All language subtitles for Secrets.Unlocked.Series.1.Part.7.King.Solomons.Mines.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org.eng

(dramatic music)

Mastrelli: King solomon, the
bible's richest ancient ruler.

Famed for his wisdom, he
amassed a fortune without equal

In the old testament.

For centuries,
adventurers have hunted

For the source of
solomon's wealth.

Now, new evidence reveals
an industrial complex

That could have
made solomon rich

Beyond man's wildest dreams.

Did this site make solomon
the richest king in the world?

For centuries, the
mysteries of the past

Have kept their secrets.

But there are clues, cast
in gold, etched in stone,

Written in blood.

(fist thumps)

We can unlock them.

(metal rattles)

(feet tap)

This is the story behind

One of the bible's
greatest mysteries,

The source of the legendary
wealth of king solomon.

3,000 years ago, the
bible says this wise

And all-powerful leader
ruled the israelites.

(soft chanting)

According to the old testament,

Solomon's father, king david,

Conquered jerusalem and
established the kingdom

Of israel and judah.

Then, king solomon, as
david's son and heir,

Strengthened his hold
on the young nation

And filled its
coffers with treasure.

His famous temple
gleamed with gold.

Have the real king solomon's
mines finally been revealed?

(suspenseful music)

Voice of god: So king solomon
exceeded all the kings

Of the earth for
riches and for wisdom.

Thompson: Texts repeatedly say
he had lots and lots of money

And he had lots of
friends in high places

That got him valuable
resources from far and wide.

Bhayro: You get an
impression of solomon

As being this great wise king
who accrues enormous wealth

And power and influence
across many nations.

(soft music)

Mastrelli: But where did solomon
get this legendary wealth?

For centuries,
historians speculated

It came from a long lost complex
of gold and silver mines.

The idea inspired
novelist h. Rider haggard

To write the 19th century
classic, "king solomon's mines,"

Later reimagined by hollywood

As the ultimate
epic treasure hunt.

Meanwhile, actual
archaeological evidence

Of any such mines
has proved elusive.

Yosef: Many scholars think that
they are much exaggerated.

There are even
scholars that believe

That they are
completely fiction.

Mastrelli: But now a series of
incredible new discoveries

Have revealed there was a vast
network of lucrative mines

In the lands and
time of solomon.

These would have
enabled their owners

To amass riches beyond
their wildest dreams.

So, have archaeologists
found proof

That king solomon's
mines were real?

(suspenseful music)

200 miles south of jerusalem,

In the heart of the negev
desert, lies the timna valley.

When archaeologists began
excavating here in 1964,

They found countless
ancient mines

Covering nearly 30 square miles.

Yosef: We're talking about
thousands of mines.

Some of these
shafts and galleries

Go more than 40 meters
deep below the surface.

(soft dramatic music)

Mastrelli: Archaeologists
assumed these mines

Were controlled by
the ancient egyptians.

Remains found at the site, like
a temple in honor of hathor,

The egyptian goddess of
love, and a cartouche

Of king ramses iii, pointed to
a merciless egyptian outpost

At its peak in the
13th century bce.

But in 2012, that
theory was shattered.

A team led by professor
erez ben-yosef

Returned to the valley
five decades after

The first excavations in timna.

His discoveries are
rewriting the history

Of these so-called
egyptian mines.

Yosef: When I went
back to timna,

It was after decades that
nobody did any research there

Because we thought that we
know what's going on there.

Yosef: Ben-yosef decided
to look at something

That had never been
investigated before,

The byproducts of the
mining operations.

Carbon and archaeomagnetic
dating of this material

Revealed something shocking.

Yosef: We were amazed when
the results came back.

There is not a single date
from the egyptian period.

Mastrelli: Incredibly,
mining here was at its peak

Around 950 bce.

That's 200 years after
the egyptians left timna.

It was a date that captured the
archaeologist's imagination.

Yosef: Now there's no doubt that
the main phase of production

Here in timna was
the 10th century bce.

And this is the time
of david and solomon.

Mastrelli: These mines date
to the time the bible says

That solomon had amassed a
fortune of gold and silver

And used it to lavishly decorate
his capital of jerusalem

In precious metals.

Voice of god: Solomon overlaid
the house with pure gold,

And he made a partition
by the chains of gold

Before the oracle, and
he overlaid it with gold.

Bhayro: Solomon embarks
on an almost 40-year

Grand building
project in jerusalem,

Including the palace,
administrative structures,

And the temple as well.

And in doing so, all
the wealth of the nation

Is centered on him.

(dramatic music)

Mastrelli: But what happened
to all of solomon's wealth?

His gold?

His silver?

Today, holy buildings
stand where many suspect

Solomon's golden
creations once glistened

With precious metals.

Moreover, most scholars
believe his gold and silver

Was looted in the
6th century bce

When jerusalem was ransacked
by the babylonians.

Thompson: The babylonians came
in and they destroyed the city

And they took off
all the goodies,

And so we're not even in the
position to be able to expect

To find the metals
there if we wanted to

And say, "oh, this
was solomon's."

