During the pre-Islamic period, metallic ores were discovered mostly in inhabited areas of the Arabian Peninsula (today’s Yemen, and Hijaz in eastern Saudi Arabia) [7,8]. At that time, Arabs knew and excavated gold, both as an ore and a metal, in the north of Sabaa, Hijaz, and Najran. They used to exchange it for silver and cooper with neighboring countries, especially Yemen [8,9]. Tools used to explore and exploit gold from the Mahd Al Zahab mine have been found in Saudi Arabia (Figure 1). During those old times, lead was used to cement stones with pillars to build citadels [10]. This activity made from Arab region, the most famous archaeological reservoir in the world.

During the Islamic period, the metallic industry flourished. Ibn Khaldun mentions that the early Muslims used silver and gold as currency for commercial exchange between the states and emirates, in addition toother precious stones [11]. They used to pay gold ransoms for POWs, whether soldiers or commanders (as in the case of the conquest of Carthage). In Egypt they found gold in Ancient Pharaonic temples [12]. They knew then how to excavate gold ore from rivers and desert sands, especially in Wadi Al Aallaki, 600 k. m.

from Aswan, as mentioned by the famous Arab geographer Al Idrissi [13]. He described how they use to prospect for gold by locating its glimmer when the moon was dimmed. They then washed sand to separate the gold. Several rivers were famous: Sifri, Tajo, and Hadra in Andalusia, and, Sakiat Wadi Al Zahab in Africa. They used to prospect for gold in deltas and river crosses. For silver, they would locate the ore in underground caves using candles until they went off for lack of oxygen. Maghrebian regions have exploited the ore mines using the rooms and pillars method (Figure 2). All Arab regions, have known, exploited and used metallic and mineral ores, using the advanced technology constituted of waterwheel to get upon the water, the support pillared for the mine rooftop, tools for crashing the ore, and for water transporting (Figure 3), especially North Africa [14-17]. Egypt was the most famous for precious stones.

A long research in the literature has permit to me to calculate (107) ancient ores mines in the Arab countries (Table 1). They distributed as following: /37/ gold, /4/ silver, /5/ cooper, /11/ lead, /15/ iron, /35/ mixed (Table 1).

The more famous of these arms are sabers, and daggers, very known in Blade Ash Sham countries (Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan).

The ancient Damask saber steel, known as Damask

Saber, or more reputedly Jaohar, has features not found in European steels [18]. It has an extraordinary mechanical properties, and exceptionally sharp cutting edge. The Damascus saber blades could be forged directly from fall meteorites at temperature of 800 ˚C, using a sophisticated thermomechanical treatment of forging and annealing, to refine the steel to its exceptional quality, giving the meteorite its fine-grained, and superplastic behavior. A recent study on the Damask saber steel, has detected a carbon nanotubes, indicating an age of 400-year age [18].

During a recent scientific project between the Pierre and Marie Curie University in France, and the Damascus University in Syria, on the meteorites in Syria, two meteorites samples, in the Aleppo museum, were analyzed in place using a portable analyzer, Niton XL3t-900 [5].

Ras shamra sample: It is a meteorite Hammer d’Ugarite, from the Bronzian age, found in Ras Shamra, in the twentieth years (Figure 4). XRF analyses results of the iron blade, at different locations, are reported in Table 2. The blade is made of iron with a significant Ni content, in the range from 1.7 wt% to 7.6 wt%, and an average value of 4.33%. This can be compared with the range of 5% -

20% (average 7%) for iron meteorites. The low values of RS result from oxidization, known to be impoverished in Ni. Thus the Ni signal is partly absorbed by the surface layer of iron oxide leading to an average apparent composition lower in Ni than the fresh metal. This phenolmenon has been checked by analyzing, with the same XRF analyser, iron meteorites with different weathering stages. Consequently it is logical to consider the correlation between the Ni/Fe and Ni/Co of iron meteorites. The range observed for RS overlaps the range observed for iron meteorites. Therefore the blade of Ras Shamra axe is made from meteoritic iron.

Umm El Marra sample: It is a meteorite alter Pendant, rusted iron (a small residual metallic iron of 25 g) (Figure 5), from the Bronzian age, found by the team led by Glenn Schwartz and Hans Curvers 2000. The analytical results are reported in Table 3. The Ni/Fe ratio is mostly the representative coefficient to checks the meteorites origin. This ratio registers a high value (0.02 to 0.1) whereas iron from ore is in a much lower range (<0.001). The results in Table 3, are therefore quite obvious: all analyses present ratios in excess of 0.0, between 0.013 - 0.035. Exempting any contaminations possibilities: addition of Ni from the surrounding to Ni free metal, or selective loss of Ni from a Ni-rich metal. The sample therefore had a high Ni/Fe ratio typical of meteoritic iron.

Damask saber (Jaoher): The chemical composition average of the Damask saber, through several analyses of some sabers from the fifteenth century, and from several positions of a saber of 1448 AC, as written on the blade of the saber (Figure 6), is presented in Table 4.

These values, especially the average ratio Ni/Fe (=0.029),

are in good similarity with the two upon analyzed meteoritic sample, from Umm El Marra, and Ras Shamra, taking in consideration the upon indicated contingencies factor of those samples. The meteoritic parental with the Damask saber is also indicated by the verse /177/ of Assafat, Surat /37/, written on the saber blade in Arabic, saying: But when it descends in their territory, then evil is the morning of those who were warned. Which descend, after this upon verse, are meteorites.