A Tel Aviv University (TAU) study led by Professor Erez Ben-Yosef challenges previous theories about contamination from ancient mines associated with King Solomon.
Research into copper mines in the Timna Valley in southern Israel has revealed that pollution from the mining industry in ancient times was significantly less than previously thought.
Researchers analyzed hundreds of soil samples from two copper production sites in the region and found that levels of contamination from metals such as lead and copper were extremely low and confined to the immediate vicinity of the furnaces.
This means that the environmental impact of copper mining and smelting during the Iron Age and earlier periods was minimal, and would meet current US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safety standards for residential and industrial areas.
According to Ben-Yosef, “the majority of the population in ancient times, and today, probably did not suffer health consequences related to mining.”
Despite the positive findings about ancient mining, the study acknowledges that the industry did have indirect environmental impacts, such as massive deforestation for fuel, which eventually contributed to the collapse of copper production at Timna.