GEM STONES IN ANCIENT EGYPT

New Kingdom faience Broad collar from Amarna, 1370 BC

James Harrell of the University of Toledo wrote: “The gemstones of ancient Egypt, broadly defined, include all rocks, minerals, and biogenic materials used for jewelry (beads, pendants, ring stones, and cloisonné inlays), amulets, seals, and other small decorative items (figurines, cosmetic vessels, and inlays in furniture and sculpture). At least 38 gemstone varieties were used by the Egyptians, but ancient mines in Egypt are known for only nine of these. Some of the gemstones were imported from sources in Asia while others certainly came from undiscovered Egyptian mines. [Source:James Harrell, University of Toledo, OH, Environmental Sciences, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]

The ancient Egyptian word most closely matching “gemstones” is aAt (aat), which was a general term for “mineral,” but often with implications of value and rarity. Relatively few gemstones have known mines in Egypt. The use of other gemstone varieties is occasionally claimed in the Egyptological literature, but these are unconfirmed identifications. It is conventional to refer to the extraction sites for both gemstones and metals as “mines,” and those for other kinds of stones (i.e., building, ornamental, and utilitarian) as “quarries,” though there is no fundamental physical difference between the two groups of workings.

“Ancient gemstones are usually identified on the basis of their macroscopic attributes (e.g., color, diaphaneity, luster, cleavage or fracture type, inclusions, and crystal form), and when individual loose stones can be examined, standard non- destructive gemological tests (e.g., refractive index, specific gravity, spectroscopic pattern, and polariscope response, among others) can be an effective means of recognition. Mohs scratch hardness and reaction to dilute acid, both only mildly damaging, can also provide useful information, but certain identification sometimes requires destructive analytical tests for mineralogy and chemistry. Many gemstones lack rigorous or universally accepted definitions and so there can be some confusion over their names. A more serious problem, however, is the many misidentifications published by scholars who are not well versed in gem recognition. The naming conventions employed follow those of Klein and Dutrow, the latest edition of a long-used and widely respected mineralogy reference, and are consistent with the two most comprehensive and authoritative works on Egyptian gemstones: Andrews and Aston et al..

“Terminology and correct identification are not the only difficulties in a survey of ancient Egyptian gemstones. Nearly all objects with gemstones come from tombs, most spectacularly the royal and elite private ones, but these are only the rare burials that were overlooked or incompletely plundered by thieves. Also, whereas the rock and mineral varieties do not deteriorate over time, the biogenic ones do and so may not survive in the archaeological record. Thus, the material now preserved in museum collections is not fully representative of gemstone use for all periods and especially for all social classes. Most of ancient Egypt’s tombs were robbed in antiquity, and the principal items sought were metals—especially gold—and gemstones. The metals were melted down and recast, but the gemstones were merely reused, although perhaps in a recut form. Consequently, a significant portion of the gemstones used in any given period was probably recycled from earlier times.”

Kinds of Gemstones Found in Ancient Egypt

Tutankhamun pectoral

James Harrell of the University of Toledo wrote: “With the exceptions of precious emerald and sapphire, the materials are, at best, what today would be called “semi-precious” stones. The ancient Egyptians chose gemstones not only for their visual effect in a particular application, but also for the symbolic or magical significance of their color. Red (in carnelian, garnet, and some jasper) connoted life-sustaining blood, power and vitality, and the sun; green (in amazonite, some chalcedony, some jasper, malachite, and some turquoise) signified rebirth in the afterlife, fertility, joy, and lush vegetation; dark blue (in lapis lazuli) represented the all-embracing and protective night sky; and light blue (in some turquoise) symbolized the primordial waters and daytime sky. Funerary amulets prescribed in the Book of the Dead sometimes called for specific stones with characteristic colors, e.g., shrt (probably green jasper) for “heart-shaped” amulets in Chapter 29B; nmHf (green jasper) for “heart scarab” amulets in Chapter 30B; xnmt (red jasper) for “girdle-tie-of-Isis” amulets in Chapter 156; and nSmt (green amazonite) for “papyrus scepter” amulets in Chapters 159 - 160. Additional common associations between amulet and stone type are sub-metallic hematite for the “headrest” amulet, and obsidian for the “two fingers” amulet. Similarly colored materials were sometimes substituted for these gemstones. [Source: James Harrell, University of Toledo, OH, Environmental Sciences, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]

