The Queen of Sheba Gold Mines

1 Kings 10:1-13 and 2 Chronicles 9:1-12 recounts how the Queen of Sheba came to visit King Solomon to test him with very hard questions. We are told that she was impressed not only with his wisdom but also all of his wealth. She was so impresses that she left him with a half-a-ton of Gold. In return Solomon gave her "all she desired."

Until recently the source of the Queen's gold was unknown. Now an entrance to a gold mine has been discovered along with the ruins of a temple. The Daily Mail reported the following.

The entrance lay concealed behind a 20ft stone or slab carved with a sun and crescent moon, the 'calling card of the land of Sheba', according to excavation leader Louise Schofield. 

Ms Schofield told the Observer: 'I crawled beneath the stone – wary of a 9ft cobra I was warned lives here – and came face to face with an inscription in Sabaean, the language that the Queen of Sheba would have spoken'

Sheba was an 8th century BC civilization that lasted a millennium, prospering through trade in incense spices with Jerusalem and the Roman Empire. Its legendary Queen is chronicled in both the Koran and the Bible, which describes her visiting Solomon 'with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold and precious stones'. The Biblical account says the Queen was 'overwhelmed' by Solomon's wisdom and the happiness of his kingdom and, as she departed, 'she gave the king 120 talents of gold' - equal to about four-and-a-half tons.Although it is not mentioned in the Bible, legend has it that Solomon also wooed the Queen and that descendants of their child, Menelik, became the kings of Abyssinia.

 The mines will be excavated as soon as the funds can be raised. You can read the whole article here. For those who don't know, this story provides the connection between Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Church's claim to be in possession of the Ark of the Covenant.