Archaeologists from the University of Haifa have uncovered the earliest evidence of bronze production in the Southern Levant, dating back about 3,000 years, in a site that might have been part of the early Israelite kingdom. The find could offer fresh insights into the formative years of the biblical polity, suggesting advanced metallurgical knowledge and involvement in international trade networks.
A paper published in the prominent journal PLOS ONE earlier this month focuses on metal items from el-Ahwat, a site roughly 20 kilometers east of Caesarea at the edge of the Central Hill Country, or ancient Samaria, long considered by the Bible and many scholars as part of the early Israelite territory.
Through microscopic and chemical analysis of smelting residues, the researchers provided direct proof of on-site bronze production in the early part of the Iron Age (12th-10th century BCE). They also found that the copper used in the creation of the bronze alloy had been imported from the Arava desert region, matching ores from both Timna (near Eilat) and Faynan (in present-day Jordan).
“This is the first time we prove that bronze was not only used or recycled, but also produced from scratch in this region,” Dr. Tzilla Eshel, one of the paper’s authors, told The Times of Israel over the phone. “This opens up a whole new world.”
The team is still working to determine the site’s exact age, but current evidence points to the late 11th or early 10th century BCE, a period some scholars associate with the reigns of biblical David and Solomon over a powerful kingdom. Others argue that no such kingdom existed, or that it was merely a small, loosely organized chiefdom centered around Jerusalem.
The ability to produce bronze reflects far greater technological sophistication than many scholars previously believed had existed in the cradle of the early Israelites, potentially strengthening the claim that a complex and powerful political entity existed.
However, debates over the existence and strength of the so-called “United Monarchy” of David and Solomon often center on the cultural identity of sites from the period — whether 10th-century settlements with monumental architecture or signs of a sophisticated society were part of the early Israelite realm or instead belonged to one of its neighboring peoples.
Israeli archaeologists excavate the site of el-Ahwat, roughly 20 kilometers east of Caesarea in September 2024. From left: Shani Guterman from Bar Ilan University, Dr. Tzilla Eshel and Dr. Shai Bar, directors of excavation, Itzik Levin, Liel Koren, Dr. Harel Shochat, and Hanna Faraell, all from the University of Haifa. (Courtesy)
This is true in the case of the bronze production uncovered at el-Ahwat, according to Eshel.
“We now understand that a network that imported copper from the Arava to produce bronze in an urban center in the central part of the country existed,” Eshel said. “Now we have to ask ourselves how this was possible. Was there a polity organizing the network? And if so, who was the polity? One possibility is that it was the early Israelites.”
The scholar explained that what was happening in the Land of Israel in the early Iron Age remains a central archaeological enigma, as does how the Israelites emerged and became a regional power in later centuries.
“The early Iron Age marks the beginning of the Israelites,” said Eshel. “Later, we see the emergence of distinct peoples — the Judahites in the south, the Israelites in the north, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Phoenicians, the Philistines.”
“We know that in the Early Iron Age, there were many [settlement] sites in the Central Hill Country, but questions remain about who lived there, where they came from, and what they were doing,” she added. “For the first time, we can show that they were producing bronze, melting copper and tin together — whereas until now, they were often depicted as simple communities who had minimal access to metal tools.”
The Timna Valley excavations site (Erez Ben-Yosef, Tel Aviv University)
Back to el-Ahwat
For a long time, el-Ahwat was at the center of a different archaeological mystery. The late professor Adam Zertal, who excavated the site in the 1990s, claimed that the fortifications dated back to the 13th century BCE and resembled the nuraghe buildings — truncated cone-shaped stone structures — of the island of Sardinia (in modern Italy).
“At the beginning of the 1990s, Zertal found this very unique Iron Age site on the edge of the Samarian Hills, with a large wall and towers,” Eshel said. “He was not familiar with anything like it in Israel, so he started to look for parallels, and he believed he found some in the nuraghic architecture in Sardinia.”
Zertal, who died in 2015, was a prominent archaeologist who was known for controversial positions (including the identification of the so-called Joshua’s altar). He suggested that el-Ahwat was connected with the so-called “Sea Peoples,” who, according to some scholars, were active across the Mediterranean in the 13th century BCE. His theory was disputed by other scholars, including renowned archaeologist Israel Finkelstein, professor emeritus at Tel Aviv University, who today heads the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa.
Last year, a team from the University of Haifa went back to el-Ahwat and began excavating again.
“We have doubts about the nuraghic connection to the site; no pottery from Sardinia or any other connection has been found,” Eshel said.
According to the scholar, use of the site was short-lived and it probably was not occupied during the later part of the Iron Age. Some Roman pottery suggests that some of the architectural remains might date to the Roman period, about a millennium later.
