February
17, 2005
Controversial Dates Of Biblical Edom Reassessed
In Results From New Archeological Research
By Barry Jagoda
New archeological
research from modern-day Jordan indicates the existence of the
biblical nation of Edom at least as early as the 10th Century
B.C., the era of kings David and Solomon, and adds to the controversy
over the historical accuracy of the Old Testament. The full
results of the 2002 excavation, by a team of international scholars,
at the site of Khirat en-Nahas (or “ruins of copper,”
in Arabic), are reported in the current issue of the British
journal Antiquity.
The new study, under
the direction of University of California, San Diego, Professor
of Archeology Thomas Levy, contradicts much contemporary scholarship
which had argued that, because there had been no physical evidence,
no Edomite state had existed before the 8th Century B.C. Until
the current discovery many scholars had said the Bible’s
numerous references to ancient Israel’s interactions with
Edom could not be valid.
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Excavation
at the gate of Khirbat en-Nahas ancient Edom |
The Edomite lowlands,
home to a large copper ore zone, have been ignored by archaeologists
because of the logistical difficulties of working in this hyper-arid
region. But with an anthropological perspective, and using high
precision radiocarbon dating, this new research demonstrates
two major phases of copper production—during the 12th
to 11th centuries B.C. and the 10th to 9th centuries B.C. In
this period evidence was found of construction of massive fortifications
and industrial scale metal production activities, as well as
over 100 building complexes.
New Kingdom (19th -
20th Dynasties) ca. 1295 -1069 B.C. and Third Intermediate Period
(21st - 22nd Dynasties) ca. 1069 - 715 B.C. Egyptian scarabs
of a walking sphinx and a hunting scene provide additional evidence
of metal-working activities at the site in the period around
1200 to 900 B.C.
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Egyptian
scarabs of a walking sphinx (no. 1) and a hunting scene
(no. 2) found during the excavations at Khirbat en-Nahas |
These results push
back the beginnings of Edom 300 years earlier than the current
scholarly consensus and show the presence of complex societies,
perhaps a kingdom, much earlier than previously assumed. Previous
investigations in Edom had been carried out in the Jordanian
highland zone and had put the rise of the Edomite kingdom during
the 8th to 6th centuries B.C. But the new work presents strong
evidence for the involvement of Edom with neighboring ancient
Israel as described in the Bible.
Excavations at Khirbat
en-Nahas were part of the Jabal Hamrat Fidan Project and carried
out under the auspices of the University of California, San
Diego and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. In addition
to Professor Levy, the international team includes Russell Adams,
McMaster University, Canada; Mohammad Najjar, Department of
Antiquities, Jordan and Professor Andreas Hauptmann, German
Mining Museum. The 2002 excavation was funded by grants from
the C. Paul Johnson Family Charitable Foundation and the University
of California, San Diego.
Media Contact: Barry
Jagoda (858) 534-8567
Comment: Professor Thomas Levy
(858) 534-2765
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