Summary: The first ever Biblical-era dye factory was recently found on Israel’s Carmel coast, where snails were used to create shades of rare purple used for royalty.
“Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue (tchelet), purple (argaman), scarlet yarns […] And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” – Exodus 25:2-7 (ESV)
Argaman and Tchelet
Archaeologists have uncovered a large Iron Age facility along Israel’s Carmel Coast that was used to produce rare and expensive dyes exclusively reserved for ancient kings and priests. Discovered at Tel Shiqmona near modern Haifa, the ancient production site appears to have operated on a commercial scale for hundreds of years, between 1100 and 600 BC. Researchers speculate that the workshop may have produced the special purple dye used in the First Temple in Jerusalem.
The luxurious dye is mentioned multiple times in the Hebrew Bible and other historical sources as being prized by elites across the Mediterranean for its beautiful hues of purple (in Hebrew argaman) and blue or (tchelet).
Previously, it was assumed that the first large-scale production facilities of purple dye were established around the 1st century, during Roman times. However, the new research shows how the Tel Shiqmona site was a significant industrial production center during the dynasties of Samarian kings Omri and Jehu.
Unparalleled Artifacts
Tell Shiqmona is currently the only site where actual purple-dye workshops have been excavated. The recent study, published in the peer-reviewed PLOS ONE journal in April, documents remarkable evidence of the tools, apparatus, and techniques used in the making of the costly purple dye acquired from marine mollusks.
The research team identified large purple-stained clay basins, grinding stones, and other tools that demonstrate “never seen before” evidence of the dyeing process during the Iron Age. In total, the team identified 176 artifacts associated with dye production, with 135 of them stained with the purple pigment. This is by far “the largest such assemblage ever uncovered around the Mediterranean in any period,” according to the study. “The number and diversity of artifacts related to purple dye manufacturing are unparalleled.”
“This is the first time that we can reconstruct the shape of the tools used in the dye industry and how they were used in the production and dyeing process,” said Dr. Golan Shlavey, who led the research on behalf of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa and the University of Chicago.
The team was able to reconstruct the remains of 16 large clay basins that stood about three feet high with a diameter of about two feet. The containers held approximately 350 liters (92.5 gallons) of liquid. The uniformity of the basins suggests that production was standardized to enable widespread distribution.
“The fact that at certain periods at least 16 basins were used simultaneously indicates that Shiqmona was a production center on an extraordinary scale for its time,” said co- leader and University of Haifa Professor Ayelet Gilboa.
“The discovery of the tools used to produce the [dye] is not merely a technical matter that indicates the production process,” said Shlavey. “It provides new insights into the scale of the industry, the scope of trade in luxury goods, and the background to the initiative and economic strengthening of the Kingdom of Israel, which became a significant power in the region.”
Tel Shiqmona, Haifa
Tel Shiqmona (Tell es-Samak, ‘the mound of fish’ in Arabic) is a small archaeological mound of about two acres, according to the study. It is situated on a rocky headland between the northern tip of the Carmel Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, on the southern outskirts of the modern city of Haifa in northern Israel.
The site has been excavated multiple times since the 1960s, revealing remains spanning from the Late Bronze Age (1500-1150 BC) to the Byzantine period (4th-7th century AD). However, the findings from the most ancient periods were never properly published.
During most of the Iron Age, the Carmel coast was a peripheral region between the kingdoms of Israel and Phoenician Tyre. Because of wind and current systems, plus the wide, rocky reefs along the coast, Shiqmona is not suitable for mooring ships. However, these rocky surroundings provide one of the best habitats for marine life, including Muricidae (Murex) snails.
Today the environment where these snails lived has been designated a protected marine park by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Mollusk communities in the Eastern Mediterranean basin have been near extinction due to warming ocean temperatures, salinization, and pollution. However, in the last five years, some recovery has been observed by divers and specialists, particularly around the Shiqmona reef where these snails are still relatively abundant.
Purple Dye Production
From studying the purple dye workshops, researchers concluded that the entire production, from harvesting the snails to dyeing, was conducted at the site. The method was efficient with one container being used for both the making of the dye and the actual dyeing of various materials, mostly wool. The process needed to take place close to the site from where the snails originate because results are significantly affected by the freshness of the dye.
The purple pigment comes from from the mucus of several predatory species of murex snail found in the Mediterranean Sea including the spiny dye-murex (Bolinus brandaris), the banded dye-murex (Hexaplex trunculus) and the rock-shell (Stramonita haemastoma). Extracting dye required tens of thousands of snails and extensive labor.
The sea snails needed to be gathered and crushed or laboriously milked to collect the smelly secretion. For the trim of a single garment to be colored required around 12,000 snails to produce the 1.4 grams of dye necessary. As a result, the purple dye was very expensive, highly valued and an exclusive sign of kingship and royalty.
Biblical Color Connections
Throughout the period of the Judges, and the kingdoms of Juduh and Israel, the Shiqmona site was in continuous operation. The Hebrew Bible mentions murex dye as argaman (purple) 38 times and tchelet (blue/violet) 49 times. These royal shades were used in the High Priest’s clothing, the Tabernacle’s tapestries, Solomon’s Temple and in tzitzit (ritual fringes worn by Jewish men). Tchelet, the color most mentioned, is found in the Biblical books of Exodus, Numbers, 2 Chronicles, Esther, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.
Many verses have to do with the Jewish priests and tabernacle. Other mentions of tchelet refer to the building of the First Temple by Solomon. The book of Esther describes Mordecai being honored by wearing the royal purple garments of the king.
From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments, for ministering in the Holy Place. They made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses. – Ex. 39:1
[The Lord said to Moses] “Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.” – Ex. 26:1
This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things…And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. – Num. 4:3,7
And Solomon sent word to Hiram the king of Tyre: “…So now send me a man skilled to work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, trained also in engraving, to be with the skilled workers who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.” – 2 Chron. 2:3a,7
Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a robe of fine linen and purple, and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. – Esther 8:15
In the New Testament the extravagance of the city of Babylon is connected to purple and scarlet.
The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” – Rev. 17:4-5
And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble … – Rev. 18:11-12
The color red translated in English as “scarlet” is often associated with the royal colors of blue and purple. This shade comes from the scarlet worm or tola’at hashani, a female scale insect which lives as a parasite on the Kermes oak tree (Quercus coccifera). Kermes insects are very difficult to find with their camouflage color and small size of less than ¼ inch. As with the murex snails, vast quantities of insects were needed to make dye, since each produces such a miniscule amount. These challenges contributed to the color’s rarity, making the beautiful red hue a highly prized dye during ancient times, along with purple and blue.
Conclusion
Tel Shiqmona is “the only site in the entire world where a sequence of purple dye workshops has been excavated and which has clear evidence for large-scale, sustained manufacture of purple dye and dyeing in a specialized facility for half a millennium, during the Iron Age,” according to the study. The number and diversity of artifacts related to purple dye making are unmatched. This study provides, for the first time, direct evidence of the tools used in the dye process, plus the artifacts from Shiqmona serve as a benchmark for future identification of significant purple dye production sites.
As Bible believers, it’s astounding to think about how costly the decorative features of the priests, Tabernacle and Temple were. God had a plan when he sent the Israelites out from slavery laden with gifts of gold and precious colored fabrics. He miraculously transformed slaves into his royal, holy and chosen people, who looked the part, fit for a King. Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: Banded dye-murex, Hexaplax trunculus. (credit: Holger Krisp, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
