Interpreting Interpreter: Some Bountiful Iron

This post is a summary of the article “Finding Nephi’s Ore” by Bradley R. Larsen in Volume 63 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. All of the Interpreting Interpreter articles may be seen at https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/summaries/. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/.

A video introduction to this Interpreter article is now available on all of our social media channels, including on YouTube at https://youtube.com/shorts/bPuXDj70KB4.

The Takeaway

Larsen provides some additional insights into the potential Bountiful site at Khor Kharfot and Wadi Sayq, based on an extensive expedition to the area in 2016-17 and 2023. He details evidence that the area had a deeper lagoon and greater access to usable iron deposits than previously thought, making the area more suitable for shipbuilding.

The Summary

In this article, Bradley R. Larsen explores and challenges one of the last unfulfilled criteria that, if met, would allow the Khor Kharfot site to align with all the textual requirements for Bountiful as recorded in 1 Nephi. That criterion is the presence of the ore needed to make tools to build a ship. Though past expeditions have explored other potential ore-bearing sites outside of the immediate Khor Kharfot area, a more recent archaeological and geological excursion in 2016-17 and 2023 took a closer look at Khor Kharfot and the nearby Wadi Sayq themselves, finding iron ore float samples (loose rocks at the surface that have iron-ore content) at various places in these areas, suggesting that actual iron deposits are likely nearby. Though exactly how and in what form Nephi worked that ore remain open questions, there were a number of techniques that would’ve been available to him, particularly if Nephi’s use of the term “molten” is more expansive than the literal melting of the iron itself.

Larsen also discusses several other insights regarding the geography of the area. This includes the presence of large boulders at the bottom of the wadi (suggesting a lower sea level 7,000-8,000 years ago, with the boulders building up as sea levels rose as the wadi’s deeper outlet filled in), as well as evidence of a much wetter climate in the area’s past (which could have created a deeper lagoon in Lehi’s day than the one that currently exists).

As Larsen concludes:

“The findings of this present study go a long way to satisfy [the] final link between the scriptural account and the features on the ground at Khor Kharfot… This investigation also discovered features of Wadi Sayq and Khor Kharfot, coupled with supporting evidence, that would have affected the success and general operation of Lehi’s group in this area… Furthermore, in the possibility that Lehi was a caravan trader, Nephi undoubtedly had access to a minimal array of tools that he could have used to work the sponge iron into appropriate tools for shipbuilding. Further research is needed to locate the source of the iron-rich float samples described in this study. A promising target might be the extreme constriction about halfway up Wadi Sayq.”

The Reflection

I love that it’s possible to physically inspect an area where Nephi and Lehi could’ve plausibly walked. I was very excited in 2016 to hear that the expedition Larsen refers to was taking place, and I’m glad that we’re starting to see its fruits start to filter out in published scholarship. That Nephi likely had reliable access to iron at Khor Kharfot is a big deal, and I’ll look forward to hearing what else we can learn from sustained systematic observation of what continues to be the best candidate for Nephi’s Bountiful.

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