Archaeology and Geology of Ancient Egyptian Stones
The ancient Egyptian Civilization dominated the northeast corner of Africa-including modern-day Egypt and, at times, northern Sudan-from about 3000 BC at the beginning of the Dynastic period to AD 642 at the end of the Roman period. Most of what it left behind consists of stones of many kinds. There were building stones for temples, pyramids, mastaba tombs, and other monumental constructions; and utilitarian stones for tools, weapons, and a wide array of mundane applications, including the raw materials for faience, glass, medicines, paint pigments, and pottery. There were also ornamental stones for decorative and structural elements in buildings, obelisks, statues, sarcophagi, stelae, vessels, shrines, offering tables, mace heads, cosmetic palettes, and other sculpted objects; and gemstones for jewellery, amulets, seals, and other small decorative items. Still more stones were processed to extract their metals, including gold, copper, iron, and lead. Two persistent problems in Egyptology have been the geological identification of these stones, and the recognition of their sources. Archaeology and Geology of Ancient Egyptian Stones seeks to identify and describe all the rocks and minerals employed by the ancient Egyptians using proper geological nomenclature, and to give an account of their sources in so far as they are known. A secondary objective is to describe the multitudinous uses of the stones as well as the technologies employed to extract, transport, carve, and thermally treat them.
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Archaeology and Geology of Ancient Egyptian Stones
The ancient Egyptian Civilization dominated the northeast corner of Africa-including modern-day Egypt and, at times, northern Sudan-from about 3000 BC at the beginning of the Dynastic period to AD 642 at the end of the Roman period. Most of what it left behind consists of stones of many kinds. There were building stones for temples, pyramids, mastaba tombs, and other monumental constructions; and utilitarian stones for tools, weapons, and a wide array of mundane applications, including the raw materials for faience, glass, medicines, paint pigments, and pottery. There were also ornamental stones for decorative and structural elements in buildings, obelisks, statues, sarcophagi, stelae, vessels, shrines, offering tables, mace heads, cosmetic palettes, and other sculpted objects; and gemstones for jewellery, amulets, seals, and other small decorative items. Still more stones were processed to extract their metals, including gold, copper, iron, and lead. Two persistent problems in Egyptology have been the geological identification of these stones, and the recognition of their sources. Archaeology and Geology of Ancient Egyptian Stones seeks to identify and describe all the rocks and minerals employed by the ancient Egyptians using proper geological nomenclature, and to give an account of their sources in so far as they are known. A secondary objective is to describe the multitudinous uses of the stones as well as the technologies employed to extract, transport, carve, and thermally treat them.
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Archaeology and Geology of Ancient Egyptian Stones

Archaeology and Geology of Ancient Egyptian Stones

by James A Harrell
Archaeology and Geology of Ancient Egyptian Stones

Archaeology and Geology of Ancient Egyptian Stones

by James A Harrell

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$175.00 
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Overview

The ancient Egyptian Civilization dominated the northeast corner of Africa-including modern-day Egypt and, at times, northern Sudan-from about 3000 BC at the beginning of the Dynastic period to AD 642 at the end of the Roman period. Most of what it left behind consists of stones of many kinds. There were building stones for temples, pyramids, mastaba tombs, and other monumental constructions; and utilitarian stones for tools, weapons, and a wide array of mundane applications, including the raw materials for faience, glass, medicines, paint pigments, and pottery. There were also ornamental stones for decorative and structural elements in buildings, obelisks, statues, sarcophagi, stelae, vessels, shrines, offering tables, mace heads, cosmetic palettes, and other sculpted objects; and gemstones for jewellery, amulets, seals, and other small decorative items. Still more stones were processed to extract their metals, including gold, copper, iron, and lead. Two persistent problems in Egyptology have been the geological identification of these stones, and the recognition of their sources. Archaeology and Geology of Ancient Egyptian Stones seeks to identify and describe all the rocks and minerals employed by the ancient Egyptians using proper geological nomenclature, and to give an account of their sources in so far as they are known. A secondary objective is to describe the multitudinous uses of the stones as well as the technologies employed to extract, transport, carve, and thermally treat them.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781803275819
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing
Publication date: 05/02/2024
Series: Archaeopress Egyptology , #49
Pages: 570
Product dimensions: 8.03(w) x 11.42(h) x (d)

About the Author

James A. Harrell earned his BA degree in Earth Science at California State University at Fullerton, and his MS and Ph D degrees in Geology at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Cincinnati, respectively. He taught petrology and other geological subjects at the University of Toledo for 30 years, retiring in 2009, and is now an Emeritus Professor at that institution. For the past 35 years, Professor Harrell has been conducting a survey of ancient mines and quarries in Egypt and northern Sudan, and has so far made 50 trips to these countries in support of this research. He has also done fieldwork on ancient quarries in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Table of Contents

Volume 1: Archaeological and Geological Background, and Building and Utilitarian Stones Preface Chapter 1: Introduction Part I: Archaeological and Geological Background Chapter 2: Identification and Classification of Rocks and Minerals Chapter 3: Geology of Egypt and Northern Sudan Chapter 4: Tools and Methods for Extraction of Hard Stones Chapter 5: Tools and Methods for Extraction of Soft Stones Chapter 6: Stone Transport Part II: Building Stones Chapter 7: Overview of Building Stones Chapter 8: Limestone Chapter 9: Sandstone Chapter 10: Anhydrite, Gypsum, and Other Building Stones Part III: Utilitarian Stones Chapter 11: Overview of Utilitarian Stones Chapter 12: Hard Utilitarian Stones Chapter 13: Soft Utilitarian Stones and Other Geological Materials Volume 2: Ornamental Stones, Gemstones, and Metals Part IV: Ornamental Stones Chapter 14: Overview of Ornamental Stones Chapter 15: Travertine and Other Colored Carbonate Rocks Chapter 16: Silicified Sandstone Chapter 17: Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks I: Nile Valley Quarries Chapter 18: Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks II: Western Desert Quarries Chapter 19: Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks III: Eastern Desert Quarries Initiated in the Dynastic and Ptolemaic Periods Chapter 20: Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks IV: Eastern Desert Quarries Initiated in the Roman Period Chapter 21: Other Ornamental Stones Part V: Gemstones Chapter 22: Overview of Gemstones Chapter 23: Silica Gemstones Chapter 24: Grue Gemstones Chapter 25: Other Gemstones Part VI: Metals Chapter 26: Overview of Metals Chapter 27: Gold Chapter 28: Copper Chapter 29: Iron and Lead Epilogue (and a Poem) Bibliography Index
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