“Glass with red, green, and blue colors was widely used to imitate gemstones beginning in the 18th Dynasty. Also at this time, imitation carnelian was made by setting colorless rock crystal over a red paste. Colored faience (glazed composition) was another inexpensive substitute for gemstones used from the late Predynastic Period onward. These practices became so prevalent that ancient texts mentioning some of the more valuable gemstones (e.g., amazonite, lapis lazuli, and turquoise) sometimes appended the word mAa (maa), meaning “true,” to indicate their authenticity. The color of a material was, nevertheless, often more important than its preciousness, as is evidenced by the combination of cheap glass and costly gemstones in much of the royal and elite private jewelry from the Middle Kingdom onward.

“The most commonly used gemstone in Dynastic Egypt was carnelian, with amazonite, amethyst, red jasper, lapis lazuli, and turquoise next in abundance. The other gemstones were rarely used in comparison. Amethyst and carnelian continued to be among the principal gemstones of Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, but changing tastes, new domestic discoveries, and imports from distant lands brought another group of gemstones into popularity, including aquamarine, common agate, coral, emerald, red garnet, pearl, peridot, onyx, sapphire, and sardonyx. Engraved colored transparent gemstones (aquamarine, red garnet, and sapphire, among others) and cameos in onyx and sardonyx were especially fashionable during the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, and Alexandria was one of the main centers where such objects were produced for both local consumption and export to the larger Mediterranean market. The Alexandrian gem trade left its influence on the Greek Septuagint Bible, the earliest surviving version of the Old Testament. This was translated from the original Hebrew in Alexandria during the Ptolemaic Period and the Septuagint’s many references to gemstones reflect to some degree what was then popular in this Mediterranean emporium.

“The most frequently mentioned gemstones in Dynastic texts, often together and in connection with other precious materials, are amazonite, carnelian, lapis lazuli, and turquoise. The colors of these gemstones are certainly partly responsible for the high esteem in which they were held, but they were difficult to obtain and so this also contributed to their value.”

Emeralds in Ancient Egypt

20120217-Tutankhamun Falcon1.jpg
Tutankhamun Falcon Emeralds have been known for 5500 years. The earliest stones were mined from the legendary Cleopatra's Mines in the Sikait-Zabara region of Egypt. Until the Europeans discovered the New World it was the only source of emeralds. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all worked these mines. Unlike diamonds or rubies, emeralds were mentioned in the Bible: the forth foundation of the pearly gates is was encrusted with emeralds and one of the twelve stones on breastplate of Judgement is an emerald.

Wadi Sikait in Egypt is the home of the Emerald City, the source of all of the emeralds in ancient Rome. Described by Pliny the Elder and rediscovered in 1816, it contains the ruins and foundations of temples, graves and mine shafts where “Egyptian” and “Ethiopian” stones were mined. The ruins spread out over a large area. Particularly interesting is a large temple with a Doric facade cut into a mountain and buildings with subterranean rooms and tunnels. Some of the shafts go directly into Emerald Mountain. Other spiral downward into the earth.

