The ancient Kingdom of Feynan, located north of Aqaba, shows evidence of human occupation stretching back 10,000 years, when people were just beginning to experiment with growing crops: it was the first place in the world where copper ore was extracted and smelted for human use.

Five thousand years ago, simple, wind-fired kilns were being used to extract pure copper for ornaments, utensils and tools. During the Bronze Age, mining and smelting techniques became more advanced, as extensive narrow galleries were dug to excavate the copper, with vertical shafts to let in air. By the Iron Age, Feynan’s copper wealth was under the control of the Edomite Kings who supplied the Assyrian Empire with copper, bringing them unprecedented economic growth.Copper mining reached it peak in Roman times, when the older mines were re-exploited using new technologies. The most obvious relict of the copper age is Byzantine, known as Khirbet Feynan - a large, rounded hill overlooking Wadi Feynan, covered with the ruins of a Byzantine settlement. Here there are three churches, indicating the size and importance of this “copper-powered” community. At the height of its prosperity Khirbet Feynan  was supplying most of the known world with copper products.