18 September 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

Mysterious Rods Found in 5,500-year-old Tomb identified to Be Earliest Drinking Straws

19 January 2022

19 January 2022

Russian archaeologists argue that the rods unearthed in an early bronze age tomb in the Caucasus are the oldest known...

12,000-Year-Old rock art may depict extinct giants of the ice age

13 March 2022

13 March 2022

South America was filled with ice age animals more than 12,000 years ago, including car-sized ground sloths, elephantine herbivores, and...

The longest inscription in Saudi Arabia turned out to belong to the last king of Babylon

25 July 2021

25 July 2021

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage has announced the discovery of a 2,550-year-old inscription etched on basalt stone...

A new Archaeological Site has been Discovered in Oman

7 July 2021

7 July 2021

Oman‘s Ministry of Heritage and Tourism recently discovered an ancient site in the town of Al Khobar, Sumail Province, Al...

3,000-Year-Old Conical Axe Believed to Have Fallen from the Sky: Possibly Made from Meteorite

27 August 2025

27 August 2025

A rare Bronze Age conical axe, over 3,000 years old and possibly crafted from meteorite metal, has been recently discovered...

Archeologists discover 2000-year-old Roman coins on the deserted Swedish island of Gotska Sandön

14 April 2023

14 April 2023

Archaeologists found 2,000-year-old Roman coins on the Swedish deserted island of Gotska Sandön. Previously, ancient Roman coins were discovered on...

Rare a Serbian Stefan Uros II Milutin Silver Grosso discovered in Bulgaria’s Medieval Rusocastro Fortress

8 September 2023

8 September 2023

Archaeologists have discovered a silver grosso minted by the Serbian king Stefan Uros II Milutin in the medieval Rusocastro fortress,...

Ancient helmets, temple ruins found at a dig in Velia southern Italy

1 February 2022

1 February 2022

A discovery that “sheds new light on the history of the mighty Greek colony” by Velia. Archaeologists in southern Italy...

Huge ancient stone murals discovered in central China: “It is an important discovery that enriches and rewrites the art history of the Song Dynasty”

10 October 2022

10 October 2022

Two stone murals from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) have been discovered in Henan Province, central China, and are the...

Ancient Funerary Stones Looted from Yemen Will Be Exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum

14 September 2023

14 September 2023

The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) has signed a historic agreement with the Yemeni government to temporarily keep and display...

3 mummified skeletons were found in Iznik, western Turkey

8 October 2021

8 October 2021

Archaeologists discovered mummified skeletons dating from the 2nd century A.D. within two sarcophagi at the Hisardere Necropolis in Bursa’s Iznik...

Millennia-Old İron Production Facilities Found in Iran

2 May 2021

2 May 2021

Archaeologists have uncovered many millennia-old iron manufacturing sites in a historical village in southcentral Iran. A local tourism official declared...

Ancient eggshell in the Northern Cape hiding 300,000 years of history

12 July 2021

12 July 2021

Evidence from an ancient eggshell has revealed important new information about the extreme climate change faced by human early ancestors....

Italian Art Police Seize Stolen Roman Statue

12 April 2021

12 April 2021

Italian police said they recovered a first-century Roman statue that was stolen in 2011 and found in an antique shop...

The World’s oldest and first swords ever discovered

11 March 2023

11 March 2023

The 5,000-year-old swords found 43 years ago during the excavations in the old mud-brick palace structure in Malatya Arslantepe Mound...