Timna (Negev)

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Wind erosion in the Timna National Park

Timna is a national park in Israel with an archaeological mine and a neighboring modern copper mine . This was opened in 1955, closed in 1976 and reopened in 1980. The 60 km² national park is located about 25 kilometers north of the city of Eilat .

The archaeological Timna National Park with ancient copper mines and the remains of a city (Hurvat Timna) is located west of the current mine in Wadi Arabah , not far from the Gulf of Aqaba on the edge of the Negev desert.

history

In an ancient Egyptian copper mine in Timna Park

The Timna copper deposits were dated around 5500 BC. And were the subject of Egyptian mining expeditions. These Egyptian mines are the oldest metal mines in the world. The ruins of the smelting plants are also among the oldest in the world. The mines were not operated continuously but with major interruptions (seasonal mining). The ethnologist Helmut Wilsdorf makes this a. a. Lack of wood responsible. Around 4500 BC The mining of Timna went out for three millennia around 1300 BC. Chr. To be revived by the Egyptians.

About 50 BC The Romans took up the old mining industry again.

The archaeologist Nelson Glueck rediscovered the old mountain areas of Timna in 1937. During his excavations, the remains of an Egyptian Hathor temple and the bronze serpent of Timna were found, which shows traces of gilding on the head.

Timna belonged to the Egyptian Sinai mountain area .

Geological sights

Probably the most impressive and interesting rock formations in Timna National Park are the so-called Solomonic Columns . These gigantic structures, which look like columns, were created naturally through erosion and are accessible via a hiking trail. An Egyptian inscription is preserved in the upper part.

Further mushroom-shaped rock formations created by erosion can be found throughout the national park and shape the overall picture.

literature

  • Ancient copper in the Timna Valley. 4000 years of mining and smelting in the Arabah (Israel) . In: Vereinigung d. Friends of art and Kultur im Bergbau eV (Hrsg.): The cut (=  publications from the German Mining Museum Bochum ). Supplement 1, No. 20 . Glückauf, Essen 1980, ISBN 3-921533-18-X (edited by Hans Günter Conrad, Beno Rothenberg , editor Werner Kroker).
  • Helmut Wilsdorf : Cultural history of mining . An illustrated journey through times and continents. Glückauf, Essen 1987, ISBN 3-7739-0476-2 , p. 25-28 .

Web links

Commons : Timna  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Carta's Official Guide to Israel and Complete Gazetteer to all Sites in the Holy Land, Jerusalem 1993, ISBN 965-220-186-3 , p. 462 (English).

Coordinates: 29 ° 47 ′ 16 ″  N , 34 ° 59 ′ 20 ″  E