Home » categories » diamonds » rare book library » Williams: Diamond Mines South Africa I

Ch. 2: The Traditional Ophir Land

Ch. 2: The Traditional Ophir Land Page of 449 Ch. 2: The Traditional Ophir Land Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
74 THE DIAMOND MINES OF SOUTH AFRICA
Without entering into the varied researches supporting the
views of Schlechter, Keane, and other leading authorities, it may
be observed that the main conclusions pithily summarized by
Professor Keane are strongly backed. Ophir was not a source of gold, but its dis­tributer, as the port on the south coast of Arabia through which the flow of gold came by sea. It is identified with the Moscha or Portus Nobilis of the Greek and Roman geographers.
Havilah was the land whence came the gold of Ophir, a great tract in southeastern Africa, lying
north of the Limpopo and largely identified with the range of
the modern Rhodesia. The ancient gold workings of this region
were first opened by
the South Arabian
Himyarites, who
were followed (but
not before the time
of Solomon) by the
Phoenicians, and
these very much later
by the Moslem
Arabs. Tharshish
was the outlet for
the precious metals
and stones of Havi-
lah, and stood probably on the present site of Sofala. The Queen of Sheba came by land and not over the seas to the court of Solomon. Her kingdom was Yemen, the Arabia Felix of the ancients.
Ch. 2: The Traditional Ophir Land Page of 449 Ch. 2: The Traditional Ophir Land
Suggested Illustrations
Other Chapters you may find useful
Other Books on this topic
bullet Tag
This Page