Sources of Ancient Egyptian Gemstones

James Harrell of the University of Toledo wrote: “Turquoise came from the Sinai Peninsula’s Serabit el-Khadim and Wadi Maghara mines and lapis lazuli was brought from the Badakhshan region of northeast Afghanistan and possibly also adjacent areas in Pakistan. Certainly in the 18th Dynasty as well as in the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, amazonite came from Egyptian mines on the Eastern Desert’s Gebel Migif and Gebel Hafafit, and workings from other periods may yet be discovered in this region where more amazonite deposits are known . Nevertheless, amazonite is a relatively scarce gemstone in Egypt and so it has been suggested that some of it was imported at great expense from the ancient mine at Zuma in southeast Libya’s Eghei Mountains, although there is no archaeological evidence to support this. [Source: James Harrell, University of Toledo, OH, Environmental Sciences, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]

“In addition to amazonite and turquoise, ancient Egyptian mines are known for carnelian and the common and green chalcedonies at Stela Ridge, amethyst at Abu Diyeiba and Wadi el-Hudi , emerald at the six Mons Smaragdus mines, and peridot on the Red Sea island of Zabargad. Most of the other rock and mineral gemstones (common agate, common calcite and Iceland spar, red garnet, hematite, jasper, malachite, common microcline, muscovite mica, milky quartz, rock crystal, and silicified wood) are known to occur in the Eastern Desert or Sinai and these regions are probably where they were obtained. Egypt’s Western Desert is another possible source for silicified wood and it certainly supplied the famous Libyan desert glass. For the latter, the only known example of its use is for the scarab at the center of a famous pectoral belonging to king Tutankhamen.

Zabargad

“A few of the Dynastic rock and mineral gemstones (nephrite, onyx, and sardonyx) are not known to occur in Egypt, but it is conceivable that they are present and their deposits have merely been overlooked. Coral, pearl, mother-of-pearl and other mollusc shells, and tortoise shell undoubtedly came from the Mediterranean or Red Sea, and ostrich shell and hippopotamus ivory would have come from Egypt’s Eastern Desert and Nile Valley, respectively. In addition to lapis lazuli, gemstones imported from distant sources included amber probably from the Baltic region of northern Europe, obsidian and elephant ivory from the southern Red Sea region, and, during the late Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, a variety of gemstones (mostly aquamarine, red garnet, onyx, sapphire, and sardonyx) from India and Sri Lanka.

“The source of ancient Egypt’s most popular gemstone, carnelian, is something of a mystery. The only known mine is the aforementioned Stela Ridge in Egypt’s Nubian Desert. This site, which also supplied the common and green chalcedonies, but not amethyst as commonly reported, dates mainly to the Middle Kingdom but also bears faint traces of Old Kingdom and Roman activity. Where the Egyptians obtained the prodigious amounts of carnelian used both before and after the Middle Kingdom is unknown. It is often repeated in the Egyptological literature that carnelian pebbles are commonly found in the wadi gravels of the Eastern Desert, but this is not true. The claim is based on an early misidentification of ordinary (non-chalcedonic) quartz pebbles with reddish (iron oxide) coloring as carnelian. However, this gemstone, along with common agate and sardonyx, is found in the Nile terrace gravels in the Fourth Cataract region of northern Sudan and so may have been imported from there, but similar deposits have also been reported along the Nile in Nubia near Wadi Halfa. Given that lapis lazuli was able to travel from Afghanistan to Egypt as early as the late Predynastic Period, it is conceivable that during the Dynastic Period some carnelian came from distant Asian sources such as the famous carnelian deposits in western India’s Gujarat state, which are known to have been exploited since the third millennium B.C.. The Fourth Cataract is also a possible source for the red garnet used by the Egyptians, as this area has abundant gem-quality crystals in the placer deposits of the seasonally dry Nile River channels. Although rocks with red garnet are relatively common in the Eastern Desert and Sinai, the crystals found so far are all of either poor quality or minute size.”

