5 November 2024 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

For the first time in Turkish history, a gold belt buckle depicted the face of a Göktürk Khagan found

19 December 2023

19 December 2023

A social complex (Külliye) and new artifacts from the Western Gokturk period were discovered in Kazakhstan. Among these items, a...

Mass graves of Crusaders killed in the 13th century have been discovered in Lebanon

17 September 2021

17 September 2021

From 1096 to 1291, waves of Europeans took up arms and marched into the Middle East. They hope to “take...

The “food” thousands of years ago may be the ancestor of a Turkish dessert

25 July 2021

25 July 2021

The rock paintings and kitchen materials found in the cave, which were discovered by a shepherd and emerged as a...

How Was the Life of Teenager in Ancient Times?

1 March 2021

1 March 2021

Youth is the same in every era. Not so hard to guess. How was your life as a teenager? You...

Ancient stone grenades discovered at Badaling Great Wall in Beijing

16 October 2023

16 October 2023

Chinese archaeologists have unearthed 59 ancient stone grenades from the ruins of a building in the western section of the...

The New Study Says the Iranian Plateau in the Pleistocene is a Bridge Between East and West

19 May 2021

19 May 2021

Iranian researchers say the Iranian plateau served as a migration route between East and West during the Pleistocene period, which...

Rare 400-year-old Bronze Trumpets Discovered on a shipwreck in Croatia

12 July 2024

12 July 2024

Croatian underwater archaeologists have made an extraordinary discovery off the southern coast of Istria near Cape Kamenjak. They have unearthed...

Royal Shipwreck From 17th century Is discovered Off the Coast of England

11 June 2022

11 June 2022

Off the coast of England, a royal shipwreck has been unearthed. The Gloucester, one of the most renowned ships of...

Bronze belt of Urartian warrior found in the ancient city Satala

29 May 2022

29 May 2022

During the excavations in the ancient city of Satala, located in the Kelkit district of Gümüşhane province in Turkey, a...

5000-year-old female figurines found in a Ukrainian cave

15 May 2023

15 May 2023

Archaeologists discovered five clay female figurines hidden inside a hole in a wall in Verteba Cave, in the Borshchiv Region...

1400-year-old artifacts discovered in the ancient city of Uzuncaburç (Diocaesarea)

26 January 2022

26 January 2022

During the excavations carried out in a tower in the ancient city of Uzuncaburç (Diocaesarea) in Mersin province in the...

Fossils of sea creatures 35 million years old discovered in eastern Turkey

17 August 2021

17 August 2021

In Turkey’s eastern province of Mus, a team of researchers discovered fossils of sea creatures estimated to be 35 million...

This summer, a 2,000-year-old “thermopolium” fast-food restaurant in Pompeii will reopen to the public

8 August 2021

8 August 2021

Archaeologists excavated a 2000-year-old fast food and drink counter “termopolium” on the streets of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii...

An important Gallo-Roman worship complex was discovered near Rennes, France

13 June 2022

13 June 2022

An essential Gallo-Roman worship complex was unearthed by Inrap  (National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research) archaeologists at Chapelle-des-Fougeretz (Ille-et-Vilaine), near...

Sumatran fishing crews may have found the legendary Gold Island in the Mud of the Indonesian River

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

The site of the Srivijaya kingdom, known in ancient times as the Island of Gold, may have been found by...