Hexaplex trunculus degrades, resulting in blue only. Nonetheless, archeologists have confirmed Hexaplex trunculus as the species used to create the purple-blue dye; large numbers of shells were recovered from inside ancient live-storage chambers that were used for harvesting. Apparently, 10- to 12,000 murex yielded only one gram of dye. Because of this, the dye was highly prized. Also known as "Royal Purple", it was prohibitively expensive and was only used by the highest ranking aristocracy. A similar dye, "Tyrian purple", which is purple-red in color, was made from a related species of marine snail, "Murex brandaris". This dye (alternatively known as "imperial
HMS Tyrian (R67) pennant number F67. From August 1952 until 1956 she was part of the 2nd Training Squadron at Portland. In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. In November 1956 "Tyrian" was placed in reserve at Chatham. Between 1957 and 1965 she was part of the Lisahally reserve. She was subsequently sold for scrap and arrived at Troon for breaking up on 9 March 1965. HMS Tyrian (R67) HMS "Tyrian" was a S-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. "Tyrian" displaced at standard load and at deep