10
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, July 9, 1982
King Solomon's Mines Re-Opened to Visitors
INSTANT
COLOR
PASSPORTS
ID. & VISA
PHOTOS
PROFESSIONAL
PORTRAIT LIGHTING
1352-76-
LEO
KNIGHT
PHOTOGRAPHY
26571 W. 12 Mile Rd.
Corner Northwestern Hwy.
By RICHARD LOWE
Israel Govt. Press Service
NEW YORK — They
loom tall and menacing over
the desert. Great pillars of
rose-hued rock soar
jaggedly skyward. Eerie
canyons between the rug-
ged pillars attract the in-
quisitive traveler. Known
for centuries as King Sol-
omon's Pillars, they have
recently been opened to the
public — and as with many
of Israel's attractions —
combine fascinating histor-
ical remains with magnifi-
cent scenery.
Timna Valley Park, as
the "new" site is called, is
honeycombed by ancient
copper mines and copper ex-
traction plants, probably
the first place in the world
where ore was commer-
cially mined and processed.
Timna Valley, north of Is-
rael's Red Sea resort of
Eilat, runs into the Arava
Valley connecting the Dead
Sea with the Red Sea. The
Arava Valley is part of the
Great Rift Valley which
runs from Syria south to
East Africa. Since the be-
ginning of the 20th Cen-
tury, 4rcheologists have
explored the area and pro-
nounced various theories on
the regional mining and
smelting processes and
about the historical periods
in which these were prac-
ticed.
On the basis of the bi-
blical books of Kings I
and Chronicles II, the
copper mines were asso-
ciated with the reign of
King Solomon, who may
have used copper to pay
for his imports of "gold,
silver, ivory apes and
peacocks" through the
port of Eilat.
The newest findings indi-
cate that the Timna mines
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vin
were operated as early as
the Chalcolithic period,
6,000 years ago. They were
abandoned some two cen-
turies before Solomon, who
ruled approximately 960
BCE and who may have
mined closer to Eilat, or al-
ternatively, only traded in
copper.
In our days, mining and
copper production, have re-
turned to Timna Valley.
Yet, mercifully, the modern
plant, remains quite invisi-
ble to the visitor who roams
among 3,000 years of shafts,
tunnels and ovens.
Primitive sanctuaries
and crude rock drawings
supply added perspective.
The primeval landscape
provides an overpowering
setting.
Immediately inside the
park's gate is an
enclosure where dia-
grams, illustrations and
text explain the ancient
techniques of copper
mining and smelting.
From here visitors con-
tinue by private car or
tour bus along 11 miles of
asphalt roads. The roads
lead to parking areas,
from where the different
sites are reached by short
though rocky paths.
The first walk leads
through an area strewn
with hundreds of "saucers."
They are circular patches
about a yard in diameter.
They are in fact mine shafts.
Through the ages, they
have filled up with sand;
some have been scooped out,
revealing pits descending as _
deep as 20 feet with steps
hewn into the sides.
From these shafts branch
tunnels, sometimes at sev-
eral levels. The shafts pro-
vide both ventilation, and a
route to bring the copper ore
up to the surface.
Nearby are rock drawings
carved in the buff-colored
cliff-side by ancient miners.
We can peer at Canaanite
warriors posed timelessly
on their ox-drawn chariots
or at a fauna of ibexes and
oryxes. These animals are
still indigenous to Israel
and can best be seen at the
nearby Hai Bar Biblical
Wild-Life reserve, a
sanctuary devoted to the
maintenance of animals de-
scribed in the Bible whose
existence is scarce in mod-
ern Israel.
Driving along purple-
colored Mount Tirana, w
reach the "mushroom," a-_–)
rock shaped thus by mil-
lions of years of erosion.
Here we find remnants of
miners' living quarters,
smelting ovens, and a
small sanctuary where a
local, unkown deity was
once revered.
We do know who was wor-
shipped in the temple at the
foot of King Solomon's pil-
lars: the Egyptian goddess
Hathor. Ironically, this site,
near pink rock formations
that for years have been
associated with King Sol-
omon, proves conclusively
that by the time of Solomon,
the mines had been aban-
doned.
Votive objects found in
the temple conveniently
bear the names of various
Egyptian pharaohs, enabl-
ing us to date this state of
operations from the 14th to
the 12th Century BCE. An-
other nearby souvenir is a
most accomplished rock
drawing depicting Pharaoh
Ramses III.
Whether or not Solomon
ever exploited the mines at
Timna need not detract
from the traveler's enjoy-
ment of the pillars sculpted
by nature from the
sandstone cliffs.
Driving back along the
same route, visitors can now
give their full attention to
the awe-inspiring shapes
and colors of the landscape.
The convolutions in white
limestone that make a
whole mountainside resem-
ble a giant baroque cathed-
ral — in the red, pink and
purple mountain ranges —
alone make the trip well
worthwhile.
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Visitors explore King Solomon's Pillars at Timna
Valley Park, north of Eilat.