Nomads May Have Got Hold Of Roman Empire's Emerald Mines By 4th Century: Study
The new study describes a set of buildings surrounding Roman Egypt's emerald mines, located in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.
New Delhi: An International team of researchers has recently published the results of the 2020 and 2021 dig seasons at the Roman site or Sikait, in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. According to the study, the Blemmyes, which were nomadic tribes living in the region from the fourth to sixth centuries CE, may have gained control of the emerald mines until the end of mining activities.
The study, led by Joan Oller Guzman, lecturer at Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) in Spain, describes a set of buildings surrounding Roman Egypt's emerald mines, located in the Eastern Desert.
Only Place Where Emeralds Were Found Within Roman Empire
There was only one place within the Roman Empire where emeralds could be found. Hence, that area was known in Antiquity as "Mons Smaragdus", a statement issued by UAB said.
According to the statement, the excavations conducted in these two past years correspond to the latest Roman period, from the fourth to the sixth centuries CE. The excavations reveal that some of the buildings were occupied or even built by the Blemmyes.
Archaeologists have been able to document two perfectly reserved ritual sanctuaries through the work conducted at the main temple of Sikait, the Large Temple.
One of the ritual sanctuaries contained the last votive offering to have been made intact, between fourth and fifth centuries CE, according to the statement.
How Is The Discovery Important?
Joan Oller said in the statement that the discovery confirms the relevance of religion and local rituals in this late period. He said that 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.
Researchers studied one of the most impressive building complexes, the Tripartite Building. This was probably used both as a residence and as a warehouse for the emeralds extracted from the mines, the statement said.
First, researchers conducted a detailed survey of the mining areas in which up to 11 extracting areas were found surrounding Wadi Sikait. This was the dry valley in which the archaeological site is located.
Archaeologists, for the first time, were able to conduct a detailed topographic study of the two most important mines, the statement said.
One of the mines consisted of hundreds of galleries and with a depth of more than 40 metres. The researchers also determined how work was structured inside the mines.
The statement said that large-scale mining only began once the most productive veins were identified. There were small settlements, necropolises (large cemeteries belonging to an ancient city), ramps, paths, working areas, and watchtowers.
How Was The Roman Army Involved?
An important set of ancient inscriptions was documented. This allows researchers to infer information on who worked there and how the tasks were performed.
One of the inscriptions was made by a Roman legion. Oller explained that the inscription would for the first time demonstrate that the Roman army was directly involved in the exploitation of Egypt's emerald mines, "not only to defend them, but also probably to help in their construction", according to the statement.
Over 300 emerald mines within the Wadi el Gemal National Park have already been studied.
The surveying of the area allowed researchers to document thousands of new settlements, mines, infrastructures, and even a new necropolis with over 100 tombs.
This has added to the knowledge of the ancient funerary rites and social features of the community living there shortly before the site was abandoned, the statement said.
Excavation Of Small Temple In Fifth Dig Season
The archaeologists ended up with the fifth dig Season of the site, in January this year. In the new season, the researchers have focused on the excavation of what is known as the Small Temple, according to the statement.
The researchers also excavated other elements, all of which yielded part of an inscription in Greek dedicated to different Egyptian divinities.
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