This book successfully connects archaeology and archaeometallurgy with geoscience and metallurgy. It addresses topics concerning ore deposits, archaeological field evidence of early metal production, and basic chemical-physical principles, as well as experimental ethnographic works on a low handicraft base and artisanal metal production to help readers better understand what happened in antiquity. The book is chiefly intended for scholars and students engaged in interdisciplinary work.

The book deals with the ancient exploitation and production of copper, exemplified by the mining district of Faynan, Jordan. It is an interdisciplinary study that comprises (mining-) archaeological and scientific aspects. The development of organizational patterns and technological improvements of mining and smelting through the ages (5th millennium BC to Roman Byzantine period), in a specific mining region, is discussed.