Khirbat en-Nahas
خربة النحاس · Khirbet en-Nahas, Feinan Mines, Punon
Chalcolithic through Nabataean; Iron Edomite peak·Feinan Chalcolithic → EBA → Edomite Iron → Nabataean·🇯🇴 Aqaba Governorate, Wadi Arabah—Lowland of Feinan (Feynan), Jordan
About
About Khirbat en-Nahas
Feynan copper production metropolis (c.10 ha) — largest ancient copper smelting site in Jordan’s Wadi Arabah, excavated Thomas Levy & Mohammad Najjar (UCSD/DoA) since 1999. Dominant strata Iron I-II Edomite (c.1200–800 BCE) with fortress, slag mounds 4–6 m high, tuyères and crucibles, but also Chalcolithic Wadi Feynan 16, EBA Khirbat Hamra Ifdan and Nabataean Roman re-use. Hundreds of thousands of tons slag; Levantine copper for eastern Mediterranean and biblical Edom (Punon). Desert preservation exceptional.
Why it mattersLargest Levantine copper industrial site; radiocarbon anchors Edom emergence 13th–10th c. BCE and informs biblical Edom/King David chronology debate.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Was Iron Nahas pollution causing desertification? Slag isotope drift
- 02Biblical Punon = Nahas secure vs nearby Khirbat al-Jariya
Theories
- 01Levy low-chronology early Edom vs Finkelstein late Edom (eighth century) debate
- 02Tribal chiefdom vs full state interpretation of fortress
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.4500 BCE Chalcolithic Wadi Feynan; main Iron fortress c.1050–830 BCE; Nabataean re-smelting c.100 BCE
- Period
- Chalcolithic through Nabataean; Iron Edomite peak
- Culture
- Feinan Chalcolithic → EBA → Edomite Iron → Nabataean
- Builders
- Chalcolithic smiths; Edomite tribal chiefdom; Nabataean recyclers
- Purpose
- Copper valley factory-town controlling Arabah ore-source and desert edge
- Abandoned
- c.830 BCE Shoshenq(?) disruption then Nabataean reuse
- Rediscovered
- Surveyed 1934 Glueck; excavated 1999– Levy/Najjar EDFJ
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
1050 BCE
Edomite Iron I walled fortress erected over slag mounds
2008
High-precision 14C dates pinpoint early Edom 12th c. BCE, anchoring biblical chronology
On the ground
Structures & features
30.6770° N · 35.4390° E · 320 m · 3 mapped features
Iron I-II fortress
fortress50×60 m Iron Age fortress on slag heap
30.6772° N · 35.4395° ESlag Mound East
slag heap6 m high slag and furnace remains (100k tons)
30.6770° N · 35.4390° EChalcolithic WF16 horizon below
settlementChalcolithic pits beneath slag
30.6768° N · 35.4385° E
Gallery