3,000-Year-Old Gold Mine

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient Egyptian gold mine in the Sukari Mountains. The gold enticed the creation of a gold-mining camp 3,000 years ago. The multi-year archaeological project didn’t stop at finding the site.

This robust gold mine meant a mining camp was created around it. When it was found, the ancient camp was moved about two miles away so it wouldn’t interfere with the modern Sukari Mine.

The remains of the ancient processing complex included a facility for extracting gold from quarts veins, grinding and crushing stations, filtration and sediment basins, and clay furnaces to smelt the gold into a pure product. It indicated a highly orchestrated mining operation.

The gold miners developed an entire residential district on the site, which included houses, workshops, temples, administrative buildings, and bathhouses. Architectural remains from both the Roman and Islamic periods were found. Evidence shows that this space was used well after its creation.

The find expands our understanding of ancient Egyptian mining techniques and adds insight into the social, religious, and economic lives of the gold miners.

Artifacts found on the site include 628 pieces of broken pottery. Many of these were inscribed with hieroglyphic, ancient Egyptian cursive, and Greek scripts, showing a linguistic diversity in the region.

Other finds included bronze coins, terracotta figurines, small stone statues of deities, pottery vessels that held such items as medicines and incense, beads made of semi-precious stones, decorative items made from seashells, and five Ptolemaic offering tables.

Crews built a full-scale replica of the mining complex on 6.3 acres located approximately 2 miles from the active mine. This center includes exhibits and lots of information about the site and the life of ancient Egyptian gold miners.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/archaeologists-discovered-a-3-000-year-old-egyptian-gold-mine-and-another-world-around-it/ar-AA1Rcq0v?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=6927488fa04e4b7fb9572d1e90909288&ei=23