Mining Gemstones in Ancient Egypt

Forsterite-Olivine from Zabargad

James Harrell of the University of Toledo wrote: “The extraction technologies employed at ancient Egyptian gemstone mines are essentially the same as those at the ornamental stone quarries, but the small crystal masses and thin veins where gemstones are typically found resulted in generally smaller workings. Both hand-held and hafted stone tools known as pounders or mauls were used to hack out pieces of gem-bearing bedrock. Although copper and, later, bronze picks and chisels were available during the Dynastic Period, they were too soft to work the hard igneous and metamorphic rocks in which most gemstones occur, and for these the stone tools were superior. Stone tools were largely replaced by “iron” ones (actually low-grade steel) toward the end of the Late Period. Mine excavations were usually surface pits and trenches, but those for emerald and turquoise also involved underground excavations like those found in the ancient gold workings.[Source: James Harrell, University of Toledo, OH, Environmental Sciences, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]

“The raw gemstones, always occurring in relatively small pieces, would have been carried from the mines on the backs of men or pack animals (probably donkeys). They were brought to workshops where they were laboriously fashioned into their many forms, with beads being the most common. During the Dynastic Period, the Egyptians had no abrasive material harder than the hardest gemstones they worked, which were the many quartz varieties with a Mohs hardness of 7. It is often claimed that the Egyptians used emery (a granular combination of corundum and iron oxide, Mohs = 8-9) as an abrasive, but there is no credible archaeological evidence for this. What the Egyptians surely did use, and which they had in great abundance, was silica (SiO2) in its many forms, most notably: massive microcrystalline quartz (chert or flint), massive macrocrystalline quartz (silicified sandstone or quartzite), and loose macrocrystalline quartz (sand). Any material can be cut, ground, and polished by the material itself—the process simply takes longer than when a harder abrasive is used. Silica was thus a sufficiently effective abrasive for the Dynastic gemstones. During the late Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, diamond (Mohs = 10) and corundum (Mohs = 9) were almost certainly imported into Egypt from India and used as abrasives, especially for the harder gemstones like emerald (Mohs = 7.5-8) and sapphire (blue corundum). Emery from Mediterranean or Eastern sources may also have been employed as an abrasive at this time.”

Drilling, Grinding Carving and Polishing Gemstones in Ancient Egypt

James Harrell of the University of Toledo wrote: “Raw pieces of gemstone were first roughly shaped by a combination of chipping and grinding, the latter probably done on a slab of silicified sandstone. Hand-powered drills were used to pierce beads and other objects carved from gemstones. Such drills were equipped with a bit consisting of either a chip of chert or a copper/bronze wire that was used together with fine quartz sand, which did the actual cutting under the impulse of the wire bit. Bavay et al. report a notable collection of tiny chert drill bits and partially drilled amethyst, carnelian, obsidian, and rock crystal beads and flakes that were recovered from a deposit at Hierakonpolis dating to either the Early Dynastic Period or Old Kingdom. [Source: James Harrell, University of Toledo, OH, Environmental Sciences, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]

“Drills were originally driven by hand with a back- and-forth twisting motion. This is depicted in the right vignette of the 6th-Dynasty tomb scene, where the hieroglyphic text above says “lapidaries (msnSdw) boring (wbA) carnelian (Hrst).” The rotation was done more efficiently with bows, where the bowstrings were intertwined around one or more drill shafts, and this process is illustrated in an 18th-Dynasty tomb scene. The gemstone being drilled is not specified, but the orange color of the finished bead strings to the right of the workmen suggests that it was carnelian. Although the ancient Egyptian bead drills were primitive and cumbersome, they were nevertheless effective as experimentally demonstrated by Gorelick and Gwinnett and Stocks.

“The tomb scenes also illustrate the final step in the preparation of beads: polishing. In one scene the text above the left vignette says “lapidaries polishing (snaa) carnelian” but it is not clear how this was accomplished from the drawing. The two workmen appear to be rubbing pieces of carnelian across the surface of a rock slab, and if this was a hard rock like silicified sandstone, then it seems only a rough smoothing effect could be achieved by this means. If, however, fine quartz sand had been added to the slab’s surface then this could conceivably result in polishing. In one scene, the worker at the center of the scene is bent over a table and rubbing the beads over one another by hand, and in this way polishing them. On the ground, below him and the workers with bow drills, are vessels, apparently with spoons, which must be for the quartz sand abrasive. Thus sand was added not only to the drill holes, but also to the mass of beads being polished. These same manufacturing techniques would have been applied to other gemstone objects. Carving and engraving, in the case of seals and other glyptic works, was probably done with a chert graver or perhaps the same kind of drill used to perforate beads. Polishing may also have been done the same way as it was for beads, but for the larger objects it was probably accomplished through rubbing with a fine quartz sand paste applied, perhaps, with a piece of cloth or leather.

