The Kingdom of Copper

Copper Production and Social Complexity in Iron Age Faynan, Jordan

Photograph of Khirbat al-Jariya, Jordan, showing an archaeological site nestled among desert mountains

Faynan, Jordan

The location of Faynan, in modern-day Jordan.

 Faynan, Jordan , is a small region in southern Jordan's Wadi Arabah, a dry rift valley running from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea. The region is home to members of several Bedouin tribes, who live in and around the village of Qirayqira. 

However, Faynan was once the epicenter of one of the largest nomadic kingdoms in the history of the entire southern Levant.

Let's learn a little more about how complex society was able to develop 3,000 years ago in this part of Jordan.


Faynan is located in southern Jordan, hours from the capital Amman or the port Aqaba. The region is in the Wadi Arabah, about 30km southeast of the Dead Sea.

Faynan is a dry, desert region, receiving very little rainfall. The dryness of the region makes it difficult to do agriculture without the kind of extensive irrigation that exists today.

In fact, today, Faynan only receives around 50mm of rainfall each year. This total is much lower than in the neighboring highlands of Jordan to the east, and means that the region is considered a hyper-arid zone.

Yearly precipitation in Jordan, in mm/year. Regions receiving less than 100 mm of precipitation per year are typically considered hyper-arid. The region's climate may have been different in the past but was likely still hyper-arid.

And yet, Faynan was home to one of the first complex societies to develop during the early Iron Age.

Iron Age settlement spread across the region, represented here by the three-site network of , , and . Click each site on the map to learn more.


How was Faynan able to develop into a complex society during the Iron Age?

Copper ore from Faynan, Jordan. Photo Credit: ELRAP Staff.

Copper

In the ancient world, copper was an incredibly important resource. In some ways, copper in the Iron Age was like oil today, playing a critical role in the daily functioning of life. Copper would ultimately also drive the development of complex society in Faynan.

Copper was used for many purposes, including making jewelry, ritual items, tools, and weapons.

Four copper artifacts recovered from excavations at Khirbat en-Nahas. Photo Credit: ELRAP Staff.

Prior to the Iron Age, in the Late Bronze Age, copper in the Southern Levant came from Cyprus, where enormous, industrial-scale production took place.

The main evidence for copper smelting in the archaeological record is not actually copper artifacts, as most of the metal was traded away. Instead, archaeologists often identify ancient copper production by the waste byproduct left behind which is called “slag”. Producing copper requires purifying metal ores in a furnace, and the extracted impurities solidify as slag. 

A piece of copper slag, recovered during ELRAP excavation. Photo Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

Slag gives archaeologists important insights into the technology and scale of ancient copper production. Though many of Cyprus' copper resources have been exploited even into the modern era, the slag mounds that are remnants of the Late Bronze Age industry are still impressive in their scale.  

A section of an enormous copper slag mound on Cyprus, undergoing sampling for paleomagnetic dating by archaeologists. Photo Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

The actual result of this industry were large copper ingots, called "oxhide" ingots because of their similar appearance to a stretched ox hide. These ingots were specially designed to be easy to carry and transport.

An oxhide ingot measuring about 64 cm across from a shipwreck off the Mediterranean coast, recovered by Udi Galili. Photo Credit: Anthony Tamberino, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

These ingots were the perfect trade commodity for the economic system of the Late Bronze Age, when a thriving seafaring trade carried goods between the Egypt, the Levantine coast, the Hittite Empire, Cyprus, and the Aegean.

The Late Bronze Age Collapse

The scale of copper exchange in the Mediterranean-wide economic system of the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1550-1200 BCE) matched the scale of copper production on Cyprus. Copper was a prized import by the vast empires that controlled the Levant at the time.

Explore the map here by clicking the empires and trade routes to learn more.

The sites destroyed at the end of the Late Bronze Age ranged from Greece to the southern Levant. All of these sites were destroyed in a brief, 100 year span. 

Explore the map here by clicking the sites destroyed during the LBA collapse to learn more.

