In what could be the oldest example of a business that was built without thought of sustainability, Archaeologists from one of Israel's leading institutions have uncovered what happened to an ancient factory that was situated in an area that was simply not able to sustain it.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University collected coal remains that were used to fire furnaces for copper production in the Timna Valley, a desert region in the southern part of Israel known as the Arava. The copper forge was dated from around the 11th to 9th century BC, making it one of the oldest of its kind ever discovered, although mines in the area have been dated back as far as the Chalcolithic period or 'Copper Age', dating back to 2500 BC. The forge dates back to the time of the Kingdom of David, and it is speculated that the copper was used, in part, to build the Temple of Solomon.
Copper mines and mining peers at Timna Park can be seen throughout the park as well as remains of melting furnaces dating back to King Solomon’s period (10th century BCE).#Israel #israelpilgrimage #holyland #ProphetPhilipBanda #eilat #timnapark
— Impact For Christ Ministries (@ifcministries) September 15, 2022
The archaeologists examined the coals under a microscope in their laboratory and found that their composition had changed over time: Initially, they contained mainly acacia trees, the same wood mentioned in Exodus that was used to build the Tabernacle, which grew in the area. A dense wood, acacia served as an excellent fuel source, but perhaps the task of smelting in such quantities was too much for the environment, as the researchers noted that over time, the quality of the coals shifted. Later samples they tested contained a lesser-quality, non-native wood that was most probably brought from afar.
"From the findings, we conclude that the ancient copper industry in Timna was not sustainable. It was characterized by the overexploitation of local trees until it finally consumed them completely, and as a result, it itself ceased to exist," said the researchers.
"The production of copper in the place resumed only about a thousand years later, and the damage caused to the environment still has not been restored to this day." The research was conducted by Ph.D. student Mark Cavanagh, Professor Erez Ben-Yosef, and Dr. Dafna Langgut, director of the Archaeobotanical Laboratory, all from the Department of Archeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations at Tel Aviv University and Curator of the Archaeobotanical Collection at the Steinhardt Museum.
During the Roman era, mining was continued by the Judeans and the Nabataeans through to the 1st and 2nd centuries. There is also mention of copper mining in the area after the Arab conquest over the Byzantines under the Umayyad Caliphate, but that did not last as by the 7th Century AD there was practically no copper left to mine using the tools of the day.
Professor Erez Ben-Yosef, director of the archaeological excavations in the Timna Valley said in his report that: "Many finds in the Timna Valley testify to a huge copper industry that existed here for about 250 years, between the 11th and 9th centuries BC. In addition to thousands of copper mining sites, we found in the area about 10 industrial sites where the copper was extracted from the stone in hot furnaces. The general public knows these mines by the title “King Solomon's Mines”, although the mines themselves are not mentioned in the Bible."
What stopped the ancient #mining sites history has remembered as King Solomon's Mines?
— AshMRichter (@AshMRichter) September 21, 2022
Latest paper from a fave former colleague has established the mines fuel consumption -> desertification. Humans->#climatechange
#archaeologyhttps://t.co/gLhDO7lAkC
Ben-Yosef continued, "today we know that the peak of copper production does indeed coincide with the reigns of David and Solomon. The Bible says that David conquered the area of Timna, aka the land of Edom, and appointed commissioners there and that Solomon his son used a huge amount of copper in the construction of the Temple."
He added, "we can only assume that David was interested in the remote desert region because of the treasures of copper, a metal of great importance at the time, which was used, among other things, to produce bronze. The copper industry in Timana was operated by the residents of the Edom area who specialized in mining, and the copper from Timana was exported to distant countries, including Egypt, Lebanon, and even Greece. The new research shows that the industry was not sustainable, evidence that fits the reality of the enslavement of the Edomite people in this period to an external government, perhaps the one in Jerusalem."
RT @360onHistory Fascinating. An ancient copper mine in Israel's Timna valley is strewn with 3000 year old leftovers. But it also tells us how limited archaeology really is. #History An Archaeological Dig Reignites the Debate Over the Old Testament's His… https://t.co/vaNDWzaxrD
— Nadeem Ansari FCIM F IDM (@nadeemansary) December 3, 2021
The researchers estimate that the gradual change in the composition of the coals resulted from overexploitation that led to the elimination of natural resources - in this case, the high-quality fuel, acacia trees as well as the lesser quality white broom trees.
Prof. Ben-Yosef added that: "According to the amount of industrial waste found at the production sites, it is possible to calculate the amount of wood that was required to extract the copper. So, for example, the production site known as 'Slave Hill', which was only one of several sites that operated at the same time, required no less than 400 acacia trees and 1,800 rowan bushes annually.
