Image Details
Leonard Lanigan, courtesy of Ephraim Stern
The purple-dye barons of the ancient world, the Phoenicians left behind abundant evidence of this industry in all quarters of Dor. One piece of evidence is pits such as this one, part of a dyeing installation of the Persian period found in area D1, on the southern edge of mound. The Phoenicians obtained the dye from the shells of the murex mollusc, thousands of which were excavated in a heap in area C. The shells found at Dor are generally of the same size, indicating that they were probably cultivated in pools near the shore.