Wadi el-Sheikh: A new archaeological investigation of ancient Egyptian chert mines.
This article provides an overview of the first results from archaeological investigations at Wadi el-Sheikh in Egypt by the University of Vienna Middle Egypt Project. Chert was an important raw material used to produce tools, implements and jewelry in ancient times. Wadi el-Sheikh was exploited over thousands of years as it was probably the most important source of chert in Pharaonic civilization. The results of our new investigations that involved surveys and test excavations indicate the presence of large scale mining activities in the first half of the 3rd Millennium B.C.E. which allow for detailed insights into the amount of raw material extracted, the mining methods used and the lithic products manufactured in this area. These aspects are contextualized on the background of ancient Egyptian state-organized resource acquisition strategies and economy.
Institute for Egyptology, The University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
E Christiana
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9557-4012
EC
Köhler
Department of Anthropology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America.
Elizabeth
E
Hart
Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Michael
M
Klaunzer
D001106:Archaeology / Q000379:methods*; D000076144:Egypt, Ancient; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D008906:Mining / Q000266:history* / Q000295:instrumentation; D011791:Quartz / Q000266:history*
D011791:Quartz