https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/3000-year-old-purple-dye-industry-revealed-near-haifa/2019/07/01/?fbclid=IwAR3bLJe_RAkN_KYCoC8zyCzyP_VZIsyBXOOTff-KwkaI3sdf7i3nrugtLeQA very interesting read but I’m quite sure there were no murex snails in the wilderness. However, it does support the history that during the first century the Jews were using the murex snail to make the tzitzit. History also teaches that the color had become so popular with the Romans in authority the Jews were forbidden to wear the snail dye in order to meet the demands of the Romans who wanted to wear the royal color on their garments.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/3000-year-old-purple-dye-industry-revealed-near-haifa/2019/07/01/?fbclid=IwAR3bLJe_RAkN_KYCoC8zyCzyP_VZIsyBXOOTff-KwkaI3sdf7i3nrugtLeQUpdated Jul 7, 2019, 4:42 PM