Ancient Egyptian Emerald Mining

The ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Roman and Byzantine cultures

obtained their emeralds from the Sikair-Zubara (Sikait-Zabara) region
in the eastern part of Upper Egypt, near the Red Sea town of Berenice.
This emerald-mining region became known as the Mons Smaragdus or
'Emerald Mountains" and after the conquest of Alexander the Great,
and was also referred to as the "Cleopatra Mines" in latter years.

Cleopatra Mines in Egypt (Photo:

Public Domain)

Sikair-Zubara (Photo: Public

Domain)

The Egyptian mines may have been worked as early as 1800 BC, but
most likely were at peak production during the Ptolemaic period from
330 BC to 30 BC. The first mines to be re-discovered were at Gebel
Zabara, uncovered on an expidition by French mineralogist F. Cailliaud,
in 1816. Sikait was identified two years later. The Wadi Gimal and Wadi
Sikait mines are adjacent to the ancient roman mining villages of
Nugrus and Sikkait.