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Most metals and precious stones used in the manufacture of tools, pots and ornaments were extracted from the Eastern and Western deserts of Egypt. Mining was an exhausting and deadly activity. Because most of the mines were in the desert, workers' living conditions were harsh; mining was therefore practiced seasonally. Mobility to land mines was unavoidable. The slow donkey convoys were out of reach and needed massive troops to protect them from bandits

 The old mines were small spaces, not expanded, and supported by wooden beams, as in the present. The miners had to lie on their stomachs, beating their shovels all day long. Workers were usually hired with food and drink, and were not allowed to keep a piece of gold or jewelery; however small. In the Roman era, slaves who were prisoners of war or prisoners in crimes were used to work in mines. Poor families, with their children, also worked in mines. The children crawled in the small spaces to take out the rock crusher.

 Copper and gold were the two most widely mined minerals in Egypt. Iron sometimes appeared in its meteoric form; however, it was not extracted from the mines in the era of the ancient Egyptians. Tin was used with copper in the bronze industry; but it was not mined in Egypt, but was imported from Syria (Syria): for that purpose.

 King Zoser took over the area of ​​the "cave cave"; copper ore was extracted from its mines at the beginning of the third family. In the Middle Kingdom, copper ore became available in the eastern desert of Egypt. By the 18th Dynasty, the Egyptians controlled copper mines in the Sinai, Timna and other sites in Wadi Araba. Copper ore contains 10% to 12% copper. The finding of the Poatac (smelter) at the mines indicates that the extraction of the metal involved in-situ purifications. Most of the gold mines were found in the Eastern Desert and in Nubia. The gold mines were exploited in Wadi Hammamet and Wadi al-Alaqi during the reign of Ramses. The running water was also a natural source of subterranean decisions. The gold was extracted from this source by washing the lighter grains of sand; then melting the remaining gold granules.

 Observers of the gold miners were aware of the gold-bearing quartz rocks, and they only mined for a justified existence. After collecting the gold-bearing rocks, they were heated to become fragile. Then the women crushed the stone in Ahwan (Collect Hoon) and Mills (Magarach). The crushed stone was washed over basalt tables with ecclesiastical surfaces (engraved with lines); or over tanned sheepskin; the lighter grains of sand were scattered; gold grains remained stable in the grooves. This method was used only in places close to deep wells. In contrast, the rocks were transported to a wash site on the Nile.

 Semi-precious stones were also extracted from Egyptian mines. Amethyst stone, which is in purple and violet color, was extracted from mines in the Eastern Desert near Aswan; and in Western Sahara, near Abu Simbel. Also from the deserts, came the red agate: dark brown and light brown; and another type of agate known as "white agate", which is semi-transparent and light green in color. The light blue feldspar was extracted from the eastern Egyptian desert mines, and the turquoise was extracted from mines close to the servant's tassel. Ancient Egyptians dug huge sandstone pavilions, supported by pillars carved with rock, at the entrance. During the rainy winter, the water was directed towards the mine; to extract the turquoise stones. The site was used as such until 1000 BC.

 Ancient Egyptians also extracted salt from the mines in Western Sahara, or from steaming ponds on the Mediterranean coast. Nitron, a sodium bicarbonate, was an important material; it was used for mummification, glassmaking and food preservation. Al-Natroun was extracted from its sources in Wadi Al-Natroun area between Cairo and Alexandria. The "Southern Natron" was the source of the Cape. Alum, used in dyeing textiles, was extracted from the oases of the oases of the Dakhla and Al-Kharja in the Western Desert. Lead Mountain was the source of Galena (lead sulphide); the lead compound was used in cosmetics

Tags: Sciences

egyptominia

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