(Some other predatory gastropods, such as some in the family, seem to also produce a similar substance, although this has not been studied or exploited commercially.) The Nucella lapillus, from the North Atlantic, can also be used to produce red-purple and violet dyes. It appears that the fishing was done with the combined use of baited traps, diving and perhaps complementary use of small dip net fishing.David Jacoby remarks that 'twelve thousand snails of yield no more than 1.4 g of pure dye, enough to colour only the trim of a single garment.' Many other species worldwide within the family Muricidae, for example, from the tropical eastern Pacific, and from the Caribbean zone of the western, can also produce a similar substance (which turns into an enduring purple dye when exposed to sunlight) and this ability has sometimes also been historically exploited by local inhabitants in the areas where these snails occur. Ethnography and experimentation are also employed. Subsequently, the authors explore the physical aspects of fishing for purple shellfish and the early stages of their processing, based on its material remains, both artefactual/architectural and bio-archaeological. Certain works by Aristotle and other later writers are the starting point of the investigation into how the ancient Greeks understood the physiology of Muricidae, the factors influencing the quality of purple dye and the methods employed for their capture. This is done by combining zooarchaoelogical, written and ethnographic evidence, in order to achieve a multiple approach to the first steps of purple dye production. This paper focuses on the fishing methods employed for the exploitation of the Muricidae shellfish for the production of purple dye in Greece from Classical times to the Roman period.

Ancient Greek and Roman written sources describe in detail the economic and symbolic value of purple color, but are virtually silent on the primary producers of the dye, the fishermen.

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