According to archaeologists from the Tel Aviv University, copper mines in Timna Valley that were thought to have been built by ancient Egyptians in the 13th century BC actually originated three centuries later, during the time of King Solomon.
King Solomon’s Pillars in Timna Valley, Israel. Image credit: Little Savage.
“The mines are definitely from the period of King Solomon. They may help us understand the local society, which would have been invisible to us otherwise,” said team member Dr Erez Ben-Yosef.
Timna Valley was an ancient copper production district with thousands of mines and dozens of smelting sites. In February 2013, the scientists excavated a new site in this valley.
The site, named the Slaves’ Hill, is a massive smelting camp containing the remains of hundreds of furnaces and layers of copper slag.
In addition to the furnaces, the archaeologists unearthed an impressive collection of clothing, fabrics, ropes, food remains, ceramics and various types of metallurgical installations. They dated eleven of the items to the 10th century BC, when according to the Bible King Solomon ruled the Kingdom of Israel.
The archaeological record shows the mines in Timna Valley were built and operated by a local society, likely the early Edomites, who are known to have occupied the land and formed a kingdom that rivaled Judah. The unearthed materials and the lack of architectural remains at the Slaves’ Hill support the idea that the locals were a semi-nomadic people who lived in tents.
Stratigraphy of the Slaves’ Hill, Timna Valley, Israel, resulting from 150 years of copper production peaking in the 10th century BC. Image credit: American Friends of Tel Aviv University.
The Slaves’ Hill dig also demonstrates that the society in Timna Valley was surprisingly complex.
The smelting technology was relatively advanced and the layout of the camp reflects a high level of social organization. Impressive cooperation would have been required for thousands of people to operate the mines in the middle of the desert.
“In Timna Valley, we unearthed a society with undoubtedly significant development, organization, and power,” Dr Ben-Yosef said.
“And yet because the people were living in tents, they would have been transparent to us as archaeologists if they had been engaged in an industry other than mining and smelting, which is very visible archaeologically.”
