Nova: Solomons Copper Mines

[Zakuska]

Did anyone catch this on tv last night?

http://www.pbs.org/w...mons-mines.html

Program Description

Countless treasure-seekers have set off in search of King Solomon's mines, trekking through burning deserts and scaling the forbidding mountains of Africa and the Levant, inspired by the Bible's account of splendid temples and palaces adorned in glittering gold and copper. Yet to date, the evidence that has claimed to support the existence of Solomon and other early kings in the Bible has been highly controversial. In fact, so little physical evidence of the kings who ruled Israel and Edom has been found that many contend that they are no more real than King Arthur. In the summer of 2010, NOVA and National Geographic embarked on two cutting-edge field investigations that illuminate the legend of Solomon and reveal the source of the great wealth that powered the first mighty biblical kingdoms. These groundbreaking expeditions expose important new clues buried in the pockmarked desert of Jordan, including ancient remnants of an industrial-scale copper mine and a 3,000-year-old message with the words "slave," "king," and "judge."

They showed how hard it was to produce copper back then and how it was done. How they packed the ore on camels and brought them to this industrial sized copper processing plant in Jordan. How they used foot belows to raise the temperature. And the showed the tons and tons and tons of slag tailings around the complex.

It was fascinating!

Edited October 6, 2011 by Zakuska

[Zakuska]

You can watch the whole show on the provided link.

[etana]

awesome, have a rep since i can't digitize cookies.

[Zakuska]

awesome, have a rep since i can't digitize cookies.

From what I heard, This might be the first real circumstancial evidence for King Solomon we have yet since all the carbon dates fall within his reign. The amount of slag produced by this operation is staggering.

Edited October 6, 2011 by Zakuska