The ancient Egyptians are known for their love of bling, and excavations near the coastal city of Marsa Alam have now revealed new details as to how gold was extracted in the days of the pharaohs. Uncovering a 3,000-year-old gold mining camp and processing facility, archaeologists have gained an unprecedented glimpse into the technologies with which the precious metal was obtained, as well as the daily lives of ancient miners.
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Located at the site of Jabal Sukari in Egypt’s Red Sea Governorate, the goldworking complex was discovered during restoration works at the ancient city. As part of an ongoing effort to protect the site from modern mining activities, archaeologists spent two years excavating and documenting the architectural relics at Jabal Sukari, before relocating the entire assemblage to a safe area 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) away.
It was during this operation that researchers discovered the remains of a mining camp dating back to the Third Intermediate Period, when the Egyptian empire was mired in political and social instability. Announcing the find in a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities explained that the camp also contained a processing facility where workers would have extracted gold from marble and quartz.
“Excavations revealed a 3,000-year-old gold processing complex,” said Dr Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, according to Ahram Online. “The facility featured grinding and crushing stations, filtration and sedimentation basins, and ancient clay furnaces used for smelting the gold extracted from quartz veins,” he added.
Residential areas containing the houses of the ancient miners were also identified. Within these sectors, archaeologists uncovered workshops, places of worship, and administrative buildings, as well as bath houses dating back to the Ptolemic era, which lasted for about 300 years until the Romans conquered Egypt in the first century BCE.
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Architecture from the Roman and Islamic periods was also identified, suggesting that the site remained in use over thousands of years, while stone figures representing the Egyptian deity Bastet and the ancient Greek god Harpocrates provide yet more insights into life in the city of gold. Other artifacts found at the site include perfumes, medicines, incense, and beads made from semi-precious stones, along with 628 pottery vessels inscribed with hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek texts.
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, these findings yield a new understanding of the social, religious, and professional lives of ancient Egyptian gold miners, whose work was in high demand during the empire’s heyday. Indeed, many mummies have been discovered with golden tongues in their mouths, presumably in order to help them articulate themselves before the court of Osiris, god of the underworld.
Other famous examples of ancient Egyptian finery were found in the tomb of the so-called Golden Boy, who died as a teenager and was buried with a golden heart scarab beetle inside his chest as well as dozens of gold amulets. Then, of course, there’s Tutankhamun, whose blue and gold death mask is one of the most iconic symbols of the ancient world. What many people don’t know, however, is that beneath this shimmering outer layer lies a golden coffin that houses the Boy King’s remains.
Now, at last, we have an idea of where all that gold might have come from and how it was processed.
Source Link: 3,000-Year-Old Gold Processing Complex Discovered In Egypt