Timna Copper Mines and Smelting Sites
Timna provides physical evidence of the scale and organization of ancient copper production in the Arabah. Its Iron Age chronology helps explain the economic setting in which Edomite communities developed, while leaving the political control of particular sites open to discussion.
About the Discovery
The Timna Valley contains ancient copper mines and smelting camps, where workers extracted ore and heated it in furnaces to produce copper. Excavations have revealed mining shafts, furnaces, slag heaps, and traces of the people who worked there. Some activity took place during Egyptian rule in the Late Bronze Age, while radiocarbon dates show substantial renewed copper production during the early Iron Age.
Researchers have found similarities between the Iron Age industries at Timna and Faynan to the north. These communities may have been connected with the emergence of Edom, but the archaeological remains do not identify a particular biblical king as the owner of the mines.
Scripture Reference
Genesis 36:8–9; Numbers 20:14–21; 2 Samuel 8:13–14 (historical background concerning Edom; none identifies the Timna mines).