From the LA Times: Copper ruins in Jordan bolster biblical record of King Solomon.
A massive copper smelting plant in the biblical land of Edom is at least three centuries older than researchers previously believed, placing it firmly in the traditional timeline of King Solomon, considered the greatest ruler of Israel, researchers reported Monday.
The existence of Solomon 3,000 years ago has been questioned by some scholars over the last two decades because of the paucity of archaeological evidence supporting the biblical record and the belief that there were no complex societies in Israel or Edom capable of building fortresses, monuments and other sophisticated public works, such as large mines, in the 10th century BC. [continue]
What has this got to do with Solomon?
An area that was later known as Edom with Edomites has been shown to have a working copper mine perhaps as far back as 9c. BCE.
Even if you accept that Solomon was an actual historical figure and in the 9th century, the mines part is from a 19th c AD. novel !