Waste Not, Want Not: Exploring the Archaeological Significance of a Copper Production Waste Mound at Khirbat al-Jariya, Faynan, Jordan

Summary

Recent excavations by the Edom Lowlands Regional Archaeology Project at Khirbat al-Jariya (KAJ), an Iron Age (ca. 1200-586 BCE) copper smelting center in Jordan’s Faynan region, aimed to explore the site’s rich metallurgical history. KAJ is characterized by architectural features and large slag (smelting waste byproduct) mounds visible on the surface, attesting to its significance as a copper production site. These renewed excavations investigated the abundant metallurgical remains by probing into one such slag mound. This small sounding, a 1x1 meter sample excavated to bedrock, provided a complete picture of smelting activity over the site’s history. Furthermore, excavators collected slag samples from stratigraphically controlled contexts within the probe and other slag mounds. These samples were subsequently subjected to elemental analysis by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) to supplement the archaeological record. By combining XRF results with the chronological framework provided by archaeological excavation, it’s possible to diachronically compare elemental concentrations within the slag samples. Together, the excavated material and analytical results (here also building on findings from the 2006 excavations) provide the necessary foundations to reconstruct the metallurgical narrative of KAJ. Thus, this paper presents the results of recent field and laboratory work along with their implications concerning copper production at KAJ.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

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