Roundel Fragment Depicting Aphrodite

This textile fragment originally adorned a garment made in Byzantine Egypt. Dyers skillfully mixed natural dyes to create a varied color palette. Since few ancient texts discuss dyeing practices, materials and techniques must be reconstructed through scientific analysis. In this example, scientists identified dyes made from indigo plants for blues and greens, weld and tannin plants for yellows, and madder plants and cochineal insects for reds and pinks.