6,6'-dibromoindigo in snails into a mixture of blue indigo dye and blue-purple 6-bromoindigo. The leuco (white) solution form of dibromoindigo loses some bromines in the ultraviolet radiation. Arguments for Hexaplex Trunculus The dye produced by Hexaplex has the exact same chemical composition as indigo, corresponding to the statement that only God can distinguish the tekhelet from indigo garments. In the area between Tyre and Haifa where the hilazon was found, piles of murex shells hundreds of yards long have been found, apparently the result of dying operations. In Tel Shikmona (near Haifa), a "biblical era purple dye workshop" was found including relics of purple dye produced from sea snails, as well as textile manufacturing equipment. Hexaplex has a hard external shell, as the hilazon appears to. The word Ḥillazon is cognate to the Arabic word halazuun, meaning snail. Hexaplex opponents suggest that in ancient times the word might have referred to a broader category of animals, perhaps including other candidate species such as the cuttlefish. Another requirement according to the Talmud is that the dye cannot fade, and the Murex dye does not fade and can only be removed from wool with bleach. The Talmud states that the hillazon is preferably kept alive while the dye is extracted, as killing it causes the dye to degrade. This matches both ancient descriptions of the Hexaplex dying process, and also modern experience that an enzyme in the snail needed for dye production decays quickly after death. The Jerusalem Talmud translates tekhelet as porporin; similarly Musaf Aruch translates tekhelet as parpar. These translations refer to the Latin term purpura, meaning the dye produced by Hexaplex snails. Similarly, Yair Bacharach stated that tekhelet was derived from purpura snails, even though this forced him to conclude that the color of tekhelet was purple rather than blue, as in his era it was unknown how to produce blue dye from Hexaplex. The word porforin, or porpora, or porphoros is used in the midrash as well as many other Jewish texts to refer to the Ḥillazon, and this is the Greek translation of Murex trunculus. Pliny and Aristotle also both refer to the Porpura as being the source for purple and blue dyes, showing that the Murex has a long history of being used for blue dye. speaks of treasures hidden in the sand; the Talmud states that the word "treasures" refers to the Ḥillazon. Similarly, Hexaplex