Egyptian metal workers

“Archaeologists and art historians have not only the gemstone objects themselves to study, but also many depictions of gemstone jewelry on tomb and temple walls, mummy coffins, and statues. An especially vivid example of this is a Roman-era mummy portrait. The woman in this portrait wears emerald and amethyst necklaces of similar date and appearance to those in another scene.”

Commonly-Used Gemstones in Ancient Egypt

“Garnet (transparent to translucent; medium to mainly dark red, brownish red, or purplish red in compositionally gradational pyrope and almandine sub-varieties). Used: commonly in Pt/R, and rarely from Pd to LP. Source: no mine known, but red garnet occurs in many of the metamorphic rocks in the Eastern Desert and Sinai, and probably also in placer deposits near the same rocks. Placer deposits with good quality almandine garnet are found in northern Sudan’s Fourth Nile Cataract. During Pt/R, red garnet was heavily imported from India and possibly also Sri Lanka. Ancient names: probably HmAgt [hemaget] (Egyptian); anthrax and anthraka (Greek); carbunculus (Roman). [Source: James Harrell, University of Toledo, OH, Environmental Sciences, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]

“Lapis lazuli (opaque; a rock composed of dark blue lazurite [(Na,Ca)8(AlSiO4)6(SO4,S,Cl)2] or haüynite [(Na,Ca)4-8(AlSiO4)6(SO4)1-2], both minerals of the sodalite group, with golden pyrite specks [FeS2] and white calcite veins or patches [CaCO3] as the main components). Used: commonly from Pd to LP, and rarely in Pt/R. Source: imported from northeast Afghanistan and possibly also neighboring areas in Pakistan. Ancient names: xsbd [khesbed] and also possibly tfrr [tefrer] (Egyptian); sapphiros/sappirus (Greek/Roman).

“Microcline feldspar (translucent to opaque [KAlSi3O8]) with two color varieties: 1) amazonite, amazonstone or green feldspar (light or medium green to mainly bluish green). Used: commonly from MK/2IP to NK/3IP, and rarely from Pd to OK/1IP and LP to Pt/R. Sources: two mines at Gebel Migif (no. 6; active NK, 18th Dynasty) and in Wadi Fayrouz at Gebel Hafafit (no. 7; active Pt and R) plus probably one or more undiscovered sources in the same general area. Ancient names: nSmt [neshmet] and possibly also Hsg [heseg] (Egyptian); probably smaragdos and possibly also iaspis (Greek); smaragdus and possibly its sub-variety galactites (Roman). 2) Common microcline (orange to mainly pink). Used: rarely in MK/2IP. Source: no mine known, but granitic rocks with large microcline crystals occur abundantly in the Eastern Desert and Sinai, and at Aswan. Ancient names: unknown.

“Quartz [SiO2] with macrocrystalline and microcrystalline varieties. Macrocrystalline quartz with four color varieties. 1) amethyst (transparent; light to dark violet or purple). Note that what has been reported as rose quartz is probably pale amethyst. Used: commonly in MK/2IP and Pt/R, and rarely from Pd to OK/1IP and NK/3IP to LP. Sources: two mines at Abu Diyeiba near Wadi Waseef (no. 4; active Pt/R), and near Wadi el-Hudi (no. 14; active MK). Ancient names: Hsmn [hesmen] (Egyptian); amethystos/amethystus (Greek/Roman). 2) citrine (transparent; light to medium yellow or brownish to reddish yellow). Used: rarely in Pt/R. Source: either imported from the East or, from the early Roman Period onward, produced by heat-treating Egyptian amethyst. Ancient names: possibly chrysolithos/chrysolithus (Greek/Roman). 3) milky quartz (translucent; white). Used: rarely from Pd to MK/2IP. Source: no mine known, but milky quartz occurs abundantly in veins throughout the Eastern Desert and at Aswan. Ancient names: possibly mnw HD [menew hedj] (Egyptian). 4) rock crystal (transparent; colorless). Used: rarely from Pd to Pt/R. Source: no mine known, but rock crystal deposits occur widely across the Eastern Desert, including the amethyst mines. Ancient names: possibly mnw HD [menew hedj] (Egyptian); krystallos/crystallus (Greek/Roman). Microcrystalline quartz – chalcedony or agate (mainly fibrous/chalcedonic silica and translucent) with seven color varieties

