The Eastern Desert of Egypt during the Greco-Roman Period: Archaeological Reports
Excerpt
The Eastern Desert of Egypt extends over a vast area of mountains and sandy plains between the Nile and the Red Sea. Its natural riches –gold, gems and high quality stones (such as granite from Mons Claudianus, Tiberianè or Ophiatès, porphyry from Porphyritès, basanites [greywacke] from the Wâdi al-Hammâmât, etc.)– have, despite the difficulties due to harsh climatic conditions, been exploited since the Predynastic period. The Pharaohs, the Ptolemies and the Roman emperors often sent exped...
Read more
Editor's note
This book comes from a colloquium held at the Collège de France in Paris on March 30th and 31st, 2016.
Its objective was to take stock of the archaeological work of the last forty years by bringing together all the invited field actors to present a synthesis of their research on the occupation and exploitation of the Ptolemaic desert at the end of theByzantine period.
Caption cover image: The Roman fort of Dios, 2nd-3rd century AD
© J.-P. Brun
- Publisher : Collège de France
- Series : Institut des civilisations
- Place of publication : Paris
- Year of publication : 2018
- Published on OpenEdition Books : 14 septembre 2018
- Electronic EAN : 978-2-7226-0488-9
- DOI : 10.4000/books.cdf.5230
- Contents
- Presentation
- About the author
Excerpt
The Eastern Desert of Egypt extends over a vast area of mountains and sandy plains between the Nile and the Red Sea. Its natural riches –gold, gems and high quality stones (such as granite from Mons Claudianus, Tiberianè or Ophiatès, porphyry from Porphyritès, basanites [greywacke] from the Wâdi al-Hammâmât, etc.)– have, despite the difficulties due to harsh climatic conditions, been exploited since the Predynastic period. The Pharaohs, the Ptolemies and the Roman emperors often sent expeditions to extract these minerals and stones.
The desert was also a passageway for all sorts of traffic coming from countries bordering the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Expeditions and commercial activities, which started from time of the Old Kingdom, greatly expanded during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Trade focused on spices initially, fragrant resins and gems, then in the Roman period, on a wide range of exotic products including pearls, precious stones, fabrics, etc.
The archaeological sites of this region were practically inaccessible for logistical reasons until recently and they were, until now, exceptionally well preserved. Between the late 1970’s and 2012, American, English, Italian and French teams were able to explore or search hundreds of sites, significantly improving our understanding of gold mining under the Ptolemies and the Byzantine emperors, granite and porphyry quarries opened by the Roman emperors, and trade with Arabia and India through the ports of Myos Hormos and Berenike…
The text and other elements (illustrations, imported files) may be used under OpenEdition Books License, unless otherwise stated.
- Series
- On the same subject
- By the same author
-
Regio I: Alatri, Anagni, Capitulum Hernicum, Ferentino, Veroli
Sandra Gatti and Maria Romana PicutiCollège de France, 2008… -
Regio I: Avella, Atripalda, Salerno
Teresa Cinquantaquattro and Gabriella PescatoriCollège de France, 2013…
-
Regio IV: Alife, Bojano, Sepino
Stefania Capini, Patrizia Curci and Maria Romana PicutiCollège de France, 2015… -
Regio I: Fondi, Formia, Minturno, Ponza
Cristina Ferrante, Jean-Claude Lacam and Daniela QuadrinoCollège de France, 2016…
-
Regio X: Ljubljana, Vrhnika
Emanuela MurgiaCollège de France, 2018… -
Regio I: Ostie, Porto
Françoise Van HaeperenCollège de France, 2019…
-
Sandra Zanella, Jean-Pierre Brun, Martine Denoyelle et al. (ed.)Collège de France, 2017…
-
Jean-Pierre Brun, Thomas Faucher, Bérangère Redon et al. (ed.)Collège de France, 2018…
-
L’eau et ses enjeux dans les sociétés anciennes
Sarah Georgel-Debedde, Camille Hut, Valentine Martin and Stèlio Poli (ed.)2024… -
Étude exploratoire du périurbain dans les cités de l’Italie méridionale antique
Luigi Finocchietti, Natacha Lubtchansky and Claude Pouzadoux (ed.)2023…
-
Les marqueurs de tombes dans les paysages funéraires d’Italie méridionale du ve au iiie siècle av. n. è.