The archaeological site of el-Ahwat, roughly 20 kilometers east of Caesarea, at the beginning of the 1990s. (Adam Zertal/Wikipedia)
Eshel said that in previous decades, the debate around the Sea Peoples “distracted” scholars from more important elements connected to the site.
“This is a very important site from the early Iron Age, and it tells us many things that we did not know about the period,” she said.
As Dr. Shay Bar, one of the excavators and another author of the PLOS ONE paper, began re-examining Zertal’s finds after his death to publish what was missing, he found a box of metal pieces, which were analyzed by Eshel in collaboration with fellow experts Yoav Bornstein and Gal Bermatov-Paz.
The evidence that bronze was not just used but produced was provided by a piece of slag (a smelting byproduct).
“Looking at the slag under a microscope, we could see it presents a very high content of tin that can only be explained by bronze production, because if they had been melting previously alloyed bronze to reuse it, the content of tin would have been much lower,” Eshel said.
The study found that the metal structure of some of the items suggests that production took place under varying conditions, with some smelting products cooled unevenly, and other pieces produced in a more controlled way.
The copper and bronze fragments analyzed in a study about bronze production at el-Ahwat, roughly 20 kilometers east of Caesarea, published in PLOS ONE in August 2025. (Sapir Haad)
In order to determine the origin of the copper, the researchers conducted lead isotope analysis on the artifacts, which involves comparing their isotopes to those of ores in a database of samples from all over the world, including the Arava.
At present, the source of the tin remains unknown, Eshel noted.
“We can determine the provenance of copper, but not of tin,” she said. “For the Late Bronze Age, some researchers suggest Anatolia, others Central Asia, and some even point to England. But for the Iron Age, we simply don’t know, and there’s no single method that can solve this mystery.”
Eshel said that at this stage, they do not have evidence to determine how large the bronze production was or how many people were involved, but that she hopes that the ongoing excavation will provide additional answers.
“We are hoping to identify the production area within the site,” she said.
Another goal of the excavation is to date el-Ahwat more accurately.
“There is a general problem of dating early Iron Age sites in the Central Hill Country,” Eshel said. “Many sites were excavated a long time ago, when carbon-14 dating did not exist or was much less common.”
“Regarding el-Ahwat, some olive pits were radiocarbon-dated to the late 11th/early 10th centuries BCE, but they were all found in the same pit, so they are not conclusive as one individual location is not enough to date the whole site,” she said. “We hope to find more samples suitable for radiocarbon dating across el-Ahwat.”
Who ruled the region?
The debate over whether 10th-century sophisticated sites were connected to a powerful Israelite kingdom also extends to the Arava and Fayan mines. During the Late Bronze Age (1400–1200 BCE), scholars generally agree that the mines were under Egyptian rule, reflecting the dominance of the superpower at the time. Egypt later abandoned Timna and the entire region, and by the 11th century BCE, a new authority appeared to have risen.
Tel Aviv University Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef at Timna National Park. (Courtesy)
According to Tel Aviv University’s Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef of the Central Timna Valley Project, who was not involved in Eshel’s research, it was the Edomite kingdom that operated the mines in the early Iron Age, possibly under Israelite control, as mentioned in the Bible.
“The study proves that copper and tin were alloyed to produce bronze locally in ancient Israel at this early date,” he told The Times of Israel over the phone.
He noted that in his view, a well-established Israelite kingdom did exist in the 10th century, and in light of its geographical location, el-Ahwat belonged to it.
According to Ben-Yosef, el-Ahwat’s location made it a perfect site to produce bronze.
“The site is along an important commercial road that crosses the mountains of southern Carmel, and is not far from the sea,” he said. “This makes it a perfect location to mix copper and tin since tin had to be imported via sea, while the copper came by road.”
The Timna Valley excavations site (Erez Ben-Yosef, Tel Aviv University)
The scholar explained that since it is well known that the Arava was the major copper supplier for the entire region and beyond, with the metal exported as far as Greece, it is not surprising that the copper in el-Ahwat came from the Arava.
Still, the fact that the copper came from both Fayan and Timna offers additional evidence that both sites belonged to the same organized industry.
“In my view, this further supports the theory that both Timna and Fayan were part of an overarching political entity,” Ben-Yosef said.
The researcher has long maintained that this polity was Edom.
Edomites are found in many biblical passages, and a traditional Jewish reading sees them as “cousins” of the Israelites through their ancestor Esau, the brother of Jacob. The most famous of the ancient Edomite copper mines, Timna, takes its name from Genesis 36, in which the clans of Esau are listed.
“According to the Bible, in this particular time, the Edomites were subjugated to Jerusalem,” Ben-Yosef said. “I’m not saying that we have direct proof for that, but I do think that the archeology provides an excellent background for this possibility.”
Amanda Borschel-Dan contributed to this report.
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