There's no chance for that now.

Mastrelli: Archaeologist
dr. Christine thompson

Has been investigating
the evidence

For king solomon's
fabled wealth.

Throughout israel,
experts have uncovered

Extraordinary hoards of silver,

Some from around the
time of solomon's reign.

Thompson: When it comes to the
source of solomon's wealth,

The bible mentions
clearly tarshish,

And there are gold supplies
in a place call ophir.

Voice of god: And
they came to ophir,

And fetched from thence
gold, 420 talents,

And brought it to king solomon.

Thompson: We know
it's somewhere south,

But the biblical text is
never quite specific enough

To give us a good
sense of where it is,

So all sorts of ideas grew
up about where it might be.

Mastrelli: And while erez
ben-yosef's discoveries

Show that these ancient
mines were at the peak

Of their productivity during
the time of king solomon,

There's a problem.

Gold and silver were
never mined here.

Instead, ben-yosef believes
these mines produced something

Even more essential
than gold or silver,

Something that
afforded king solomon

Access to all the other
precious metals he desired.

Yosef: Copper, in this
particular time in history,

Was the most important
economic resource.

This was the most
lucrative industry.

Very, very lucrative.

It's like oil of today.

Mastrelli: Is copper, a key
ingredient of bronze,

The long lost source
of solomon's riches?

And are these the real
king solomon's mines?

Two pieces of rock.

Not much to look at, right?

But 3,000 years ago, they
were transforming the world

And enriching its kings.

The small one is copper ore,
and this big one contains tin.

Combine them in a 90/10 ratio,

Bring the heat up to a cozy
2,000 degrees fahrenheit,

Then add some cooking
show magic, and bam,

You get one of these

Next, put 1,000 swords like
this into the hands of an army

And you too can watch the
stone age come to an end.

But is this how king solomon
built his awesome fortune?

With the raw material that
fueled the bronze age?

(dramatic music)

Recent discoveries in
israel's negev desert reveal

Not gold or silver minds,
but an industrial scale

Copper mining, smelting,
and production operation

That's 3,000 years old.

Archaeologist erez
ben-yosef believes this site

Is one of the keys to king
solomon's legendary wealth.

But just who exactly
was working here

During solomon's reign?

(dramatic music)

Yosef: In between the
layers of slag,

What we have found
is amazing materials

That are related to the people
working at the furnaces.

We found out what they
wear, we found cloth,

We have found textiles,
we found ropes,

We found remains of
bones of what they ate,

That reveal the story of the
people working at the furnaces.

Mastrelli: Normally
after 3,000 years,

Organic matter on an
archaeological site

Would have
disintegrated long ago.

But astonishingly,
timna's ultra-dry climate

Supplied the rare and perfect
conditions for conservation,

Even for the remains
of fruits, like dates.

Yosef: The organic
materials in timna

Are exceptionally
well preserved,

Even in comparison to other
sites located in the desert.

It looks almost like somebody
ate it yesterday, you know.

It's almost fresh.

Mastrelli: The team found
animal bones, wheat and barley

As well as countless seeds
from olives, grapes, and dates.

It's a menu of
much higher quality

That archaeologists
would expect to find,

For instance, in a
slave's quarters.

The team starts to suspect
a division of labor

And status at the site,

And that the copper smelters
enjoyed distinct privileges.

Sapir: People that were engaged
in the smelting activities

Had mainly the ribs and
the shoulder blades,

And the upper limb bone, the
better parts of the meat.

Mastrelli: In contrast, it
seems poorer quality meat

Was given to those
working in the mines,

As evidenced by
the offcuts found

In other areas of the site.

Sapir: The poor meat parts
would be, for example,

The knuckle bone of
the lower hind limb.

And we found many of these
in the area of the people

Which were engaged in the
supporting activities.

Mastrelli: A striking social
hierarchy had been discovered.

One class, of slaves
or cheap laborers

Engaged in the excruciating
work of the mines.

(dramatic string music)

The other, people
who were so valued,

They were awarded
the finest food.

(speaking foreign language)

But it's not what they
ate that reveals the most

About the smelters of timna.

Rather, it's what they wore.

(metal clanks)

Workman: We're finding fragments
of textiles like this,

But they're made from a
variety of different materials.

We find different
qualities of textiles,

Which is fabulous.

Mastrelli: So far, over 100
pieces have been brought

To the israel antiquities
authority for conservation.

(case clicks)

Remarkably, these pieces of
fabric reveal the identity

Of the elite timna smelters.

(dramatic music)

The blue and red textiles found
here have been seen before,

In ancient egyptian art
portraying captured tribesmen

From the 11th and
10th centuries bce.

Sapir: When we look at rock
drawings in egypt,

We see depictions
of the clothing,

Which is the blue and red
bands and the tassels.

We have the actual physical
evidence of this depiction,

So we can say it's not
just an artistic depiction,

It's actually representing
a real image of the period

And of the region, and
most probably the elite.

