Summary. Excavations 30 years ago at sixth–fifth century BC Motya in western Sicily produced a unique assemblage of four Sperm whale vertebrae, crushed purple‐dye shells, and stone tools. The whale vertebrae were the platforms for breaking the shells. Here I discuss recent sightings of Sperm whales in the Mediterranean, the archaeological evidence for whaling in the Mediterranean, and possible whale products available, as well as Italian shell purple‐dye evidence.
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David S. Reese (2005) studied this question.
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