Chert for the Masses… Mining Archaeology in Wadi el-Sheikh. A Preliminary Report

Authors

  • Michael Klaunzer Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum, Forschungsbereich Montanarchäologie, Am Bergbaumuseum 31, 44791 Bochum, Germany
  • Felix Mustar Ruhr-University Bochum, Am Bergbaumuseum 31, 44791 Bochum, Germany
  • E. Christiana Köhler University of Vienna, Institute for Egyptology, Franz-Klein-Gasse 1, 1190 Vienna, Austria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46586/metalla.v23.2017.i1.3-18

Keywords:

Ancient Egypt, opencast workings, deep mine workings, knapping places

Abstract

The chert mines of Wadi el-Sheikh in Middle-Egypt have been well known for over 100 years now; however, archaeological research on this important raw material source is still lacking. In 2014 and 2015 the Vienna Middle Egypt Project of the University of Vienna in  cooperation with the University of Virginia and the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum conducted surveys and archaeological  excavations in Wadi el-Sheikh. In this article new results concerning chert mining, mining technology and the organization of labor in  this desert valley are described.

Published

2017-08-31

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 1 (2017): METALLA

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2017 Michael Klaunzer, Felix Mustar, E. Christiana Köhler

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.