Mastrelli: But these portraits
are not of israelites.

Inscriptions found
alongside the paintings

Reveal another tribe,
one the bible says

Are the sworn enemies
of solomon's kingdom.

Sapir: We have there clothing
that are related to the elite

Of the edomite society.

Mastrelli: Rather than being
part of solomon's israel,

Timna was once part of
the kingdom of edom,

A vast expanse of land
that stretched south

From the dead sea.

And if the edomites
were the master smelters

And kings of copper at
timna, what does this do

To the story of king
solomon's mines?

(dramatic music)

Is it mere fiction?

Did solomon's riches even exist?

(tense music)

In the timna valley in israel,

Archaeologists
seem to have raised

The legend of king solomon's
mines from the dust,

Only to see it blown away.

A huge mining operation
here 3,000 years ago

Would have been highly
lucrative for its owner.

But the archaeological
evidence is clear.

These mines were not
run by king solomon,

But by his traditional
enemies, the edomites.

So, is the story of king
solomon's mines just a myth?

Bhayro: When we read about
solomon in the bible,

There are aspects of the
way the story is told,

Which are metaphorical,
which are in code.

So, we need to learn to read
the bible very, very carefully.

Mastrelli: Some
historians believe

That when solomon
ascended to power

In the land of the
israelites in 970 bce,

His kingdom may have
been much smaller

Than the bible suggests
and that he didn't own

Any of the lucrative mines
spread across the region.

Bhayro: The biblical
presentation

Of the size of
solomon's kingdom

Can come across as very large,

And the israelite kingdom
never reached that extent.

But then it becomes
important to differentiate

Between solomon's kingdom
and solomon's influence.

(soft dramatic music)

Mastrelli: Solomon may
not have had direct rule

Over the lucrative
mines at timna,

But there's evidence here that
suggests the israelite king

Was actually working with
his traditional enemies.

Archaeobotanist marc cavanagh
has been investigating

Where the edomites obtained
their high status foods.

Certainly, none of the
fare they were feasting on

Could have come
from the arid desert

Surrounding the mines.

Cavanagh: Olives don't grow
naturally here.

It's way too hot for them.

But nonetheless,
they had connections

That allowed them to bring
olives to this place.

(seeds rattling)

We've found hundreds
of barley seeds.

But, again, they
don't grow locally.

They had to have been
brought in from far off,

At least 100 or so
kilometers away.

(tense music)

Yosef: We have evidence
for connections

With the mediterranean
region, the area of jerusalem,

Tight connections
with these regions.

This gives us information

About something substantial
going on, long distance trade.

Mastrelli: Today,
some experts suspect

That solomon granted the
edomites, and their food,

Safe passage through his land
in exchange for something he

And everyone else in the
ancient world wanted: Copper.

Yosef: King solomon might have
had some control of these mines

Based on an agreement.

You know, you give
us some of the income

From the copper trade
and we won't attack you.

(singing in foreign language)

Bhayro: That's the model
of ancient empire,

And, essentially, it's
like a protection racket.

They are now under the
protection of israel,

And in order to continue
being protected by israel,

They have to pay this big, big
tax every year to jerusalem.

(soft chanting)

Mastrelli: These new
discoveries suggest

That the mines at timna
may well have made

Solomon extremely
rich, not as the owner,

But as the commercial
genius who saw

How he could profit from
other people's industry.

Bhayro: Through putting
himself at the center

Of this massive trade network,

Which would have existed
across the various empires,

And simply to take a little cut

From the traders coming
through his territory,

That would bring
him enormous wealth.

Mastrelli: It's a theory
that seems to affirm

The biblical account of a
wise and ambitious ruler.

Voice of god: And god
gave solomon wisdom

And understanding exceeding
much, and largeness of heart,

Even as the sand that
is on the seashore.

Bhayro: Solomon's characteristic
foreign policy is peace.

He's able to do all that
he can through persuasion,

Through conversation, through
diplomacy and through trade.

(dramatic music)

Mastrelli: Perhaps the biblical
story of solomon's vast empire

Was actually inspired
by his influence

Over the great trade
networks of the near east,

Including the mines
that fueled his wealth.

Yosef: King solomon's mines,

It doesn't mean that the
kingdom of solomon invaded edom

And the israelites populated
the land and worked the mines.

It means that solomon exerted
some kind of control over edom

And the richness of jerusalem
could have been attributed

To this copper trade.

Bhayro: With ancient edom, the
more resources they produce,

They increase their wealth,

And the more wealth
you can push upstairs

To the person collecting,
everybody wins.

If that is a form of
wisdom, absolutely,

He's brilliant at doing that.

(dramatic music)

Mastrelli: The discoveries in
the scorched earth of timna

Let us peer into the world
of a bronze age ruler.

It's a time so distant that
myth seems to meld with history

Just as tightly as copper

Combines with tin
to yield bronze.

Likewise, thanks to
archaeology, solomon,

The first captain of industry,

Can leap from the
pages of the bible

Into the annals of science.