The “Mines of King Solomon” – Examining the Legend

Virtually everyone in mineral engineering will know of the legendary King Solomon’s Mines, an enduring puzzle down the ages. This reconstruction is contributed by Dr Franklin White. Franklin is the author of the biography of his father, Miner with a Heart of Gold (posting of 21st September 2020). This article is based largely on the background notes of his late father Prof Frank White, whose avocation was mining history. While he published articles on this topic in a Masonic journal[1], Franklin  takes responsibility for this reconstruction, including reference to ongoing archaeology.     

Solomon, third and last king of a united Hebrew state, lived from c.970 - 931 BCE. The biblical story is considered mostly legend and myth; archaeological confirmation is extremely sparse. Popular interest was piqued by 19th century novelist H. Rider Haggard in his “King Solomon’s Mines”. 

Biblical accounts describe his fabulous wealth in precious metals and jewels[2] Of his legendary temple, “he overlaid (it) with gold…; also, the whole altar … overlaid with gold”.  He made “300 shields of beaten gold, and a great throne of ivory overlaid with gold: and all of his drinking vessels were of gold”. Solomon collected 666 talents (c.800,000 oz) of gold in annual tributes! 

There is even more to Solomon of interest to mining historians than gold and precious metals. For example, the description of how stones were obtained for building his temple: 

“When the house was built, it was with stones prepared at the quarry; so that neither hammer or axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the temple, while it was being built”. 

Reference to iron suggests a technologically advanced society, while research on the period reveals an early system of commerce, significantly based on forced labour (slavery). 

It is traditionally assumed that Solomon’s wealth derived from mines he owned.  Against this stands the diversity of his mineral wealth: gold, silver, copper, its alloys with zinc and tin (brass, bronze), iron, turquoise, lapis lazuli, marble and limestone, among others. Mineralogists assert that the Hebrew state was not sufficiently mineralised to account for this. To elucidate further, one must explore the nature of his kingdom. 

Solomon served the political interests of ancient Israel well. By marrying the Pharoah’s daughter, he secured his southern boundary with Egypt. The erection of “high places” for worship of deities of Zidon, Moab and Ammon reflects other marriages (he had many) that secured cordial relations with their peoples. He extended King David’s alliance with Hiram, King of Tyre, thereby securing safe access to the Mediterranean; his shipping fleet employed Hiram’s Phoenician navigators. His use of a port at the head of the Gulf of Akaba implies territorial control on his south-east border and engagement with Arabia.  Imports were so lavish that Solomon made “silver as common as stones and cedars as common as sycamores”.  Israel thereby enjoined Mediterranean commerce and Jerusalem became a powerful city-state.

That the emperors of Egypt, Sumer and Mesopotamia were also fabulously wealthy, is confirmed by archaeology and translations of ancient texts: Pythius, a Persian with his treasure of ~85,000 oz of gold; booty captured by Emperor Trojan from the Dacians included 6 million oz of gold; and treasure of 3,850,000 oz of gold left by Byzantine Emperor Anastasius on his death; gold artifacts discovered in tombs of Ur of the Chaldees, Tutankhamen, and others.  

Egypt, 4,000 - 2,000 BCE, is considered the first civilisation to develop gold mining and refining. Upper Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia were sources.  Grave goods reveal technologies for recovery from alluvial deposits, for cleaning, refining and smelting. Gold-bearing quartz veins were mined underground, with recovery by hand milling at the surface. A quarry and gold mine are depicted in the Turin papyrus, the first known geological map (c.1,150 BCE)[3].

Arabia was another early source of gold: from the Gulf of Akaba's eastern shore including Midian and upper Yemen, the latter associated with Saba and legendary “Sheba” who traveled to Jerusalem to meet Solomon, bearing precious stones, spices and gold. Arabian origins are also likely for minerals such as lapis lazuli (“sapphire” of the Bible), malachite and azurite, marble and limestone. Coastal trade explains their use in Ur, Israel, Egypt and Mesopotamia. 

A maritime route alone could not have tapped all sources of mineral and metal wealth held by Egypt, so land routes were needed for deposits in the Arabian interior, the Caucasus, and Asia Minor. This is established for iron which, from 15th century BCE, was being converted into steel by the Chalybes, a tribe living near the Black Sea under subjugation to the Hittites, a Mesopotamian kingdom, whose steel weapons helped maintain their military dominance. 

Legendary “Ophir” has attracted controversy.  “Hiram… brought gold from Ophir” and Jehosaphat “made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold”. Under Solomon’s charter, it is said that a fleet returned bringing “gold, silver, ivory, and apes and peacocks”.  Some scholars place Ophir between Zambesi and Limpopo Rivers. Of significance is a capstone mold for casting metal bars, found at Great Zimbabwe, corresponding in shape with a hieroglyphic on Rameses’ temple at Medinet Habu, suggesting refining and transport in bar form to Egypt; a furnace and crucible have been found. There is a Mount Ophir in the Malay Peninsula (in Negri Sembilan). Fifteenth and 16th century Portuguese writers associate it with the “Golden Chersones” (Malay Archipelago); others hypothesize Tamraparni (aka Serendib, Sri Lanka now).  Some argue that “Ophir” may refer to gold refined to a particular quality, from multiple sources. 

