Triple Shaft Mine, Wadi Khalid3D ModelNoAI
This model depicts a triple shaft mine from the Wadi Khalid in the Faynan region of Southern Jordan. Shaft mines like these were often used in the Iron Age to reach copper ores untouched by previous mining endeavors. Iron Age mines typically used a twin shaft methodology (one shaft for the miner and a second shaft to haul ore to the surface) and the ores were mined using primarily stone tools. The third shaft in this particular mine was likely added in the Roman Period to prospect for remaining ores (Annotation 1). Also visible in the model is a series of steps cut into the local bedrock for easier access to the mine (Annotation 2) and the mounds of tailings from excavating the mine and separating ore from rock (Annotation 3).
Photography and model by Matthew D. Howland.
Further Reading: Hauptmann, A. (2007). The archaeometallurgy of copper: evidence from Faynan, Jordan.
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