African Gold: Ophir and Zambezi

Extensive references to gold and other metals in ancient texts suggest familiarity with metallurgy from the earliest times.

A lively metals trade existed at the very beginnings of civilization. It came from the knowledge bequeathed to Mankind by the gods who, the texts state, had engaged in mining and metallurgy long before Man’s appearance.

According to the Bible, Tubal-cain was an “artificer of gold and copper and iron” long before the Deluge.

The navy of Tarshish

The Old Testament recognized the land of Ophir, which was probably in Africa, as a source of gold in antiquity.

King Solomon’s ship convoys sailed down the Red Sea from Ezion-geber (present-day Elath).

“They went to Ophir and fetched gold from there.”

Solomon was unwilling to delay the construction of the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem. So he arranged with his ally, Hiram, king of Tyre, to sail a second fleet to Ophir by an alternate route: Solomon had a navy of Tarshish at sea with the navy of Hiram.

Once every 3 years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and monkeys.

The fleet of Tarshish took 3 years to complete a round trip, from loading up at Ophir. The voyage in each direction must have lasted well over a year.

This suggests a route much more roundabout than the direct route via the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean—a route around Africa. (Fig. 145)

Most scholars locate Tarshish in the western Mediterranean, possibly at or near the present Strait of Gibraltar. This would have been an ideal place from which to embark on a voyage around the African continent. Some believe that the name Tarshish meant “smeltery.”

Many biblical scholars have suggested that Ophir should be identified with present-day Rhodesia.

Z. Herman (Peoples, Seas, Ships) brought together evidence showing that the Egyptians obtained various minerals from Rhodesia in earliest times.

Mining engineers in Rhodesia as well as in South Africa have often searched for gold by seeking evidence of prehistoric mining.

How was the inland abode of Ereshkigal reached? How were the ores transported from the “heartland” to the coastal ports?

Knowing of the reliance of the Nefilim on river shipping, one should not be surprised to find a major, navigable river in the Lower World.

The tale of “Enlil and Ninlil” informed us that Enlil was banished to exile in the Lower World. When he reached the land, he had to be ferried over a wide river.

A Babylonian text dealing with the origins and destiny of Mankind referred to the river of the Lower World as the River Habur, the “River of Fishes and Birds.”

Some Sumerian. texts nicknamed the Land of Ereshkigal the “Prairie Country of HA.BUR.”

Africa has 4 mighty rivers:

1. The Nile flows north into the Mediterranean. 2-3. The Congo and Niger empty into the Atlantic Ocean on the west
2. The Zambezi flows from the heartland of Africa in an eastward semicircle until it reaches the east coast.

• It offers a wide delta with good port sites.
• It is navigable inland over a distance of hundreds of miles.

Was the Zambezi the “River of Fishes and Birds” of the Lower World?

Were its majestic Victoria Falls the waterfalls mentioned in one text as the site of Ereshkigal’s capital?

Aware that many “newly discovered” and promising mining sites in southern Africa had been mining sites in antiquity, the Anglo-American Corporation called in teams of archaeologists to examine the sites before modern earth-moving equipment swept away all traces of ancient work.

Reporting on their findings in the magazine Optima, Adrian Boshier and Peter Beaumont stated that they had come upon layers upon layers of ancient and prehistoric mining activities and human remains. Carbon dating at Yale University and at the University of Groningen (Holland) established the age of the artifacts as ranging from a plausible 2000 B.C. to an amazing 7690 B.C. Intrigued by the unexpected antiquity of the finds, the team extended its area of search. At the base of a cliff face on the precipitous western slopes of Lion Peak, a five-ton slab of hematite stone blocked access to a cavern. Charcoal remains dated the mining operations within the cavern at 20,000 to 26,000 B.C. Was mining for metals possible during the Old Stone Age? Incredulous, the scholars dug a shaft at a point where, apparently, the ancient miners had begun their operations. A charcoal sample found there was sent to the Groningen laboratory. The result was a dating of 41,250 B.C., give or take 1,600 years! South African scientists then probed prehistoric mine sites in southern Swaziland. Within the uncovered mine caverns, they found twigs, leaves, and grass, even feathers—all, presumably, brought in by the ancient miners as bedding. At the 35,000 B.C. level, they found notched bones, which “indicate man’s ability to count at that remote period.” Other remains advanced the age of the artifacts to about 50,000 B.C. Believing that the “true age of the onset of mining in Swaziland is more likely to be in the order of 70,000–80,000 B.C., the two scientists suggested that “southern Africa … could well have been in the forefront of technological invention and innovation during much of the period subsequent to 100,000 B.C.” Commenting on the discoveries, Dr. Kenneth Oakley, former head anthropologist of the Natural History Museum in London, saw quite a different significance to the finds. “It throws important light on the origins of Man … it is now possible that southern Africa was the evolutionary home of Man,” the “birthplace” of Homo sapiens. As we shall show, it was indeed there that modern Man appeared on Earth, through a chain of events triggered by the gods’ search for metals.