Purple Ambitions: Tel Shiqmona and the Rise of Israelite Dye Industry in the Iron Age

Hexaplex trunculus shell collected near Tel Shiqmona. Four hundred such shells were identified by two free-style divers within 90 mins at a depth of one to two meters on October 20, 2020. Photo by Ayelet Gilboa. Image credit: Golan Shalvi et al. (2025), PLOS ONE (Figure 3). Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Tel Shiqmona has received little attention compared to the grand coastal cities of the ancient Phoenician coast. But the site has produced the most complete archaeological evidence for the production of purple dye in the Iron Age.

The Ancient Near East Today
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