Khirbat Hamra Ifdan (KHI) – Faynan Copper Workshop
خربة حمرة عفدان · Khirbat Hamra Ifdan · KHI · Hamra Ifdan
Chalcolithic to Early Bronze III (3600–2000 BCE; peak EB II–III 3100–2500 BCE)·Faynan Early Bronze (Levantine copper culture) → EB III urban·🇯🇴 Aqaba Governorate, Wadi Faynan (Arabah Valley), Jordan
About
About Khirbat Hamra Ifdan (KHI) – Faynan Copper Workshop
Early Bronze Age industrial town (c.3600–2000 BCE) in Wadi Faynan's copper ore field, south Jordan — the largest pre-industrial copper production centre in the Levant. Excavated by Levy–Adams (UCSD 1999–2011), the 12 ha walled site has >10 t slag mounds, crucible-lined furnaces, ore-crusher plazas, and a 4-chamber stratified workshop sequence documenting the Chalcolithic–EB transition from arsenical copper to tin bronze. Metal exported to Egypt (Naqada) and Arad; slag volume estimates 30–50 t copper produced — basis for Faynan's later Roman mining.
Why it mattersLargest Levantine Bronze Age metallurgical archive; explains Levant urbanisation via copper economy and Egypt relationship (Faynan–Maadi–Arad route).
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01When did tin replace arsenic — local alloy experiment?
Theories
- 01KHI as proto-industrial enclave precursor to Timna/Wadi Faynan Roman mines
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. 3600 BCE (EB IA)
- Period
- Chalcolithic to Early Bronze III (3600–2000 BCE; peak EB II–III 3100–2500 BCE)
- Culture
- Faynan Early Bronze (Levantine copper culture) → EB III urban
- Builders
- Faynan metallurgical community
- Purpose
- Industrial copper smelting and casting workshop serving Levantine–Egyptian trade
- Abandoned
- c.2000 BCE (EB collapse, aridity)
- Rediscovered
- 1934 Glueck survey; excavated 1999– UCSD Faynan Project (T. Levy)
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.3200 BCE
First furnace platform built
c.2800 BCE
Peak slag mound accumulation
2000
Radiocarbon dating fixes EB chronology
On the ground
Structures & features
30.6660° N · 35.3830° E · 320 m · 2 mapped features
Furnace platform 1
furnaceEB II pit furnace with crucible lining and tuyère
30.6663° N · 35.3833° ESlag mound 3
slag heapCentral slag heap 6 m high with 4 stratified furnace floors
30.6658° N · 35.3828° E