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Controller Of Egypt’s Emerald Mines In The Early Middle Ages Revealed To Be The Blemmyes

A team of international archaeologists led by Joan Oller Guzmán of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, joining forces with the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw, Poland. have discovered that the control over emerald mines in Egypt changed from the Roman Empire to the Blemmyes during the Early Middle Ages.

Source: Sikait Project

The team conducted excavations at the Roman site of Sikait, a set of constructions encircling Roman Egypt’s emerald mines, situated in Egypt’s Eastern Desert, to learn how emeralds were extracted and commercialized in Antiquity. Known in Antiquity as “Mons Smaragdus”, the area was the only place to find emeralds within the Roman Empire.
In the year of 2020 and 2021, the excavations corresponded to the latest Roman period from the 4th to the 6th centuries, disclosing that some of the constructions were inhabited or even erected by the Blemmyes, a nomadic tribe residing in the area at the end of the 4th century.
Archaeologists have been able to record 2 exceptionally preserved ritual sanctuaries, one of which carried the last votive offering to have been made intact (between 4th and 5th centuries CE), thanks to the operation conducted at the main temple of Sikait, the Large Temple.
“The discovery confirms the relevance of religion and local rituals in this late period, and this suggests that the exploitation of the mines may have fallen into the hands of the Blemmyes during this time, before the fall of the empire,” explains Guzmán.

Source: Sikait Project

One of the most remarkable structure complex, the Tripartite Building was also dug up, probably used both as a residence and as a warehouse for the emeralds extracted from the mines. Excavation seasons start with a thorough examination of the mining locations, where up to 11 extracting areas were discovered encircling Wadi Sikait, the dry valley where the archaeological place lied.
A detailed topography research of the two most important mines, one of which includes hundreds of galleries with a depth of more than 40 m, has been successfully carried out for the first time. Scientists were able to figure out the way work was carried out inside the mines: Identifying the most productive veins before large-scale mining.Logistical infrastructures like tiny settlements, necropolises, ramps, paths, working areas and watchtowers were among the operations. Scientists also grasped an illustration of the intricacy and intensity of the beryl extracting process to obtain emeralds.
These operations included logistical infrastructures such as small settlements, necropolises, ramps, paths, working areas and watchtowers. A demonstration of the complexity and intensity of the processes needed to extract beryl, the mineral from which emeralds are obtained.

The documentation of an essential set of ancient inscriptions might be the most exceptional feature of this mine, because it enabled archaeologists to infer information on who operated there and how the tasks were conducted.
A Roman legion inscription is among the set, for the first time depicts that the Roman army was directly related to the exploitation of Egypt’s emerald mines “not only to defend them, but also probably to help in their construction”, says Guzmán. Documentation of emerald mines within the Wadi el Gemal National Park was also added, including over 300 researched.
The investigation of the location, combined with the findings, has directed experts to file couples of new settlements, mines, infrastructures and even a new necropolis with over 100 tombs, adding to the comprehension of ancient funerary rites and social aspects of the occupying community, briefly prior to the period when the site was forsaken.
Scientists believe that the research is a breakthrough in comprehending the extraction and commercialization process of emeralds in the Graeco-Roman and Byzantine periods. In early 2022, the 5th excavation of the location was finished.

The main concentration of the new season has been the dig of what is known as the Small Temple, which, among other elements, has yielded part of an inscription in Greek dedicated to different Egyptian divinities. The team will publish the results of their most recent season before the end of this year.
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