Lump of Purple Dye Discovered at Roman Bathhouse in England

CARLISLE, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that a ping-pong-ball-sized lump of Tyrian purple, a dye made from Murex sea snails, was uncovered in northwestern England at the site of a Roman bathhouse discovered in 2017. Carved semiprecious gems thought to have fallen out of ring settings, sandstone sculptures of Roman gods standing more than 12 feet tall, and several tiles bearing a Roman imperial stamp linked to the emperor Septimius Severus, who was born in Libya and ruled from A.D. 193 to 211, h