There was a brief phase of copper mining and smelting during the Middle Islamic period, evident from distinctive slag at the Khirbat Faynan and the archaeological site of Khirbat Nuqayb al-Asaymir, located 1.5Km east of Khirbat an-Nuhas.

This is the remains of a small hamlet for miners and smelters that had developed around the smelting site. It has 15 stone-built houses, a mosque, slag heaps and extensive scatters of Islamic glazed pottery, suggesting the presence of elite administrators. Coins collected from here are from the Ayyubid phase, spanning the period AD 1203 to 1235, perhaps indicating the precise date for this short-lived revival of copper production in Faynan.