The sprawling empires that dominated the Levant...

...shrunk to a fraction of their former size, leaving a power vacuum in the southern Levant. 

It was in this vacuum that local societies were able to grow into complex chiefdoms and eventually states.

The nomadic people of Faynan were one such society able to take advantage of the relative peace and stability of the ensuing period.

After the Late Bronze Age economic system collapsed, the need for copper across the eastern Mediterranean remained but Cyprus was no longer supplying the important metal. 

The political and economic power vacuum during the early Iron Age created an opportunity to step into the gap created by Cyprus no longer manufacturing and exporting copper on an enormous scale.

Faynan was uniquely positioned to take advantage of this opportunity due to the underlying geology of the region.


An Industrial Landscape

An ELRAP team member sampling a slag mound at Khirbat al-Jariya, Faynan, Jordan. Photo Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

The Geology of Faynan

During the Iron Age, people in Faynan primarily mined copper ores from the Dolomite-Limestone-Shale (DLS) geological formation, also known as the Burj Dolomite-Shale (BDS). This geological unit formed during the Cambrian Period (around 550 million years ago), and it was particularly rich in high-quality copper ores.

The Burj Dolomite-Shale is shown here in dark gray.

An industry that supplied copper to much of the Levant and as far as Greece sprang up based on these geologic resources.

As shown here, major copper sites in Faynan started to develop around outcrops of the Burj Dolomite-Shale. 

Khirbat en-Nahas

Large-scale production of copper began at  Khirbat en-Nahas  (shown here) and ultimately reached its peak at this site as well. Over 60,000 tonnes of copper slag are present at the site today.

3D Model of Khirbat en-Nahas

Khirbat al-Jariya

 Khirbat al-Jariya  (shown here) was settled after Khirbat en-Nahas and also played an important role in the industrial landscape. The site has 15-20,000 tonnes of copper slag, and is just 3km up the Wadi al-Jariya (the dry streambed running through the site) from Khirbat en-Nahas. 

Khirbat al-Jariya, Jordan

Why Move to a New Site?

As the copper industry in Faynan expanded in scale, it also expanded geographically to Khirbat al-Jariya. One possible reason for this expansion might have been to exploit the copper mines to the northeast of the new site.

These mines, strategically situated to take advantage of the copper ores in the Dolomite Limestone Shale, provided the impetus for development of Khirbat al-Jariya, Khirbat en-Nahas, and other sites in the region.

The tens of thousands of tons of copper smelted in Faynan during the Iron Age, fueled by systematic harvesting of local trees and shrubs for fuel, left their mark across the region and created an industrial landscape. 

An aerial view of an Iron Age copper shaft mine in the Wadi Khalid, Faynan, Jordan. Two of the shafts date to the Iron Age, while one was dug later in the Roman Period. Photo Credit: Matthew D. Howland, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

To learn more about Iron Age copper production in Faynan, its technological sophistication, and the corresponding development of social complexity in the region, the  Edom Lowlands Regional Archaeological Project , directed by Thomas E. Levy and Mohammad Najjar as a joint collaboration between UC San Diego and the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, was founded.


Archaeological Research

Members of the ELRAP team. Photo Credit: Thomas E. Levy

Many of the remains of Iron Age society and industry in Faynan are visible on the surface today, as you have already seen. But how do the archaeologists of the Edom Lowlands Regional Archaeology Project learn more about the sites we investigate?

Two main avenues help us to understand the past of this region: survey and excavation.

Survey

In general, survey refers to recording the locations of artifacts and structures on the surface of the archaeological landscape in order to learn more about the spatial patterning of remains.

On ELRAP, we use a balloon camera system to capture vertical images of sites that we can ultimately use to create 3D models and detailed maps of sites.

Excavation

Excavation gives us a deeper understanding of a particular site. On ELRAP, excavations at Khirbat en-Nahas and Khirbat al-Jariya have clarified the history of these sites.

