Archaeologists began excavating the ancient site in 1964 in the desert located in the Timna Valley. Since then, researchers have uncovered a network of tunnels that slaves had worked on under King Solomon, explored in secret in King Solomon’s Mines in the Smithsonian Channel.
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The documentary’s narrator notes that archaeologists “may have found” the source of his legendary wealth. Professor Erez Ben-Yosef, from Tel Aviv University, has determined that production at the site was booming during Solomon’s reign 3,000 years ago.
Mine, it doesn’t contain gold or silver, but copper . Evidence is scattered throughout the site for mass copper production. “All the black material is slag which is waste from the furnace. This is very important evidence for ancient copper production in Timna,” he was quoted as saying. Express.co.uk, Monday (23/8/2021).
Back then copper became a common commodity in ancient times because it was one of the most sought after metals on Earth. “Copper, at any given time in history, is the most important economic resource. It is the most profitable industry,” said Prof Ben Yosef.
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Dr Mohammad Najjar, from the Friends of Archeology of Jordan, explained that the metal back then was similar to today’s crude. “Because you can’t do without oil, and at that time you can’t do without copper.”
Copper was a radical turning point in human history. For the first time, people extracted metal from rock and turned it into tools and weapons.
Dr Najjar described the moment as a “quantum leap” when humans started producing their own materials. Through the melting process, copper separated from the natural ore in the rock.
The ore had to be heated to 2,000 F°, and to reach that temperature, workers had to continuously blow fire through the pipes. It takes hours to get copper in its pure form.
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