The reason that argaman is called “Royal Purple” is the fact that in ancient times, only the wealthy could afford it.0
Modern research indicates that thousands of mollusks had to be gathered in order to produce even small amounts of the dye.0
Another feature of the argaman is that, chemically, it is fire retardant. Since our Sages teach that the fire of the altar was not extinguished when the Mishkan was moved, the fire-retardant property of argaman was significant in preventing the fire of the altar from spreading. This is the reason that the mizbeach was covered specifically with a cloth of argaman, as described in our pasuk.0
At Tel Shikmona, archaeologists uncovered remains of an industrial facility for producing argaman from the murex snail. This facility dates to the First Temple Period.0
