Emerald mining in Sikait: organization and distribution of emerald production in Roman Egypt

Abstract

The Smaragdos region, currently in the Wadi Gemal National Park (Eastern Desert, Egypt) was well known in antiquity for the emeralds that could be found there. The exploitation of emerald mines, especially in the Roman period, led to the creation of an important network of settlements linked to the procurement and commercial distribution of this semiprecious stone, which was considered highly valuable in ancient times. The overview of the emerald trade in Roman antiquity presented in this paper will focus on Sikait, the most important and best known of the mining settlements in the Eastern Desert.

Keywords

• Smaragdos
• emerald mines
• Sikait
• beryl
• emerald
• Roman Egypt