Another proof of the use of Polish kermes in dyeing was discovered recently, during the excavations of a cemetery from the end of the 6th century AD in Pfakofen, in Bavaria . In the tombs of a woman and a young girl, residue of Polish kermes was found besides tools for spinning. Although all dye animals (insect and purple snails) and dye plants existed in the Old World in the 12th century, Polish kermes was used mainly in the north and the center of Europe for red colour dyeing. For the dyers of the great textile areas of Western Europe, the Polish kermes has the advantage of being closer than Ararat Kermes and benefiting from trade-circuits well developed, thanks to the merchants of Hanse, who brought it in ship towards Holland and Flanders, and thanks to the Jewish, Armenian traders and Germans who collected it in Central Europe and forwards it by ground to Venice and Florence.