For example, the excavations in 2014 at Khirbat al-Jariya (shown here) helped us to understand that the site was initially settled as part of an organized expansion of production from the larger site of Khirbat en-Nahas.

Learn more about how excavation has helped clarify the history of the region:

By combining survey and excavation, archaeologists have powerful tools at their disposal. At Khirbat en-Nahas, balloon photography survey allowed for the creation of a high resolution 3D model of the site. The 3D model shown above, with an integrated 3D model of an excavation unit in a slag mound, allows us to more fully understand the site and make excavation decisions.

Explore the 3D model below to discover the details of Khirbat en-Nahas.

3D model of Khirbat en-Nahas

3D to Mapping

3D models of archaeological sites also allow for the creation of an orthophotographs, a high-resolution top-down perspective on the site, corrected for lens and elevation distortion. 

Zoom in to see the details of the site.

Orthophotographs in turn, allow for accurate mapping of the site's many complex features, including the extent of the slag mounds that cover the site.

Zoom in to see the details of the site.

Finally, the aerial perspective allows researchers and scholars to contextualize the results of seasons of intensive excavations at the site. 

Click each area at the site to learn more about what we have learned from excavations there. Use the buttons below to explore

Area M, Khirbat en-Nahas


Faynan Today

ELRAP team members. Photo Credit: Brady Liss, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

The stories of the ancient copper-producing society in Faynan are only able to be told because of a close collaboration between archaeologists from the Jordanian Department of Antiquities and UC San Diego and the inhabitants of the Faynan/Qirayqira region.

The people of Faynan and Qirayqira play an important role as ELRAP team members and have an active role in survey and excavation.

ELRAP team members setting up the balloon photography system. Photo Credit: Brady Liss, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory

The people of Faynan are members of several Bedouin tribes (the ‘Ammarin, Sa’idiyyin, Rashaydah and ‘Azazmah) which call the region home. 

These people live either in the villages of Faynan and Qirayqira, or in the surrounding areas, melding traditional life in tents with village life. Many of the locals are engaged in agricultural work with the irrigated fields that now line the region, or as pastoralists, raising goats.

A Faynan resident with his goat herd. Photo Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

The Faynan region has also developed as a tourist destination. The  Dana Biosphere Reserve  is the country's largest nature reserve, and exists to protect much of the wildlife of the Faynan region (and incidentally, many of the archaeological sites in the region).

Visitors can stay at the  Faynan Ecolodge , a ecohotel that offers visitors a unique experience in the region.

Finally, the  Faynan Museum , created by the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, is one of the best places to learn more about the people of Faynan and the region's long history as a Kingdom of Copper.

ELRAP team members at Khirbat al-Jariya. Photo Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory


Matthew D. Howland, Brady Liss, Mohammad Najjar, and Thomas E. Levy

Arabic Translation by Samya Khalaf Kafafi

Further Reading:

  • Ben-Yosef, E. and T.E. Levy. 2014a. A “Small Town” Discovered Twice: A Forgotten Report of Major H. H. Kitchener. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 146(3): 179-184.
  • Ben-Yosef, E., T.E. Levy, T. Higham, M. Najjar and L. Tauxe. 2010. The beginning of Iron Age copper production in the southern Levant: new evidence from Khirbat al-Jariya, Faynan, Jordan. Antiquity 84 (325): 724-746.
  • Glueck, N. 1935. Explorations in Eastern Palestine, II. Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 15: 1-288.
  • Hauptmann, A. 2007. The Archaeometallurgy of Copper: Evidence from Faynan, Jordan. Berlin: Springer.
  • Levy, T.E., E. Ben-Yosef, and M. Najjar, eds. 2014. New Insights into the Iron Age Archaeology of Edom, Southern Jordan. Los Angeles UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press.
  • Levy, T.E., T. Higham, C. Bronk Ramsey, N.G. Smith, E. Ben-Yosef, M. Robinson, S. Münger, et al. 2008. High-precision radiocarbon dating and historical biblical archaeology in southern Jordan. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 105: 16460-16465.

