Ancient Egyptians were consumers of successful copper industry in Arabah region, say Tel Aviv University archaeologists

Through the wilderness, in the Arabah near Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab,

Deuteronomy

1:

1

(the israel bible)

January 10, 2022

3 min read

If you look carefully while walking in the Arava Valley north of Eilat, you may find blue-green rocks strewn about that are worth collecting for their beauty. They are raw copper ore – a remnant of a thriving industry from millennia ago. A new Tel Aviv University study (TAU) has determined that thanks to advanced management methods and impressive technological creativity, about 3,000 years ago, the Arava Valley’s copper industry managed to thrive and become the largest and most advanced smelting center in the ancient world. 

 

The study was conducted by graduate student David Luria of TAU’s. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures and Sonia & Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology, and is being published in the prestigious journal Public Library of Science One (PLoS ONE) under the title “Copper technology in the Arava during the Iron Age and the role of the indigenous population in the industry.”

David Luria.(Photo credits to Tel Aviv University)

The copper industry in Canaan at that time was concentrated in two large mining areas – one in Timna (north of Eilat) and the other in Faynan (in the northern Arava, in Jordan), maintains Luria. “Previous research on the subject has claimed that the high level of technology employed there was made possible thanks to Egyptian technologies brought to the region during the voyage of the Egyptian Pharoah Shishak in 925 BCE. This theory was strengthened in 2014 following the discovery of a scarab bearing the figure of Shishak in Faynan and again in 2019, following the development of a new scientific model that claimed that a sudden technological leap had taken place around the time of Shishak’s journey.

 

Luria, on the other hand, argues that the great economic and technological success of the copper industry in the Arava was not related to Egyptian capabilities, but rather to the talent of the Arava people who learned to use the two advanced methods we know today as “trial and error” and “scaling up.” “Obviously these terms were not in use in ancient times, but the application of their practical principles was made possible due to a basic understanding of engineering and common sense, which were seen in other places in the ancient world as well,” insisted Luria.

 

He explained that the “trial and error” method allowed the Arava metalworkers to slowly improve technological processes, as well as to increase the volume and quality of production. In addition, “scaling up” made it possible to increase the dimensions of the existing means of production using materials and processes that were common at the time, thereby developing advanced production equipment within a short amount of time and with minimum cost and technological risk.

 

“Shishak’s expedition was not intended physically to take over the copper mines in the Arava but rather to formulate a long-term agreement with the Arava people in order to bolster local production and thus increase copper exports to Egypt, which was suffering from local production difficulties at the time,” Luria added.

 

“It appears that the secret of the success of the ancient copper industry in the Arava lies in the skills and abilities of efficient managers, who were assisted at every stage of their decision-making by talented technological experts. Archeology today can’t identify who these executives were, but a careful analysis of the deposits left in the area can tell us an accurate story. These findings are the residues of copper production that have accumulated as heaps of waste that can be dated, and whose size allows us to assess the volume of production at any given time. Moreover, by conducting a chemical analysis of the copper content remaining in the waste, we can determine the quality of the production; when the amount of copper in the waste diminishes, we can conclude 

that the process had become more efficient.” 

 

Luria also says that traces detected at these sites show that throughout the production period, the management team was able to close inefficient mines and open more efficient ones. Moreover, at certain points a decision was taken to reuse waste from earlier periods, which was produced in less efficient processes in which a lot of copper remained, rather than use the pure mineral. These decisions could not have been made without an excellent technical team that backed management decisions with regular technological testing. The management also engaged in extensive marketing of the copper throughout the ancient world.

 

“The important lesson to take away from this technological success is that the high-tech savvy of individuals – educated and energetic people who lived here in the first millennium BCE – succeeded, just like it does today, in bringing about a huge revolution in the local economy,” Luria concluded. “As they say, there is nothing new under the sun.”

The shortcode is missing a valid Donation Form ID attribute.

 

Share this article

Donate today to support Israel’s needy

$10

$25

$50

$100

$250

CUSTOM AMOUNT

Subscribe

Prophecy from the Bible is revealing itself as we speak. Israel365 News is the only media outlet reporting on it.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter today to get all the most important stories directly to your inbox. See how the latest updates in Jerusalem and the world are connected to the prophecies we read in the Bible. .