Sites/002

This smelting site is one of the largest in Timna, measuring 27, 000 sqm (Erickson-Gini 2014; Cohen-Sasson 2017) and includes slag, furnace remains, architectural stone structures and many indicative small finds. The camp is situated in a protected valley, hidden from Wadi Timna between several hills towering to its west, south and east. Several areas of the site were surveyed and excavated Rothenberg (1967) and excavated by him in 1964 and 1966 (Rothenberg 1972). Rothenberg discovered a scarab from the reign of Ramses II (1279-1213 BCE) (Rothenberg 1990: 158) and C14 dates activity in the site between the 14th century BCE (Erickson-Gini 2014; Rothenberg 1990). These C14 results date Site 2 as the earliest major smelting camp of the period. It was located conveniently a bit more than 1.5 km away from all the mining areas on the northern and north-western cliffs and shows a clear continuation from the 14th to the 11th centuries BCE. The site also hosted major smelting operations during the Early Islamic period.