Then there is the enigmatic “Land of Punt”, an ancient commercial centre.  Numerous Egyptian expeditions as early as 25th century BCE, show (in reliefs) tropical and semi-tropical products, along with gold.  Most scholars place Punt in the Horn of Africa, but if Punt was “Ophir”, an East African location might align with an alleged circumnavigation during Solomon’s reign that took 3 years via Tarshish (now Tarsessus, Spain), West Africa and the Cape of Good Hope.  

Biblical references to use of “obsian stone” (obsidian or volcanic glass) in Israel, a non-volcanic country, also suggests trade with areas where it naturally existed e.g., Namrud Dagh in the Armenian Mountains, Alagoz in the Caucasus, and highlands of Abyssinia.

Limestone and marble, widely used in this ancient world, were quarried in the Nile Valley. Ruins in Cyprus derive from this source, reflecting trade in these materials. Sandstone came from Lower Egypt, Sudan, and Nubia.  Serpentine was mined on the Red Sea coast and near Babylon. While quarrying was preferred, underground mining was developing: camps associated with early mining sites have yielded stone hammers, pounding stones, chisels and wedges, flint borers and planning tools; slag heaps prove that smelting was carried out.

Copper, along with brasses and bronzes (alloys with zinc and tin), was in use by 2,500 BCE.  Copper mining in Egypt’s Mount Sinai region flourished, becoming important for copper following attempts to obtain turquoise there during the reign of King Sempeses (c.3,000 BCE), and by 2,400 BCE, regular expeditions were undertaken. By Solomon’s time, these included thousands of Canaanite miners, smelters and smiths of Kenite, Edomite and Midianite tribes, with soldiers for control and protection. In addition to turquoise and semi-precious stones e.g., malachite, azurite, they returned with refined copper. Copper was also mined in the Sudan and southern Egypt (near Wadi Halfa and Wadi Hammamat); these mines were larger than at Sinai.

It is possible that Cyprus (whose name means “copper”) may have been the most productive location for copper during Solomon’s reign. Phoenicians engaged in a copper trade with that island. They also traded with the “Cassiterides” (Cornwall and the Scilly Isles and/or neighbouring France) for tin, zinc and copper used in the manufacture of bronze and brass for cultural and building applications.

Scientific controversy and public interest was aroused in 1935, when archaeologist Rabbi Nelson Glueck attributed early copper mining at Israel’s Timna Valley, to King Solomon[4].  In 2006, Thomas Levy and team excavated an ancient copper-production centre through >20 feet of slag: carbon dating placed artifacts from this site in the 10th century BCE, in line with biblical narratives on Solomon’s rule[5]. More recently, a team led by Erez Ben-Yousef, found new evidence of furnaces used to smelt copper, and remnants of clothing, ceramics, fabrics, tools, and food items, indicating a well-developed settlement[6]. Radiocarbon dating confirmed their age to 10th century BCE. However, there is no evidence that Solomon or his people built the mines. Evidence suggests the Edomites, who were frequently at war with Israel during this period. 

Conclusion: Ancient Israel had only limited mineral deposits. Aside from evidence of copper mining, which may not have been under Solomon’s control, there is no factual basis for the “King Solomon’s Mines” of myth and legend. Solomon’s was an efficient trading nation, well able to obtain bountiful supplies through diplomatic, commercial and military alliances.

Note of Caution: In linking evidence to legend, one must be alert to “confirmation bias”: a tendency to seek information consistent with existing beliefs, while ignoring inconsistent data.

 Selected References

1. White FTM. The Mines of King Solomon Part I, The Ashlar, pp 25-27 September 1964; Part II pp 6-7 December 1964; Part III pp 7-8 March 1965. University of Queensland Lodge.

2. Biblical quotations are mostly from 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles.

3. Hessler P. World's First Geologic Map Was Far Ahead of Its Time. National Geographic (on-line). July 25, 2016.

4. Maranzani B. 2013. The search continues for King Solomon’s Mines. History (on-line). Updated: April 17, 2020.

5. Levy TE, Higham T, Ramsey CB, et al. High-precision radiocarbon dating and historical biblical archaeology in southern Jordan. Proc Nat Acad Sci 2008; 105,43: 16460–65.

6. Ben-Yosef E, Shaar R, Tauxe L, et al. A New Chronological Framework for Iron Age Copper Production at Timna (Israel). Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 2012; 367:31-71.