Carnelian or Cornelian (medium to dark orangey red, brownish red or red; note that during the Roman Period, but possibly earlier as well, carnelian color was often enhanced by heat treatment) plus sard (medium to dark orangey brown, reddish to yellowish brown or brown and gradational with carnelian). Used: commonly from Pd to Pt/R. Sources: one mine at Stela Ridge near Gebel el-Asr, principally for carnelian and sard but also for common and other chalcedonies (no. 16; active mainly MK but with OK and R traces) plus, for other periods, one or more undiscovered sources in Egypt’s deserts or, perhaps, in southern Egypt’s and northern Sudan’s Nile River terrace gravels. Ancient names: Hrst [herset], and also occasionally Hrst dSr [herset desher] and Drtt [djertet] (Egyptian); sardion/sarda (Greek/Roman).

lapis lazuli heart amulet

“Jasper (microcrystalline quartz, mainly granular/non-chalcedonic silica and opaque) with three color varieties: 1) medium to dark red. Used: commonly from Pd to Pt/R. Source: no mine known, but red jasper is commonly associated with metavolcanic rocks in the Eastern Desert. Ancient names: xnmt [khenmet] and mxn(m)t [mekhen(m)et], and possibly Hkn [heken] (Egyptian); probably haematitis (Greek); possibly sarda (Roman). 2) “medium to dark green. Used: rarely from Pd to Pt/R. Source: no mine known, but green jasper occasionally occurs in the Eastern Desert in the same metavolcanic rocks as red jasper, but is much rarer. Ancient names: nmHf [nemhef] and shrt [seheret or sehret], and possibly prDn [perdjen] (Egyptian); probably iaspis and also possibly prasinos or prasitis (Greek); possibly prasius (Roman). 3) “yellow. Used: rarely in Pd and NK/3IP. Source: no mine known, but almost certainly from the Eastern Desert. Ancient names: unknown but possibly the same as red jasper.

Turquoise (opaque; light to medium green to greenish blue or light blue with the blue color degrading over time to green due to dehydration [CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)85H2O]). Used: commonly in MK/2IP and NK/3IP, and rarely from Pd to OK/1IP and LP to Pt/R. Sources: two mines in the Sinai at Serabit el-Khadim (no. 2; active MK to LP) and in Wadi Maghara (no. 3; active ED to NK) plus a possible third source at the Bir Nasib copper mine (no. 1; active MK to NK). Ancient names: mfkAt [mefkat] (Egyptian); probably smaragdos (Greek); callaina (Roman).

“Coral (opaque; white and light to medium red or pink marine coral). Used: commonly in Pt/R and rarely in Pd. Sources: the Red and Mediterranean Seas. Ancient names: korallion or kuralion (Greek); coralliticus (Roman).

“Pearl (translucent to opaque; mainly white or silvery gray). Used: commonly in Pt/R. Source: probably the Red Sea but possibly also imported from the East. Ancient names: physi and pinninu (Greek); margarites (Roman).

“Miscellaneous shells, including ostrich egg, mother-of-pearl (the iridescent nacre from oysters and other mollusks), whole marine and riverine mollusks, and tortoise. Used: commonly in Pd and rarely thereafter. Sources: Egypt and Red Sea. Ancient names: unknown

“No diamonds?

