Fig 1.
Location map of Tel Shiqmona and other sites mentioned in the text.
Ancient coastline in ‘Akko bay following [42]. Map by Sapir Haad.
Fig 2.
Aerial view of Tel Shiqmona and its surroundings.
Looking east. Photo by Michael Eisenberg. Reprinted from [43] under a CC BY license, with permission from the Hecht Museum, University of Haifa, original copyright.
Fig 3.
Hexaplex trunculus shell collected near Tel Shiqmona.
400 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.
Fig 4.
Line-drawings of rims of purple-dye vats with dye remains.
Top to bottom: 12B-7005; 6296; 6313; 13A-2020. Drawings by Sapir Haad.
Fig 5.
Fragments of vats with short segments of the body with purple dye remains.
Upper photo: a restored rim and body fragment of vat no. 7055.1–5. Lower photo: top left: 6296; top right: 12B-7005; bottom: 13A-2020. Photos by Moshe Caine; registration numbers and other markings on the sherds are from the 1960’s–1970’s excavations.
Fig 6.
Line-drawings of purple-dye vat rims with no visible dye remains.
Top to bottom: 5599; 727; 6270; 5799. Drawings by Sapir Haad.
Fig 7.
Rims of vats without visible purple remains.
Photo by Maria Bukin.
Fig 8.
Photo of body sherds of purple dye vats with purple dye remains.
From the upper sherd and clockwise: 11B2077/1; 11B2299/1; 5277; 5336; 7238; 2068. Photos by Moshe Caine.
Fig 9.
Profile views, section drawings, and bottom views of bases of purple dye vats.
Left to right: 6255.5, 8076.10, 5548. Photos by Maria Bukin; drawings by Vladimir Lehem.
Fig 10.
Dino-Lite digital microscope photos of purple-dye residue on miscellaneous pottery vessels.
Photos by Golan Shalvi and Maria Bukin.
Fig 11.
Basalt grinding stone tool 5574 with purple dye residue.
Below are the Dino-Lite digital microscope photos of the purple dye residue on it. Photos by Maria Bukin.
Fig 12.
Stone tools with purple dye residue.
Photos by Maria Bukin.
Fig 13.
The purple dye vat base from Stratum 11, building B283, basket 6296.
Left: photo during excavation (25.8.1969); right; photo after restoration. Unknown photographers (the object itself is apparently lost).
Fig 14.
Schematic plan of Stratum 11 with spatial distribution of finds related to purple-dye production.
Illustration by Sapir Haad.
Fig 15.
UV–visible spectra of the compounds found in the Muricidae species.
Fig 16.
Example of a basin fragment without visible dye.
Including a photomicrograph of the fresh break of a fully oxidized section and the petrographic thin section at X50 and X100 magnification under XPL, showing a calcareous matrix, quartz sand, shell fragments, and foraminiferous chalk (S5 Table: no. 28).
Fig 17.
Example of a basin with a visible layer of dye.
Including a photomicrograph of the fresh break of a section with a black core and the petrographic thin section at X50 and X100 magnification under XPL, highlighting a dark matrix, quartz sand, and corroded calcareous fragments (S5 Table: no. 21).
Fig 18.
Representative FTIR spectra and interpretation of firing temperature of select sherds from Shiqmona.
Fig 19.
Proposed reconstructions of the purple-dye vats.
The reconstruction is based on rim no. 7055 and base no. 6255. Illustrations by Sapir Haad.
Fig 20.
Purple-stained vat rim from Dor.
Photo by Moshe Caine.
Fig 21.
Indigo dye workshop in Chikugo, Japan.
Photo by Marisa Tashima (United Native Acumen [UNA] Laboratories).