Hatnub
Encyclopedia
Hatnub is/are Egyptian alabaster
(travertine) quarries and associated seasonally occupied workers' settlement in the Eastern Desert, about 65km southeast of modern el-Minya. The pottery, hieroglyph inscriptions and hieratic graffiti at the site show that it was in use intermittently from at least as early as the reign of Khufu
until the Roman period (c. 2589 BC-AD 300). The Hatnub quarry settlement, associated with three principal quarries, like those associated with gold mines in the Wadi Hammamat
and elsewhere, are characterized by drystone windbreaks, roads, causeways, cairns and stone alignments.
Hatnub was first described in modern times by Newberry and Carter in 1891. There are many inscriptions on the rocks and these were first described by Fraser and Blackden, members of this same expedition. For nearly 100 years archaeologists concentrated on finding and translating these inscriptions which illuminated much ordinary life in Ancient Egypt. Only when Shaw and his team began studying the material remains were the two integrated to give a fuller picture.
For example, no New Kingdom
inscriptions were found and it was thought that the quarries were not used during this period. Shaw and his team found New Kingdom pottery fragments showing that workers from this period must have used the quarries.
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
(travertine) quarries and associated seasonally occupied workers' settlement in the Eastern Desert, about 65km southeast of modern el-Minya. The pottery, hieroglyph inscriptions and hieratic graffiti at the site show that it was in use intermittently from at least as early as the reign of Khufu
Khufu
Khufu , also known as Cheops or, in Manetho, Suphis , was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom. He reigned from around 2589 to 2566 BC. Khufu was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty. He is generally accepted as being the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of...
until the Roman period (c. 2589 BC-AD 300). The Hatnub quarry settlement, associated with three principal quarries, like those associated with gold mines in the Wadi Hammamat
Wadi Hammamat
' is a dry river bed in Egypt's Eastern Desert, about halfway between Qusier and Qena. It was a major mining region and trade route east from the Nile Valley in ancient times, and three thousand years of rock carvings and graffiti make it a major scientific and tourist site today.-Trade...
and elsewhere, are characterized by drystone windbreaks, roads, causeways, cairns and stone alignments.
Hatnub was first described in modern times by Newberry and Carter in 1891. There are many inscriptions on the rocks and these were first described by Fraser and Blackden, members of this same expedition. For nearly 100 years archaeologists concentrated on finding and translating these inscriptions which illuminated much ordinary life in Ancient Egypt. Only when Shaw and his team began studying the material remains were the two integrated to give a fuller picture.
For example, no New Kingdom
New Kingdom
The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt....
inscriptions were found and it was thought that the quarries were not used during this period. Shaw and his team found New Kingdom pottery fragments showing that workers from this period must have used the quarries.