A 4,000-year-old artifact mentioned in the Bible was discovered in Israel (8 photos)

A 3,800-year-old textile dyed with “scarlet worm,” a dye mentioned 25 times in the Holy Scriptures, was found in a cave in Israel. The substance was obtained from ground insects.





The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the discovery last Thursday. A specimen measuring less than 2 cm was discovered in the “Cave of Skulls” in the Judean Desert.

The fragment consists of red-dyed wool threads intertwined with white linen threads.



The fragment consists of wool threads dyed scarlet

The "scarlet worm" mentioned in the Bible is an insect called kermes. Females and their eggs produce carminic acid, which gives the red color. The beetles were collected and dried, then ground into powder.





"The red color produced from lepidopteran insect molecules such as kermesic acid or carminic acid is stable and beautiful, making these sources more valuable than their plant counterparts," the researchers shared.

The dye was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography, a method for separating complex mixtures of substances.

Dr Naama Sukenik from the IAA said: "This advanced analytical method allowed us to determine the origin of the dye down to the exact lepidopteran species."



The artifact was discovered in the “Cave of Skulls” in the Judean Desert

Scarlet dye is known in Hebrew as shani or tola'at shani (meaning "scarlet worm") and is found in the Old Testament both alone and in combination with other precious dyes, including blue and violet from sea snails.





The "scarlet worm" mentioned in the Bible is a lepidopteran insect that lives in oak trees.

Leviticus 14:16 says, “And he shall take the living bird, the cedar wood, the scarlet thread, and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird killed over the living water.”

It is also mentioned several times in the book of Exodus, particularly in chapter 26, verse 1: “And thou shalt make the tabernacle of ten curtains of fine woven linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and thou shalt make cherubim thereon with cunning work.”



The use of kermes is also mentioned in the Stockholm papyrus, which contains 154 dyeing recipes. The manuscript dates back to 200-100 BC. BC e.



The team found several ancient specimens in the cave, but only one of them was painted