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In collaboration with Maria Iakovou and Vasiliki Kassianidou of the University of Cyprus, Dimitra Mylona and Tom Brogan co-organized an international workshop entitled “Porphyra: The Materiality of Purple Dye Production and Use in Cyprus and the Aegean from Prehistory to the Late Roman Period.” The event was hosted by the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus in Nicosia, November 1–2, 2019.

The meeting explored the archaeology of purple dye workshops. It focused on the range and nature of finds in such workshops, as well as their relationship with settlements. The importance of context in the identification of traces of ancient purple dye production and use was a recurrent theme. Participants presented specific case studies from Cyprus and the Aegean region that date from the Bronze Age to Late Antiquity. Methodological issues were discussed in detail. The presentations and the vivid discussions that followed them made it clear that the archaeology of purple dye production in the eastern Mediterranean has emerged as a dynamic field of research, adding significantly to our understanding of the marine economies of the ancient world.

The University of Cyprus and the Archaeological Research Unit offered a warm and welcoming environment that ensured both the success of the workshop and the start of many future collaborations. All of the presentations are available on the YouTube channel of the Archaeological Research Unit at the University of Cyprus.

Dr. Marina Solomidou-Ieronymidou, Director of the Department of Antiquities in Cyprus, speaks on the opening night of the Porphyra workshop in the library of the Archaeological Unit of the University of Cyprus. Photograph courtesy of the Archaeological Unit, University of Cyprus.
Participants of the Porphyra workshop at the entrance to the Archaeological Unit of the University of Cyprus. Photograph courtesy of the Archaeological Unit, University of Cyprus.
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