Assessing the Circulation of Arabah Copper (Timna vs. Faynan) from the End of the Late Bronze and Iron Age in the Southern Levant by Combining Lead Isotopic Ratios with Lead Concentrations

Faynan is one of the most extraordinary copper production sites in the Near East. Recent excavations by Tom Levy and colleagues highlighted the peak of the activities at the site during Iron Age I and IIA. Most influential were the advanced methodologies which Levy employed during surveys and excavations in the region and the vast radiocarbon dating project which established extensive use of the area between the eleventh and ninth centuries BCE. The overlap which exists in lead isotopic values between ores from Timna and Faynan has prevented discerning between the two, however the use of lead concentrations in conjunction with the isotopic values provides additional insight regarding the use of Arabah copper in the Levant. In this study we examine the chemical and isotopic composition of 81 artefacts originating in well-dated contexts from 11 sites in the southern Levant. All the studied samples can be divided into three categories: (1) Samples that plot within the range of one or more of the expected ore sources (i.e., Faynan DLS, Timna Amir and Avrona, and Cyprus). Some of these can also be interpreted as mixing; (2) Samples that plot outside these ranges and can be accounted for by mixing of either Faynan DLS or Timna with a geologically younger copper ore; (3) Samples that require the addition of a third source (most likely a lead rather than a Pb-rich copper ore). In LBIII the vast majority of the samples are either from Timna or are mixtures of Sardinian lead with lead-poor copper with an Aegean/Anatolian origin. Only one sample might originate from Faynan. During Iron I most of the samples are consistent with Timna and Faynan (32/39). Six Iron I samples can be attributed to mixing between Arabah and Aegean/Anatolian sources, while a single object is inconsistent with ores from the Arabah. All Iron IIA samples (n = 9) are consistent with the Arabah ores. Iron IIB samples (n = 16), except for a single object are inconsistent with the Arabah copper sources. Thus, this study reinforces the chronological framework provided by the radiocarbon dates from the mining regions and suggests that Faynan copper was not in circulation before the late twelfth century BCE or during the eighth century BCE.