“A LAND WHOSE STONES ARE IRON, AND OUT OF WHOSE HILLS YOU CAN DIG COPPER” : THE EXPLOITATION AND CIRCULATION OF COPPER IN THE IRON AGE NEGEV AND EDOM

Abstract

This paper reviews the archaeological data concerning the mining and circulation of copper extracted from the mines of the Arabah valley (Timna and Faynan) during the Iron Age. In addition to describing the finds, the paper presents a socioeconomic reconstruction of the exploitation and exchange of copper controlled, in the Iron Age I, by the local pastoral groups, and in the Late Iron Age II by the Edomite state.ResumenEste artículo examina desde un punto de vista socioeconómico los datos arqueológicos concernientes a la explotación minera y circulación del cobre en el valle de Arabá durante la Edad de Hierro por los grupos nómades de la comarca edomita.