Fabien Bièvre-Perrin2023…
-
Sébastien Bully, Morana Čaušević-Bully and Stéphane Gioanni (ed.)2024…
-
Archéologie d’une maison forte lorraine
Gérard Giuliato (ed.)2007…
-
100 vues de vieux châteaux et autres édifices du département de la Meurthe
Gérard Giuliato2020…
-
Florian Barrière and Caroline Bertonèche (ed.)2020…
-
Production et commerce du plomb hispanique à l’époque romaine (iie siècle av. J.-C. – ier siècle apr. J.-C.)
Claude Domergue and Christian Rico (ed.)2023… -
Idée de nature et théorie de l’art dans le De architectura de Vitruve
Mireille Courrént2011…
-
Florence Gherchanoc and Noémie Villacèque (ed.)2023…
-
Monnaie et romanisation dans la Gaule du Nord et de l'Est (IIIe s. a.C./Ier s. p.C.)
Stéphane Martin2015…
-
Étude exploratoire du périurbain dans les cités de l’Italie méridionale antique
Luigi Finocchietti, Natacha Lubtchansky and Claude Pouzadoux (ed.)2023…
-
Les marqueurs de tombes dans les paysages funéraires d’Italie méridionale du ve au iiie siècle av. n. è.
Fabien Bièvre-Perrin2023…
-
Sébastien Bully, Morana Čaušević-Bully and Stéphane Gioanni (ed.)2024…
-
Gustaw Herling-Grudziński wobec dwudziestowiecznej literatury włoskiej
Magdalena Śniedziewska2019…
-
The spatiality of networks in the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean
Caroline Durand, Julie Marchand, Bérangère Redon and Pierre Schneider (ed.)2022… -
Les camélidés dans l’Antiquité (Camelus dromedarius et Camelus bactrianus)
Damien Agut-Labordère and Bérangère Redon (ed.)2020…
-
Mélanges offerts à Maria Francesca Buonaiuto
Jean-Pierre Brun (ed.)2009… -
Tannerie et moulin hydraulique
Jean-Pierre Brun and Martine Leguilloux2014…
-
Jean-Pierre Brun, Thomas Faucher, Bérangère Redon and Steven Sidebotham (ed.)2018…
-
Sandra Zanella, Jean-Pierre Brun, Martine Denoyelle, Pierre Rouillard and Stéphane Verger (ed.)2017…
-
Jean-Pierre Brun and Jean-Luc Fiches (ed.)2007…
-
Préface
…
-
L’exploitation de l’or en Égypte au début de l’époque islamique
In Julie Marchand, Thomas Faucher, Alexandre Rabot, Bérangère Redon and Florian Téreygeol, Post-Feminism, the Labour Market and Generational Exceptionalism in Canada
…
-
Introduction
In Jean-Pierre Brun, The Eastern Desert of Egypt during the Greco-Roman Period: Archaeological Reports
…
Read
The Eastern Desert of Egypt during the Greco-Roman Period: Archaeological Reports
Check if your institution has already acquired this book: authentification to OpenEdition Freemium for Books.
You can suggest to your institution to acquire one or more ebooks published on OpenEdition Books.
Do not hesitate to give them our contact information:
OpenEdition - Freemium Department
access@openedition.org
22 rue John Maynard Keynes Bat. C - F-13013 Marseille
You can also fill in the form below with, which will enable us to forward your librarians your suggestion of acquisition.
Thank you. We will forward your request to your library as soon as possible.