A copper smelting site and an ancient wall dating back to the 10th century BCE have been excavated at the Timna copper mines antiquities site in southern Israel’s Arava desert region, lending credence to the biblical story of the capture of Edom in the time of King David.

The well-fortified wall once ran for hundreds of meters and stood at least five meters (16.5 feet) tall. Many sling stones were discovered next to the edifice, which may be evidence of the great battle mentioned in Samuel 8:13.

“We have plenty of archaeological proof to determine that the miners who worked the Timna mines weren’t humble slaves, as had been assumed, but rather expert miners who oversaw the complex, demanding work by apprentices,” said Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv University, who headed the biblical archaeology team that uncovered the wall.

“Today, we are discovering more and more evidence of a concentrated, hierarchical society that interacted extensively with its neighbors, which matches up with texts from the Bible and other sources,” he added.