The ancient civilizations

The ancient civilizations appear to have obtained
their supplies of gold from various deposits in the
Middle East. Mines in the region of the Upper Nile
near the Red Sea and in the Nubian Desert area
supplied much of the gold used by the Egyptian
pharaohs. When these mines could no longer meet
their demands, deposits elsewhere, possibly in Yemen
and southern Africa, were exploited.
Artisans in Mesopotamia and Palestine probably
obtained their supplies from Egypt and Arabia. Recent
studies of the Mahd adh Dhahab (meaning “Cradle of
Gold”) mine in the present Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
reveal that gold, silver, and copper were recovered
from this region during the reign of King Solomon
(961-922 B.C.).

(Below)
An air view of the Mahd adh Dhahab gold mine in Saudi Arabia.
Swarms of gold-bearing quartz veins (seen as long irregular
trenches at a) have been mined for gold and silver for more than
3,000 years. Some of the veins have been followed downward to
depths as much as 300 feet. Similar quartz veins lace the hill to the
right (b), but these veins are not rich enough to mine.
Lumps of charcoal (the remains of wood fires used to smelt the
metals) were recovered from ancient slag piles and dated by scientists
of the U.S. Geological Survey using the carbon-14 method.
Some of the charcoal is as much as 3,000 years old indicating that
the mine was active during the reign of King Solomon.
The Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate worked the mine from 1939 to
1954, getting ore from below the ancient workings as well as from
an open cut (c) and from old surface dumps. The mill (far left) and
buildings were erected by the Syndicate.

Mahd adh Dhahab gold mine.