Archaeologists have uncovered tools and facilities at a coastal site near Haifa, indicating it was a workshop for producing rare and expensive dyes during the Iron Age, between 1100 and 600 BCE. Researchers speculated that the workshop may have produced dyes used in the First Temple in Jerusalem.
The research, reported in the peer-reviewed PLOS One journal,stted that the site was a significant commercial production hub during the dynasties of the Samarian kings Omri and Jehu. In the past, the assumption was that the first large-scale production facilities of purple dye were only established in Roman times, around the 1st century CE.
“This is the first time that we can reconstruct the shape of the tools used in the scarlet 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.
Alongside Prof. Ayelet Gilboa of the University of Haifa, Shlavey and his team identified large dye-stained clay basins, grinding stones, and other tools that offer direct evidence of the dyeing process during the Iron Age, between 1100 and 600 BCE. Researchers reconstructed the remains of 16 large clay basins that stood about a meter high, held approximately 350 liters, and had a diameter of 60-80 centimeters. The uniformity of the basins suggested that production was standardized to facilitate the workflow.
“The fact that at certain periods at least 16 basins were used simultaneously indicates that Shikmona was a production center on an extraordinary scale for its time,” said Gilboa.
“The discovery of the tools used to produce the scarlet 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.
“This is part of the background to the biblical stories that reflect the power of the Kingdom of Israel in significant parts of this period.”
The scale and organization of the Tel Shiqmona facility suggest not just local consumption but international trade.
“The fact that at certain periods at least 16 basins were used simultaneously indicates that Shikmona was a production center on an extraordinary scale for its time,” said Gilboa.
Scarlet dye was produced from oak scale insects, which the researchers identify with the biblical “Tola‛at Hashani” (scarlet worm).
The color “scarlet worm” is mentioned 25 times in the Bible, often alongside blue (Tekhelet) and purple (Argaman), which are considered the most precious and prestigious colors in the ancient world. It is mentioned in the context of luxurious clothing, in the use of Tabernacle textiles, and in other cultic contexts.
The dye is referred to in the Bible as תּוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי (Tola’at Shani). This term is usually translated as crimson wool, but the actual term refers to the insect, which is the source of the dye. The dye produces a unique shade of red used for the Temple curtain, as well as the High Priest’s garments.
In rabbinic literature, the dye is called zehorit, extracted from the body of the “crimson worm” (carmine), the Kermes biblicus. In Israel, this worm can be found on the branches of the oak Quercus ithaburensis found in a few specific areas of Israel and for approximately two weeks in the early spring. The females attach egg sacs to the tree and fill them with red eggs. The tree’s egg sacs are difficult to discern due to their size and color. Collecting the insects is painstaking and produces a minuscule amount of the dye.
A skein of crimson wool dyed in Shani was featured in the culmination of the Yom Kippur Temple Service. A skein was wrapped around the horns of the goat sent to Azazel. The skein of scarlet wool was removed from the goat’s horns and tied to a nearby rock, and thrown from a cliff. The cliff was so sheer that the goat tumbled and was torn to pieces from the fall. If this act of contrition forgave Israel’s sins, the crimson thread would miraculously turn white, as would the thread on the Temple doors. The Prophet Isaiah hinted at this aspect of the Yom Kippur service. It was also added to the ashes of the red heifer and for purifying lepers.
Despite the wealth of written historical evidence about the widespread use of dyeing with scale insects in the ancient world, until today, very few textiles dyed with kermes insects that predate the Roman period have been found worldwide.
Tel Shiqmona, an ancient Phoenician archaeological site on the coast near Haifa, was first excavated about fifty years ago. Researchers discovered artifacts from the Late Bronze Age (11th Century BCE). The site is the only location on the Mediterranean that produced techelet dye from Murex snails, and the rocky reefs adjacent to Tel Shikmona were the ideal habitat for the snails.
The dye was highly prized in the ancient world. The purple dye is often referred to as “Tyrian Purple” because it is thought to have originated in the Phoenician seaside city of Tyre, about 30 miles north of Haifa in modern-day Lebanon. Its production was one of the major industries for the Phoenicians.
Techelet is a blue dye highly prized by ancient Mediterranean civilizations and mentioned 49 times in the Hebrew Bible. It was used in the High Priest’s clothing, the Tabernacle’s tapestries, and in tzitzit (ritual fringes worn by Jewish men).
The dye for techelet can be collected by crushing the snails or by laboriously milking the snails and collecting the excretion. 12,000 snails might yield 1.4 grams of dye, which is only enough to color the trim of a single garment. Because of this, this Royal Blue or Royal Purple dye was very expensive, making it an almost exclusive sign of kingship and royalty. Purple dye was considered a color of prestige during the Roman period so much so that at certain points in time the common masses were forbidden from wearing the color. Interestingly, the color of this dye becomes more vibrant when left in the sun, and it is possible that different versions of the color can be made by making the dye in the sun or in the shade.
The site began to operate as a textile factory in the Late Bronze Age in the 11th century BCE and continued to operate until the 6th century BCE. This meant it was in operation throughout the period of the Judges and even into the period of the Kingdoms of Judea and Israel.
Rabbi Isaac Luria, a 16th century mystic taught that the mitzvah (Torah commandment) of putting a thread of blue in tzitzit will return coincidentally with the Messiah.
