Timnaʿ, copper-mining site, in the southern Negev, Israel, north of Elat. The presence of copper in Palestine is mentioned in the Bible, and archaeologists have identified remnants of ancient smelting operations at Timnaʿ, complete with crude furnaces and slag heaps, as being of the Egyptian pharaonic and Solomonic periods. The ancient mines, called Mikhrot Shelomo ha-Melekh (“King Solomon’s Mines”), are at the top of a north-south–trending mesa, about 1,000 feet (305 m) long and more than 425 feet (130 m) wide at its widest point. Scenic columnar rock formations along the mesa’s north wall show traces of the cupriferous slag.
The ore deposits currently exploited at the site are east of the ancient mines. Because of the extreme heat, especially in the summer months, the mine workers commute to the works from Elat, 15.5 miles (25 km) south.