28 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Roman Empire’s Emerald Mines May Have mined by Nomads as Early as the 4th Century

New research by archaeologists from the  Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the University of Warsaw suggests that Roman Empire emerald mines may have fallen into the hands of nomads as early as the 4th century.

A team of archaeologists, led by Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona researcher Joan Oller Guzmán, have been excavating at the Roman site of Sikait, in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.

Sikait the area was known in Antiquity as “Mons Smaragdus”, given that it was the only place within the Roman Empire where emeralds could be found.

Researchers’ new study shows that the Blemmyes, nomad tribes living in the region from the 4th to the 6th centuries CE, may have gained control of the emerald mines until the end of the mining activities.

Researchers documented burial ceremonies, the social organization of residents and employees, mine typology, as well as data on extraction methods and how production was registered.

The excavations correspond to the late Roman period from the 4th to the 6th centuries AD, and reveals that some of the buildings were occupied or even built by the Blemmyes tribes living in the area at the end of the 4th century AD.

Photo: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

The work conducted at the main temple of Sikait has allowed archaeologists to document two perfectly preserved ritual sanctuaries, one of which contained the last votive offerings to have been made intact between the 4th and 5th centuries AD. Researchers also excavated a building complex known as the Tripartite Building, which was probably used both as a residence and as a warehouse for the emeralds extracted from the mines.

“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”, said Joan Oller Guzmán.

Involvement of the Roman Army


The most remarkable characteristic of this mine is the documentation of an important set of ancient inscriptions which allow researchers to infer information on who worked there and how the tasks were carried out. Among these is an inscription by a Roman legion, which 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”, Oller explains.

For the first time, archaeologists were able to conduct a detailed topographic study of two primary mining sites, one of them consisting of hundreds of galleries and with a depth of more than 40 metres. The survey also allowed them to determine how work was structured inside the mines: large-scale mining only began once the most productive veins were identified.

The researchers continued to add to the documentation of emerald mines within the Wadi el Gemal National Park, of which over 300 have already been studied. In addition to the discoveries, was documented logistical infrastructures such as small settlements, necropolises, ramps, paths, working areas and watchtowers, and even a new necropolis with over 100 tombs.

This scientific collaboration was conducted jointly with the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw, Poland.

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Related Articles

Anatolia’s largest olive oil factory unearthed

14 January 2022

14 January 2022

A Roman-era olive oil factory has been unearthed during excavations in the İskenderun district of Hatay. It has been reported...

Researchers have unveiled text concealed beneath an intricate decorative layer of gold leaf on a page of the famous Blue Qur’an

19 November 2024

19 November 2024

Using multispectral imaging techniques, researchers from the Zayed National Museum have uncovered text hidden beneath an intricate layer of gold...

A tiny 2,300-year-old votive vessel presented to the gods by the poor was found in the Ancient City of Troy

27 August 2022

27 August 2022

A 3-centimeter in size tiny vessel made of clay was found in the ancient city of Troy located at Hisarlik...

Rare Viking Armlet and 2,000-Year-Old Golden Neck Ring Discovered in Sweden

20 March 2025

20 March 2025

Recently, two extraordinary archaeological finds have captivated the attention of historians and enthusiasts alike in Sweden. The first discovery, an...

An extraordinary medieval belt loop found near Kamień Pomorski in Poland

18 March 2024

18 March 2024

A late medieval belt loop for hanging keys or a bag was found near the town of Kamień Pomorski in...

In the backstage of Smyrna Ancient Theater Latrina found

3 November 2021

3 November 2021

Interesting finds unearthed during the excavations of the 2400-year-old Ancient City of Smyrna in the Aegean region of Turkey continue...

1,800-Year-Old Roman Watchtower Discovered in Croatia

3 August 2025

3 August 2025

Archaeologists in Croatia have uncovered the remains of a 1,800-year-old Roman watchtower that once stood guard along the empire’s northern...

A mysterious lead tablet with an unknown 13th-14th-century script: Might be an old Lithuanian script?

26 February 2024

26 February 2024

In the Museum of the Palace of the Grand Dukes in Vilnius, Lithuania, a mysterious lead tablet dating back to...

A Polish-Croatian team discovered Ancient Roman Temple under a Croatian 18th Century church

24 November 2022

24 November 2022

Under an 18th-century church, the Church of St. Daniel in Danilo near Sibenik, Croatia, the foundations of an ancient Roman...

Archeologists Discover Two Sphinxes measure 26 feet in length in Egyptian Ruins

21 January 2022

21 January 2022

Archeologists have discovered the remains of two huge sphinx statues, each measuring 26 feet in length, at the funerary temple...

Iron Age Warriors Bend the Swords of Their Defeated Enemies

22 April 2021

22 April 2021

Archaeologists from the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL) announced that a metal detector has discovered “one of the largest Iron Age...

Homo Sapiens are older than we previously thought

16 January 2022

16 January 2022

Researchers have discovered that Omo I skeletons, previously thought to be less than 200,000 years old, are 230,000 years old....

The ruins believed to belong to Noah’s Ark date back to 5500-3000 years BC.

26 October 2023

26 October 2023

Rock and soil samples taken from the area where the ruins of ‘Noah’s Ark‘ are believed to be located in...

A new study attributes Japanese, Korean and Turkish languages all to a common ancestor in northeastern China

11 November 2021

11 November 2021

According to a new study, modern languages ranging from Japanese and Korean to Turkish and Mongolian may have had a...

Part of The ‘Missing Link’ in Human Migration may have been Found in Kaldar Cave

3 April 2021

3 April 2021

Kaldar cave is an important archaeological site that provides evidence for the transition from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic Ages...