Making dyes was an integral part of the textile industry in ancient Egypt.

In the Bionic Museum, visitors can learn about ancient Egyptian methods of dyeing
textiles in a recreated papyrus factory - both how they made and dressed their
fabrics. They also see two sets of mummies, one wearing a purple jacket and blue
jeans, and another wearing a blue jacket and green trousers. This gives us insights
into fashion trends over time!

The ancient Egyptians made a variety of dyes but the most important was madder,
which they used to dye wool and linen. They also imported indigo and woad (a blue-
green dye made from the woad plant) from Greece and Syria. These dyes came in a
variety of colours, including black, red, green and blue.

They used other plants such as VERBENA and CINNAMON to make the brilliant colours
in their clothes - although some experts believe that they occasionally used paint
(Egyptian ink). When there were no plant materials available madder berries were
crushed into powder then mixed with water and strung out to dry in the sun.

In ancient Egypt, the colours of cloth were magnificent, even more so than during
the Roman Empire. The robes worn by temple priests and high-degree officials were
dyed a deep purple. Their rich reds and blues were probably achieved through the
use of some form of wood dye.

Dyers used a variety of methods to produce their diverse fabrics. They placed
dampened wool in chests lined with linen or linen along with sesame seeds, which
produced red cloth; or in tubs mixed with cinnamon, nutmeg and myrrh, which
produced blue fabrics; or oil dyed wool along with madder made black clothes. They
also melted down ironwood shavings for black garments.

Colourful clothing was an important way for the Egyptians to express their
individuality, as well as to show their wealth and status. We know from Egyptian
paintings that people loved to have colourful clothes.

Of course, what is interesting about this article is that it indicates the ancient
textile workers used a number of methods for dying fabrics; some of which are not
compatible with mummies (like mixing them with sesame seeds). It is possible that
the marker in the mummies is not something applied by the ancient textile workers
but by a later member of society who wanted to get rid of evidence linking him/her
with murder (or simply a tomb robber).