The best Tyrian cloths were called _Dibapha_, i.e."twice dipped;" and for the production of the true "Tyrian purple" it was necessary that the dye obtained from the _Buccinum_ should be used after that from the _Murex_ had been applied.
The _Murex_ alone gave a dye that was firm, and reckoned moderately good; but the _Buccinum_ alone was weak, and easily washed out.
The actual tints produced from the shell-fish appear to have ranged from blue, through violet and purple, to crimson and rose.[824] Scarlet could not be obtained, but was yielded by the cochineal insect.

Even for the brighter sorts of crimson some admixture of the cochineal dye was necessary.[825] The violet tint was not generally greatly prized, though there was a period in the reign of Augustus when it was the fashion;[826] redder hues were commonly preferred; and the choicest of all is described as "a rich, dark purple, the colour of coagulated blood."[827] A deep crimson was also in request, and seems frequently to be intended when the term purple ({porphureos}, _purpureus_) is used.
A third industry greatly affected by the Phoenicians was the manufacture of glass.

According to Pliny,[828] the first discovery of the substance was made upon the Phoenician coast by a body of sailors whom he no doubt regarded as Phoenicians.

These persons had brought a cargo of natrum, which is the subcarbonate of soda, to the Syrian coast in the vicinity of Acre, and had gone ashore at the mouth of the river Belus to cook their dinner.

Having lighted a fire upon the sand, they looked about for some stones to prop up their cooking utensils, but finding none, or none convenient for the purpose, they bethought themselves of utilising for the occasion some of the blocks of natrum with which their ship was laden.