According to historical claims, the fabled riches of King Solomon’s legendary mines, which reportedly amassed a wealth of over £2.3 trillion ($3 trillion), are considered a mythical tale. The Old Testament King is said to have extracted 500 tons of pure gold from mines that some believe still exist, along with precious metals.
However, a British expert argues that the legendary source of Solomon’s incredible wealth may have never actually existed. He suggests that Solomon was not even a king of Israel but an Egyptian pharaoh whose story has been misunderstood.
Is this the face of King Solomon? Historian Mr. Ellis argues that King Solomon was actually a Pharaoh called Shoshenq I, who ruled an empire that included Egypt and Israel at the end of the 10th Century BCE. British historian and author Ralph Ellis believes King Solomon was indeed a pharaoh called Shoshenq I who ruled Egypt and Israel at the end of the 10th Century BCE. Mr. Ellis describes King Solomon’s lost mines as ‘about as likely as taking a dip in the Fountain of Youth’ – the mythical spring that supposedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks from its waters. He delves 20 years of research into the stories of Solomon, which are told in the Old Testament books of Kings and Chronicles, in a bid to trace the fabled mines.
But Mr. Ellis suggests that the tales of staggering riches buried beneath the ground are likely a ‘gross misinterpretation’ of historical texts. He says there’s still a ‘grain of historical truth’ to the story of Solomon’s spectacular wealth, but in a far less legendary capacity.
His study, which began in 1997, ‘strongly indicates’ Solomon was not a rich king of Israel at all, but rather a feared and powerful Egyptian Pharaoh. Mr. Ellis believes neighboring rulers plundered royal tombs located in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings and presented the riches to Solomon as ‘tribute’ to prevent invasion.
Speaking about his book, ‘Solomon, Pharaoh of Egypt’, the 54-year-old historian said: ‘According to the Bible, King Solomon was staggeringly wealthy.
French archaeologist Pierre Montet uncovered a treasure trove of buried grave goods in the tombs of Pharaohs, which renowned historian Ralph Ellis believes were the historical basis for the famed King Solomon’s Mines.
The renowned historian Mr. Ellis asserts that there are significant parallels between David and Solomon, and personalities in Shoshenq from the Kingdom of Egypt.
Throughout history, several generations of theologians and archaeologists have sought the Holy Land looking for evidence of their wealth, palace, temple, and wealth without any success.
There comes a point when we have to accept that the biblical account is either fictional, or that we may be looking in the wrong location and for the wrong things.
My research suggests that there is a factual basis for the story of Solomon and his riches, but that it was heavily amended and distorted by biblical scribes.
A beautiful silver sarong, a unique part of the treasure trove found at Tanis and now on display at the Cairo Museum.
Mr. Ellis reveals intriguing details about ancient rulers rumored to have resided in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings and linked to the riches of King Solomon as ‘tribute’ to prevent invasion. He suggests the existence of a wealthy and powerful Israelite elite, as mentioned in the Bible, but they were not just ordinary Israelite kings and their capital city was not in Jerusalem.
He adds, “This is not the kind of revelation that many Israeli archaeologists will want to hear, for political and cultural reasons, but unlike classical interpretations of the biblical story, it does make sense of the confusing biblical accounts.”
He insists that parts of the stories were considered ‘unpalatable and unacceptable’ by later biblical authors, who altered their history to create a ‘purely Israelite’ heritage.
He argues if his theory is correct, then Solomon’s treasures can easily be found at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, where artifacts from that era can be seen.
Pictured is an incredible golden mask discovered at Tanis. Mr. Ellis stated that it is still a ‘grain of historical truth’ to the story of Solomon’s spectacular wealth, but in a far less legendary capacity.
In ancient tales, the legendary talisman (purported) was among the many treasures looted from the Valley of the Kings to pay tribute to Sheba I. According to the Old Testament, Solomon ruled the United Monarchy of Israel and Judea between 970 and 931 BC and accumulated 500 tons of pure gold.
Much of it was said to have come from a region called ‘Ophir’, but the Bible fails to give further details and its exact location remains a mystery.
The 1885 novel by Rider Haggard, ‘King Solomon’s Mines’, inspired countless expeditions into Africa, Arabia, and Asia but no universally accepted evidence of Ophir has ever been discovered.
Author Ralph Ellis is believed by the Egyptologists to be the true, then Solomon’s treasures can be easily found at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, where scores of artifacts from the era can be seen.
Mr. Ellis suggests links between David and Solomon and his father David were in fact pharaohs Psusennes II and his successor, Shoshenq I.
He said: ‘There are compelling parallels between David and Solomon, and Psusennes and Shoshenq.
‘Even the ancestors and family members of these ‘two’ royal dynasties appear to be exactly the same.
‘Once we accept that these Israelite kings were actually pharaohs of Lower Egypt, then all the inconsistencies in the biblical accounts are easily explainable.’
