The Wadi el-Hudi is a

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...

in Southern

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, in the Eastern Desert. Here were ancient quarries for

amethyst Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος ''amethystos'' from α- ''a-'', "not" and μεθύσκω (Ancient Greek) / μεθώ (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that t ...

. The Wadi el-Hudi is important in archaeology for its high number of rock inscriptions and stelae, mainly dating to the Middle Kingdom, as amethyst was especially popular in this period. The Wadi el-Hudi ends in the Nile valley a few kilometers north of

Aswan Aswan (, also ; ar, أسوان, ʾAswān ; cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲁⲛ ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the ...

and is coming there from the South-East. The ancient amethyst quarries are about 20 kilometres south-east from Aswan.

Inscriptions

The earliest datable inscriptions in the Wadi el-Hudi belong to king

Mentuhotep IV Nebtawyre Mentuhotep IV was the last king of the 11th Dynasty in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, Middle Kingdom. He seems to fit into a 7-year period in the Turin Canon for which there is no recorded king. Family King's Mother Imi In Wadi Hammamat, ...

who reigned around 2000 BC. in the 11th Dynasty. These are five texts dated to the first year of the king and clearly report the aim of the expedition as bringing amethyst. Further inscriptions date to the 12th Dynasty under king

Senusret I Senusret I (Middle Egyptian: z-n-wsrt; /suʀ nij ˈwas.ɾiʔ/) also anglicized as Sesostris I and Senwosret I, was the second pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1971 BC to 1926 BC (1920 BC to 1875 BC), and was one of the most ...

. One of them mentions the vizier

Intefiqer The ancient Egyptian noble Intefiqer ''(ỉnỉ-ỉt.f ỉqr)'' was ''overseer of the city'' and Vizier under Amenemhet I and Senusret I during the early 12th Dynasty (1991–1802 BC). He is known from several rock inscriptions in Lower Nubi ...

, another one the high steward Hor. The 12th Dynasty kings

Amenemhat II Nubkaure Amenemhat II, also known as Amenemhet II, was the third pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Although he ruled for at least 35 years, his reign is rather obscure, as well as his family relationships. Family Archaeological fi ...

Senusret III Khakaure Senusret III (also written as Senwosret III or the hellenised form, Sesostris III) was a pharaoh of Egypt. He ruled from 1878 BC to 1839 BC during a time of great power and prosperity, and was the fifth king of the Twelfth Dynasty of the ...

and

Amenemhat III :''See Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name.'' Amenemhat III ( Ancient Egyptian: ''Ỉmn-m-hꜣt'' meaning 'Amun is at the forefront'), also known as Amenemhet III, was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the sixth king of the Twelfth Dy ...

are also attested with expeditions and inscriptions. The last 12th Dynasty king sending an expedition to the Wadi was

Amenemhat IV :''See Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name.'' Amenemhat IV (also known as Amenemhet IV) was the seventh and penultimateJürgen von Beckerath: ''Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen'', Münchner ägyptologische Studien, Heft 49, ...

. Finally there are several texts providing evidence for an expedition under the 13th Dynasty king

Sobekhotep IV Khaneferre Sobekhotep IV was one of the more powerful Egyptian kings of the 13th Dynasty (c. 1803 BC to c. 1649 BC), who reigned at least eight years. His brothers, Neferhotep I and Sihathor, were his predecessors on the throne, the latter having ...

. His expedition is dated to the sixth year of his reign.

Hathor Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky ...

, who is called ''lady of amethyst'', appears often in the inscriptions. In March 2019, the discovery of more than 100 ancient inscriptions carved into rock, 14

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

and 45

ostraca An ostracon (Greek language, Greek: ''ostrakon'', plural ''ostraka'') is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeology, archaeological or epigraphy, epigraphical context, ''ostraca'' refer ...

dated back to the Middle Kingdom was announced by archaeologists. In one of the 3,400-year-old stelas was written the name of a senior official named

Usersatet Usersatet was an Ancient Egyptian official with the titles king's son of Kush (''Viceroy of Kush'') and ''overseer of the southern countries''. He was in office under king Amenhotep II and perhaps in the early years of the reign of Thutmosis IV. ...

Archaeology

In addition to the inscriptions, 39 archaeological sites exist across the region. They are amazingly well preserved, with walls still standing two meters high. These archaeological sites have the key to understanding gem mining, organization of labor by the Egyptian government, use of slaves in Egypt, Egyptian and Nubian interactions, literacy levels within a soldiering class, governmental supply and support of expedition projects, and where much of the amethyst from the ancient Mediterranean World likely originated. Further mining activities, including gold mining, are known from other periods of Egyptian history, up to the Roman Period,Ian Shaw: ''Late Roman Amethyst and old Mining at Wadi el-Hudi'', in: Thomas Schneider and Kasia Szpakowska (eds.) ''Egyptian Stories A British Egyptological Tribute to Alan B. Lloyd on the Occasion of His Retirement'', Alter Orient und Altes Testament 347, 2007, , 141-150 or perhaps just the Early Arab Period.

References

External links

Wadi el-Hudi expedition
{{Coord, 23.9615, N, 33.1313, E, source:wikidata, display=title Archaeological sites in Egypt Hudi

Inscriptions

Archaeology

See also

References

External links