Gold Part 4

In ancient Egypt, around the time of Seti I (1320 B.C.),  the first gold treasure map  known was created. Today, in the Turin Museum is a papyrus and fragments known as the “Carte des mines d’or.” It pictures gold mines, miners’ quarters, road leading to the mines and gold-bearing mountains, and so on.

Where is the gold mine located? As it is well known there is always something a little vague about them, to throw you off the trail.

Modern thought is that it portrays the Wadi Fawakhir region in which the El Sid gold mine is located, but the matter is far from settled. 

                       

The gold of the mountains, as the scribes of Ramses III called it, was found mainly in the Eastern Desert and Nubia. The Koptos gold for instance was mined in the Bekhen mountains. Seti gave these mines to a small temple he had built and dedicated to Amen, Re, Osiris and a number of other gods. The workers mining the gold, the “flesh of the gods”, for the temple were exempt from any other work. 

    In the Wadi Hammamat where gold-containing quartz was found, the underground quartz veins were mined by crushing the rock before the gold could be extracted. This required a great deal of manpower, provisioned only with difficulty in these deserted regions. Other pharaohs tried to follow Seti’s example by excavating wells in various location, with little success. Another attempt of Seti I resulted in a dry well 120 cubits deep which was abandoned. Only the perseverance of his son Ramses II brought success.  

The History of Charm Bracelets, Part 1

The citizens of ancient Egypt, like people of many ancient civilizations, lived very short lives by today’s standard, from 30 to 40 years on average. With so little time on earth, they prepared for a prosperous life after death. Charm bracelets played a significant role in the preparation process. Charm bracelets were not only used as protective amulets and signs of status in society, they were also worn as type of ID tags to help the Gods guide the wearer and his/her possessions to the proper status level in the afterlife. Kind of an “if found, please return to” note from home.

Hematite in the Ancient World

Hematite is one of the oldest of valued gemstones in the ancient world. The Egyptians used Hematite in the creation of magic amulets. Hematite was considered a curative mineral for madness. Babylonians wore Hematite amulets to gain favor with kings. The word for Hematite comes from the Greek word for blood.  Hematite was associated with the God of War, whom the Greeks considered evil. The Romans, however, revered war and used Hematite as a protection against battle. Powdered Hematite has been mixed with water and used as a blood substitute in some religious rituals. 

Egyptian Fish Amulets

Egyptian Fish Amulets or nekhau were worn for protection from drowning.  These amulets were given especially to children as a bulwark in their watery environment next to the Nile river. Common during the Middle Kingdom ( c. 1900-1800 BC) these nekhau were pendants made out of gold often with green felspar inlay.  It was thought that the amulet allowed the wearer to acquire fish abilities, which meant survival, if a child happen to fall into the water.

In the far off land Egypt, the often seemingly mythical civilization of the ancient Egyptians enchants us today in this modern world.  As it still holds true world wide, jewelry played an important part of the ancient Egyptian’s everyday life.  For the pharaoh and his courtiers jewelry was an essential part of their apparel.  The bright colors of the jewels augmented their fine white linen garments and heavy wigs worn by the nobility and the members of the ruling classes.  But for the Egyptians jewelry was not merely decorative it also held powerful meaning that went way beyond the physical realm.  Symbols such as  the ankh life sign, the djed pillar of stability, the protecting udjat eye, the scarab of rebirth and the images of gods gave all sorts of benefits to the wearer of the beautifully crafted pieces we see today in museums.


The materials and colors they used in their jewelry were not put together because they looked good together, every element of a piece had special meaning.  Gold was seen as a divine metal, regarded as the flesh of Ra, symbolizing eternity.  Lapis lazuli, which came from Afghanistan, represented the heavens and was thought to be superior to all other metals except gold and silver.  Green turquoise was associated with the green of the earth and was the symbol of youth and rebirth.