A team of archaeologists found a treasure that is claimed to be the source of the wealth of the Prophet Solomon who ruled about 3,000 years ago. It is known that Prophet Solomon succeeded in separating copper ore from rocks mined from the archaeological site of the Timna Valley, Israel.
Prophet Solomon or Solomon (Hebrew) is the son of the Prophet David. He was a prophet and the third king of the Kingdom of Israel after Saul and his father, the Prophet David. Prophet Sulaiman is also known as the builder of Baitul Maqdis, a term that is often used to refer to the Al-Aqsa Mosque or the first city of Jerusalem.
Archaeologists began excavating an ancient site in 1964 in the desert located in the Timna valley, southern Israel. Since then, researchers have uncovered a network of tunnels that slaves had worked on under King Solomon's leadership that were explored in secret in King Solomon's Mines on the Smithsonian Channel.
Quoted from Archytele, Tuesday (21/6/2022) archaeologists noted that they may have found the source of the most legendary wealth. Professor Erez Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv University said mine production at the site expanded rapidly during the reign of King Solomon 3,000 years ago.
The mine does not contain gold or silver, but copper ore. Numerous pieces of evidence are scattered throughout the site indicating the existence of mass production of copper in the past.
"All the black ore slag material found is waste from the furnace. This is very important evidence for ancient copper production in Timna," he said.
Copper became a common commodity in ancient times because it is one of the most sought after metals on Earth. "Copper, at any given time in history, was the most important economic resource and the most profitable industry," said Prof Ben-Yosef.
Dr Mohammad Najjar, from Friends of Archeology of Jordan, explained that the condition of copper metal at that time was similar to that of petroleum today, which is the most sought after and needed natural material. "It's like today where humans can't do anything without petroleum. Humans at that time couldn't do anything without copper," he said.
Copper became 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 smelting process, copper is separated from the natural ore in the rock.
Copper ore had to be heated to 1,000 degrees Celsius, and to reach that temperature, workers had to continuously blow fire through pipes. It takes hours to get copper in its pure form.