In a recent study published in the journal, PLOS One, a team of Israeli, American and Jordanian archaeologists have concluded that there was an organized Edomite kingdom operating copper smelting sites in the Aravah Valley by the mid-11th century BC. The team analyzed 154 slag samples from the ancient copper production sites at Timna and Faynan, measuring the temperature of the furnaces, the amount of other minerals used to improve the smelting process, and the amount of copper left over in the slag. They discovered that the people at the various sites, some of which were separated by over 100 km (62 miles), used standardized smelting techniques, which improved over time in a coordinated way. This, they claim, is a sign that there was a centralized government organizing the copper production. Tel Aviv University Professor, Ezra Ben-Yosef, explained, “Using technological evolution as a proxy for social processes, we were able to identify and characterize the emergence of the biblical kingdom of Edom. Our results prove it happened earlier than previously thought and in accordance with the biblical description.” This study affirms the biblical claim that there were “kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites.” (Genesis 36:31).
OFF-SITE LINKS:
- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0221967
- https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Israeli-researchers-identify-biblical-kingdom-of-Edom-602158?fbclid=IwAR3LwAF6esdDkSPJYuHT475hMQdOUIS_lUjTfbAs64yez9GPuc7Yag-hxj0
- https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-archaeology-confirms-book-of-genesis-on-israel-s-arch-nemesis-the-edomites-1.7855111?fbclid=IwAR1Xvz9ruXYEIbE5Z97jRjNOnzVuw0XCUIJ4ItiyQEICNBlRgOV4Gxm4BNQ
