Mining for Ancient Copper

Customers in Israel buy here.

The 37 chapters of this volume, dedicated to the memory of Beno Rothenberg, present a variety of new studies related to copper in antiquity, with case studies spanning from the British Isles to Oman, Cyprus, and Greece. Special emphasis is given to Timna and other copper ore districts of the Arabah Valley, which have been subjected to a surge of research in recent years. This new research is a direct continuation of Rothenberg’s pioneering work at Timna, and similarly takes advantage of the extraordinary preservation of archaeological sites there to shed new light on copper production technologies and the societies behind them.

Rothenberg’s collaborative work at Timna during the second half of the 20th century was an important milestone in the foundation of the research discipline of archaeometallurgy, the study of metal and metal production in antiquity. The present volume, the work of 66 scholars, reflects the current prosperity of this discipline in its broadest sense, with contributions that reach beyond technological reconstructions and analytical reports, including studies on metalworkers’ diet and habitation and the metal trade. In this, the book aptly emphasizes Rothenberg’s impact, as his research on ancient copper was always part of a comprehensive search for a better understanding of past societies and historical processes.

Erez Ben-Yosef is Associate Professor of Archaeology, Department of Archaeology and ANE Cultures, Tel Aviv University and the director of the Central Timna Valley (CTV) Project – a multidisciplinary research into Iron Age copper production in the southern Levant.

Contents

Contributors“Preface,” Erez Ben-YosefSECTION I: TIMNA VALLEY1. “Stratigraphy and Structure of the Timna Valley and Adjacent Ancient Mining Areas,” Michael Beyth, Amit Segev, and Hanan Ginat2. “Beno Rothenberg and the Chronology of Copper Smeltig at Timna,” James D. Muhly3. “The Central Timna Valley Project: Research Design and Preliminary Results,” Erez Ben-Yosef4. “The Diet of Ancient Metal Workers: The Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages in the Arabah Valley (Timna and Faynan),” Lidar Sapir-Hen, Omri Lernau, and Erez Ben-Yosef5. “The Sinai-Arabah Copper Age Early Phase (Chalcolithic) Mine T Excavations,” Tim Shaw and Alexandra Drenka6. “The Inscription of Ramessesmpere in Context,” Deborah Sweeney7. “A Preliminary Archaeomagnetic Investigation of the Yotvata Fortress,” Ilana Peters, Lisa Tauxe, and Erez Ben-Yosef8. “Who was the Deity Worshipped at the Tent-Sanctuary of Timna?,” Nissim Amzallag9. “Transgendered Copper Mining in the Levant,” Laura M. ZucconiSECTION II: NAḪAL ʿAMRAM10. “Ancient Copper Mines at Naḫal ʿAmram, Southern Arabah,” Uzi Avner, Hanan Ginat, Sariel Shalev, Sana Shilstine, Boaz Langford, Amos Frumkin, Rachamim Shem-Tov, Sagi Filin, Reuma Arav, Uri Basson, Omer Shamir, and Linda Scott-Cummings11. “Volume and Mass Estimation of Mine Dumps and Slag Piles Using High-Resolution Terrestrial Laser Scans,” Reuma Arav, Sagi Filin and Uzi Avner12. “Evidence of Past Flood Intensities in the Naḫal ʿAmram Copper Mines,” Hanan Ginat, Dagan Meeshly, Uzi Avner, and Boaz Langford13. “Miners’ Meals at the Copper Mines of Naḫal ʿAmram, Southern Israel,” Liora Kolska Horwitz, Uzi Avner, and Omri Lernau14. “Naḫal ʿAmram, Southern Arabah Valley: A Survey of Underground Copper Mines,” Boaz Langford, Amos Frumkin, Uzi Avner, and Hanan Ginat15. “A Preliminary Study of Copper Slag in the Southern Arabah Valley,” Sana Shilstein and Sariel ShalevSECTION III: FAYNAN, THE NEGEV AND BEYOND16. “Intensive Surveys, Large-Scale Excavation Strategies and Iron Age Industrial Metallurgy in Faynan, Jordan: Fairy Tales Don’t Come True,” Thomas E. Levy, Erez Ben-Yosef, and Mohammad Najjar17. “Key Features for Deducing Technological Innovations and Organizational Structures in the Bronze Age Mining District of Faynan, Jordan,” Ingolf Löffler18. “Copper Trade and the Settlement Rise in the South Levantine Deserts in the EB IV,” Moti Haiman19. “Extractie Metallurgy in the Chalcolithic Southern Levant: Assessment of Copper Ores from Abu Matar,” Aaron N. Shugar20. “Bronze Chisel at Horvat Haluqim (Central Negev Highlands) in a Sequence of Radiocarbon Dated Late Bronze to Iron I Layers,” Hendrik J. Bruins, Irina Segal, and Johannes Van der Plicht21. “The Discovery of the Sinaitic Site Kuntillet Ajrud,” Ze’ev Meshel22. “The Origin of the Copper Used in Canaan During the Late Bronze/Iron Age Transition,” Naama Yahalom-Mack and Irina Segal23. “The Arabah Copper Industry in the Islamic Period: Views from Faynan and Timna,” Ian W. N. Jones, Mohammad Najjar, and Thomas E. LevySECTION IV: BEYOND THE SOUTHERN LEVANT: CYPRUS, OMAN, GREECE AND BRITAIN24. “Apliki Karamallos on Cyprus: The 13th Century BCE Miners’ Settlement in Context,” Vasiliki Kassianidou25. “King Herod and the Cyprus Copper Mines,” Shimon Dar26. “Archaeometallurgical Research on Iron Age (1250-300 BCE) Copper Production in the Northern Al-Hajjar Mountains (Oman Peninsula),” Julie Goy, Michele Degli Esposti, Cécile Le Carlier de Veslud, and Anne Benoist27. “Ancient Mining and Metallurgical Activity at the Gold-Silver-Copper Ore Deposits in Mavrokorfi Area, Mount Pangaeon (Northeast Greece),” Markos Vaxevanopoulos, Michail Vavelidis, Vasilios Melfos, Dimitra Malamidou, and Spyros Pavlides28. “The Great Orme Bronze Age Copper Mine in North Wales: Opportunities to Link Ore to Metal,” Robert Alan Williams29. “Copper Mining and Smelting in the British Bronze Age: New Evidence of Mine Sites Including Some Re-analyses of Dates and Ore Sources,” Simon Timberlake and Peter MarshallSECTION V: METALWORKING30. “Judah of Iron vs. Israel of Copper: The Metalworking Development in the Land of Israel and its Historical Implications,” Yulia Gottlieb31. “Tradition and Continuity in Craft Workshops at Tel Dan,” Rachel Ben-Dov32. “A First Century Jewish Recycling Economy,” Matthew Ponting and Dan Levene33. “Early Bronze Age Refining of Copper,” Christopher John Davey34. “Bronze Production in Pi-Ramesse: Alloying Technology and Material Use,” Frederik W. Rademakers, Thilo Rehren, and Edgar B. Pusch35. “Examples of Copper Harpoons of Naqada Culture in the Eastern Nile Delta,” Marcin Czarnowicz36. “Bronze Working at Sumhuram: New Data from an Ancient South Arabian Harbor on the Coast of Dhofar (Sultanate of Oman),” Michele Degli Esposti, Carla Martini, Cristina Chiavari, Elena Bernardi, and Gian Luca Garagnani37. “Observations on Socketed Copper Alloy Arrowheads in the Early First Millenium BCE,” Jamie M. Szudy