Madder is considered one of the oldest and most important natural dying stuff and has been described by all writers of antiquity. It has been known in Asia Minor as well as in the metropolitan Greece since the prehistoric age. It is made from the roots of a climbing herb, which yields more than twenty dying components and a variety of red tints. The ancient and modern technology of madder is described in this article, particularly that of the Turkish red madder; moreover emphasis is given to the various intricate procedures of mordant. A number of methods has been employed for the investigation of the physics and chemistry of dying and for the detection of both the standard and the unknown so far specimens of madder: Phasmatoscopy (visible and ultra violet), Phthorismometry and Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC). It is thus ascertained that the eye used in historic textiles can be identified through analytical chemical methods.