Less-Commonly-Used Gemstones in Ancient Egypt

“Beryl (Emeralds, transparent to translucent [Be3Al2(Si6O18)]) with two color varieties: 1) aquamarine (light to medium greenish blue to blue). Used: rarely in Pt/R only. Source: imported from India. Ancient names: beryllion/berullus (Greek/Roman). 2) “Emerald or green beryl (mainly light to medium green and translucent, rarely dark green and transparent). Used: rarely in late Pt and commonly in R. Sources: six mines in the ancient Mons Smaragdus region at Gebel Zabara (no. 8; active R and Is), in Wadi Sikait (no. 9; active late Pt and R), at Gebel Umm Harba (no. 10; active R), in Wadi Abu Rasheid (no. 11; active R), in Wadi Nugrus (no. 12; active R), and at Umm Kabu (no. 13; active R). Some emerald may have been imported from India. Ancient names: smaragdos/smaragdus (Greek/Roman). [Source: James Harrell, University of Toledo, OH, Environmental Sciences, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]

sacred eye

“Calcite [CaCO3] with two color varieties: 1) Common calcite (translucent; white). Used: commonly in Pd and rarely thereafter for inlay. Source: no mine known, but almost certainly from the limestone in and near the Nile Valley either as crystal masses or white bands in travertine (“Egyptian alabaster”), one of the ornamental stones with many known quarries. Ancient names: unknown. 2) Iceland spar (transparent; colorless). Used: rarely in OK and NK/3IP. Source: no mine known, but probably from limestone like common calcite. Ancient names: unknown “Muscovite mica (transparent to translucent; light to medium brownish yellow [KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2]). Used: rarely in Pd and later by Nubia’s Kerma Culture. Source: no mine known, but muscovite deposits are commonly associated with pegmatite veins in the Eastern Desert. Ancient names: specularis lapis (Roman).

“Onyx (parallel, planar layers with alternating white or light gray and dark gray or black). Used: commonly in Pt/R, and rarely in Pd, NK/3IP, and LP. Source: imported from India during Pt/R and possibly from other Eastern sources earlier, although small amounts can be found at the Stela Ridge mine (see carnelian). Ancient names: possibly kA kilometers [ka kem] (Egyptian); onychion (Greek); onyx lapis (Roman).

“Sardonyx (parallel, planar layers with alternating white or light gray and reddish or brownish colors). Used: commonly in Pt/R, and rarely in NK/3IP and LP. Sources: imported from India during Pt/R and earlier probably from the same sources as carnelian. Ancient names: possibly kA HD [ka hedj] (Egyptian); probably onychion (Greek); sardonyx (Roman).

“Ivory (opaque; white or light yellowish white elephant or hippopotamus tusk). Used: rarely from Pd to Pt/R. Some of what is reported as ivory is probably bone. Sources: originally hippopotamuses in Egypt; later, elephants via Nubia and Punt. Ancient names: Abw [abu] (Egyptian); elephantinon (Greek); eboreus (Roman).

Rarely-Used Gemstones in Ancient Egypt

Fluorite or fluorspar (transparent to translucent; commonly light or bluish green or yellow, but other or multiple colors are possible [CaF2]). Used: rarely in Pd and Pt/R. Source: one mine at Gebel el-Ineigi (no. 5; ancient but specific period of activity unknown). Ancient names: probably murrina or myrrhina (Roman). [Source: James Harrell, University of Toledo, OH, Environmental Sciences, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]

“Hematite (opaque brownish black to black with submetallic luster to silvery gray with metallic luster [Fe2O3]; figs 8-9). Used: rarely from Pd to Pt/R. Source: no mine known, but both types of hematite are found in some igneous and metamorphic rocks in the Eastern Desert. Ancient names: probably bjA [bia] but also possibly bjA osy [bia qesey], and bos anx [beqes ankh] (Egyptian); haematitis/haematites (Greek/Roman).

