Dr. Omri Yagel recording the precise sampling location. (Tel Aviv University)
A new Tel Aviv University study challenges the long-held belief that King Solomon’s Mines in Timna, Israel, posed health risks not only to ancient copper workers but also to modern-day residents living near the site.
The study, conducting geochemical surveys of 10th-century BCE copper production sites in the Timna Valley (dating to the time of Kings David and Solomon), found minimal and localized environmental pollution from ancient copper production, posing no risk to past or present inhabitants. Furthermore, a review of previous studies by TAU archaeologists found no evidence that the ancient copper industry caused global pollution.
The study was led by Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef, Dr. Omri Yagel, Willy Ondricek, and Dr. Aaron Greener from the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, Chaim Rosenberg School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology, Tel Aviv University. The paper was published in the prestigious journal Scientific Reports by Nature.
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“We inspected two major copper production sites in the Timna Valley, one from the Iron Age and King Solomon’s era and another nearby that is about 1,500 years older,” says Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef. “Our study was very extensive. We took hundreds of soil samples from both sites for chemical analyses, creating high-resolution maps of heavy metal presence in the region. We found that pollution levels at the Timna copper mining sites are extremely low and confined to the locations of the ancient smelting furnaces. For instance, the concentration of lead — the primary pollutant in metal industries — drops to less than 200 parts per million just a few meters from the furnace. By comparison, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines industrial areas as safe for workers at 1,200 parts per million and residential areas as safe for children at 200 parts per million.”
This new study refutes a series of papers published since the 1990s alleging significant pollution from the ancient copper industry. The researchers demonstrate that pollution in Timna was spatially limited, likely affecting only those working directly at the furnaces through inhalation of toxic fumes, while areas even a short distance away remained safe. The correlation between copper and lead concentrations in the soil further suggests that these metals are contained within slag and other industrial waste, preventing them from leaching into the soil and impacting plants or humans. These findings align with recent studies from Wadi Faynan, Jordan, which also indicate very low pollution levels.
Timna and Faynan are ideal for this research because they haven’t been disturbed by modern mining (unlike Cyprus, for example), and their dry climates prevent metals in the soil from being washed away. In Faynan, a team led by Prof. Yigal Erel (Hebrew University) examined 36 Iron Age skeletons from the mining site, finding pollution traces in only three sets of teeth. This study presents a similar picture for Timna.
