Distinguishing pristine and conserved sediments in heritage sites: The Hathor temple at Timna Valley as a case study

Copper production in the Arabah Valley intensified during the Late Bronze and Iron Ages, particularly at Timna and Faynan. The Hathor Temple at Timna is especially significant for its Egyptian artifacts, including cartouches of Pharaohs from Seti I to Ramesses V (∼1300–1140 BCE), which provide key chronological markers. However, the site's complex stratigraphy—along with undocumented conservation work in the 1980s—complicates efforts to establish a clear occupational sequence for the site. To address this, we developed a method to distinguish between pristine archaeological contexts and contexts that underwent conservation using sediment morphology and mineralogy. Our analysis shows that restoration introduced carbonate-rich sand, differing from local geology, with iron oxide coatings and carbonate content serving as reliable indicators of modern disturbance. This approach enabled the secure identification of undisturbed contexts, including one that yielded a charcoal sample of the short-lived shrub Salsola baryosma, radiocarbon dated to ∼1500–1300 BCE (2σ). This new date suggests that Egyptian copper exploitation in Timna started already during the days of the 18th Dynasty.