the highest peak of the Purple Mountain Group, and is located in County Kerry, Ireland. Purple Mountain is composed of sandstone particles of various sizes which are collectively known as "Old Red Sandstone". Old Red Sandstone has a purple-reddish colour, and has virtually no fossils. The colour gave its name to the mountain group. The composition of "Old Red Sandstone" is variable and contains quartz stones, mudstones, siltstones, and sandstone
Tyrian purple in antiquity because the colour did not easily fade, but instead became brighter with weathering and sunlight. Its significance is such that the name Phoenicia means 'land of purple.' It came in various shades, the most prized being that of "blackish clotted blood". Tyrian purple was expensive: the 4th-century-BC historian Theopompus reported, "Purple for dyes fetched its weight in silver at Colophon" in Asia Minor. The expense meant that purple-dyed textiles became status symbols, whose use was restricted by sumptuary laws. The most senior Roman magistrates wore a "toga praetexta", a white toga edged with a stripe of Tyrian purple.