King Solomon's Mines

Archaeologists may have discovered King Solomon's Mines. They say carbon dating at Khirbat en-Nahas, south of the Dead Sea in southern Jordan, led them to the spot. The mines were used for copper production during the time King Solomon ruled the Israelites. According to the Old Testament, Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem. Thomas Levy of the University of California San Diego is leading the researchers. His team is working in an area that the Bible identifies as the Kingdom of Edom. Sir H. Rider Haggard’s book King Solomon's Mines, sparked interest in finding the mines more than 100 years ago. Several films explored the possible location of Solomon's Mines as a mystery, suggesting treasure awaited the person who could locate them. Scientists dismissed the claim until new archaeological techniques made it possible to make a more advanced and through search. Details of the find are in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.