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
Indigo dye to Europe as early as the Greco-Roman era. The association of India with indigo is reflected in the Greek word for the dye, "indikón" (Ἰνδικόν, Indian). The Romans latinized the term to "indicum", which passed into Italian dialect and eventually into English as the word indigo. In Mesopotamia, a neo-Babylonian cuneiform tablet of the seventh century BC gives a recipe for the dyeing of wool, where lapis-colored wool ("uqnatu") is produced by repeated immersion and airing of the cloth. Indigo was most probably imported from India. The Romans used indigo as a pigment for painting and for medicinal and cosmetic