Citations

  • Precipitation Data:  Fick, S.E. and R.J. Hijmans, 2017. Worldclim 2: New 1-km spatial resolution climate surfaces for global land areas. International Journal of Climatology. 
  • Copper Ore Photograph Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory
  • Fire Photograph Credit:  Pavel Ševela, CC BY-SA 3.0 
  • Descriptions of LBA Destroyed Sites (except where otherwise cited): Drews, R., The End of the Bronze Age: Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe ca. 1200 B.C. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.
  • Descriptions of LBA Destroyed Sites: Cline, E. 2014. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Descriptions of LBA Destroyed Sites: Finkelstein, I. 2008. Destructions: Megiddo as a Case Study. In Exploring the Longue Duree: Essays in Honor of Lawrence E. Stager, edited by D.J. Schleon, 113-126. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
  • Descriptions of LBA Destroyed Sites: Master, D.M., L.E. Stager, and A/ Yasur-Landau. 2011. CHRONOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AT THE DAWN OF THE IRON AGE IN ASHKELON. Ägypten Und Levante / Egypt and the Levant 21: 261-80.
  • Descriptions of LBA Destroyed Sites: Stager, L.E. 1985. Merneptah, Israel and the Sea Peoples: New Light on an Old Relief. Eretz Israel 18:56-64.
  • Descriptions of LBA Destroyed Sites: Ussishkin, D. 2004. A Synopsis of the Stratigraphical, Chronological and Historical Issues. In The Renewed Archaeological Excavations at Lachish (1973-1994), vol. 1, edited by D. Ussishkin, 50-119. Tel Aviv: Emery and Claire Yass Publications in Archaeology.
  • Descriptions of LBA Destroyed Sites: Ussishkin, D. 1995. The Destruction of Megiddo at the End of the Late Bronze Age and Its Historical Significance. Tel Aviv 22:240–67.
  • "Industrial Landscape" Photograph Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory
  • Geology Map: Rabba', I. 1991 The Geology of the Al Qurayqira (Jabal Hamra Faddan) Map Sheet No. 3051 II. Amman: Geology Directorate Geological Mapping Division Bulletin 28.
  • Geology Map Vectorization: Matthew D. Howland, Brady Liss, and Tyler Tucker
  • "Archaeological Research" Photographs Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory
  • "Archaeological Research" Videos Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory
  • KEN Vectorization: Tyler Tucker and Matthew D. Howland
  • "Faynan Today" Photograph Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory

Copper ore from Faynan, Jordan. Photo Credit: ELRAP Staff.

Four copper artifacts recovered from excavations at Khirbat en-Nahas. Photo Credit: ELRAP Staff.

A piece of copper slag, recovered during ELRAP excavation. Photo Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

A section of an enormous copper slag mound on Cyprus, undergoing sampling for paleomagnetic dating by archaeologists. Photo Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

An oxhide ingot measuring about 64 cm across from a shipwreck off the Mediterranean coast, recovered by Udi Galili. Photo Credit: Anthony Tamberino, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

An ELRAP team member sampling a slag mound at Khirbat al-Jariya, Faynan, Jordan. Photo Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

An aerial view of an Iron Age copper shaft mine in the Wadi Khalid, Faynan, Jordan. Two of the shafts date to the Iron Age, while one was dug later in the Roman Period. Photo Credit: Matthew D. Howland, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

Members of the ELRAP team. Photo Credit: Thomas E. Levy

ELRAP team members. Photo Credit: Brady Liss, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

ELRAP team members setting up the balloon photography system. Photo Credit: Brady Liss, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory

A Faynan resident with his goat herd. Photo Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory.

ELRAP team members at Khirbat al-Jariya. Photo Credit: Thomas E. Levy, UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory

Yearly precipitation in Jordan, in mm/year. Regions receiving less than 100 mm of precipitation per year are typically considered hyper-arid. The region's climate may have been different in the past but was likely still hyper-arid.