“Libyan desert glass (translucent; light to medium greenish yellow meteoritic silica glass [SiO2]). Used: confirmed only in an 18th Dynasty scarab in a pectoral belonging to king Tutankhamun. Source: the Western Desert near the Libyan border. Ancient names: unknown

“Malachite (opaque; patchy to mainly banded light and dark green. Used: rarely from Pd to NK/3IP as a gemstone, but commonly for paint pigment and eye shadow in all periods. Sources: malachite is the principal ore mineral for copper and so comes from the numerous copper mines in the Sinai Peninsula and Eastern Desert. Ancient names: Ssmt [shesmet] and probably also wAD [wadj] (Egyptian); probably smaragdos/smaragdus (Greek/Roman).

rock crystal frog

“Jade or nephrite (translucent; light to dark green in compositionally gradational actinolite and tremolite [Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2]). Used: confirmed only in an 18th Dynasty ring bezel belonging to king Tutankhamen. Much of what has been called nephrite, jadeite or jade is apparently either green chalcedony, green jasper, or serpentinite, the latter one of the ornamental stones. Source: no mine known, but possibly associated with serpentinite in the Eastern Desert. Ancient names: unknown.

“Obsidian (translucent; light to dark brownish black to black volcanic silica glass [SiO2]). Note that what has been reported as smoky quartz is probably pale obsidian. Used: rarely from Pd to Pt/R. Source: imported either from the Eastern Mediterranean or especially the southern Red Sea. Ancient names: probably mnw kilometers [menew kem] (Egyptian); probably liparaios (Greek); obsianus lapis (Roman).

“Peridot (transparent to translucent; light or medium green to mainly yellowish green olivine [(Mg,Fe)2SiO4]). Used: rarely in Pt/R. Source: one mine on Zabargad (or St. John’s) Island in the Red Sea (no. 15; active Pt/R). Ancient names: topazos/topazion and chrysolithos (Greek); topazus/topazum and chrysolithus (Roman).

“Agate (parallel, curved to wavy concentric bands with alternating lighter and darker colors – typically white or light gray with dark gray, brown or black). Used: rarely from Pd to Pt/R. Source: no mine known, but agate pebbles and nodules are occasionally found in the Eastern Desert and Sinai. Imported from India during Pt/R. Ancient names: possibly HD [hedj], kA [ka], kA HD [ka hedj], or kAj kilometers [kai kem] (Egyptian); achates and possibly onychion (Greek); achates (Roman).

“Chalcedony (white or pale gray to mainly bluish white/gray). Used: rarely from Pd to Pt/R. Source: one mine at Stela Ridge, near Gebel el-Asr. Ancient names: probably Hrst HD [herset hedj] (Egyptian); probably leuachates and possibly also cerachates and ceraunia (Roman). green chalcedony2 (light to medium green). Used: rarely from Pd to Pt/R. Source: one mine at Stela Ridge, near Gebel el-Asr. Ancient names: possibly prDn [perdjen] (Egyptian); probably prasinos or prasitis (Greek); prasius (Roman).

“Petrified (or silicified wood (grayish to brownish with wood-fiber texture, fine-grained; can contain abundant granular/non-chalcedonic silica). Used: rarely in NK. Source: no mine known, but probably from occurrences in the Western or Eastern Deserts near Cairo. Ancient name: possibly xt-awA [khet-awa] (Egyptian).

“Sapphire (transparent to translucent; light to dark blue corundum [Al2O3]). Used: rarely in Pt/R. Source: imported from Sri Lanka and possibly India. Ancient names: hyakinthos/hyacinthus (Greek/Roman).

“Amber (translucent; light to dark yellowish to reddish brown fossil tree resin). Used: rarely from NK/3IP to Pt/R. Some of what is reported as amber is non-fossilized tree resin. Source: imported from northern Europe through the Mediterranean region. Ancient names: elektron and also probably ligyrion and lyngurion (Greek); sucinum (Roman).

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Tour Egypt, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com; Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “History of Warfare” by John Keegan (Vintage Books); “History of Art” by H.W. Janson Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated August 2024