Wadi Maghareh (also spelled Maghara or Magharah, meaning "The Valley of Caves" in

Egyptian Arabic Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian ( ar, العامية المصرية, ), or simply Masri (also Masry) (), is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic dialect in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and ...

), is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

located in the southwestern

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is ...

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 Medit ...

. It contains

pharaonic Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

monuments and turquoise mines dating from the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians knew the site as "the Terraces of

Turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of year ...

."G. D. Mumford: "''Wadi Maghara''", in Kathryn A. Bard and Steven Blake Shubert, eds. ''Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt''(New York: Routledge, 1999), p. 875-876.

History

The site was rediscovered in 1809 by Ulrich Jasper Seetzen, and since then has seen several excavation teams, Richard Lepsius's excavation in 1845 being the first. Major C. K. McDonald's visits to the site, including residence at the site from 1854–1866 (and an effort to mine turquoise there) resulted in only surface finds (arrowheads and such) with no further excavation. A British

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

of the site was made in 1868–1869, a Harvard University expedition took place in 1932, and several Israeli excavations occurred between 1967 and 1982, among others.

Monuments, buildings and inscriptions

Ancient Egyptian monuments, buildings and inscriptions span the period from the Third to Twenty-Ninth Dynasties (ca. 2700 BC–1100 BC),Bard and Shubert, eds. ''Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt'', 876. although most monuments date only to the Twelfth Dynasty. Two Third Dynasty rock tables of king

Sanakht Sanakht (also read as Hor-Sanakht) is the Horus name of an ancient Egyptian king ( pharaoh) of the Third Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. His chronological position is highly uncertain (though he is more likely to have reigned towards the end of t ...

are found in the valley, as is one of

Djoser Djoser (also read as Djeser and Zoser) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom, and was the founder of that epoch. He is also known by his Hellenized names Tosorthros (from Manetho) and Sesorthos (from Eusebiu ...

and two virtually identical tables of king

Sekhemkhet Sekhemkhet (also read as Sechemchet) was an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. His reign is thought to have been from about 2648 BC until 2640 BC. He is also known under his later traditioned birth name D ...

. Tables of

Sneferu Sneferu ( snfr-wj "He has perfected me", from ''Ḥr-nb-mꜣꜥt-snfr-wj'' "Horus, Lord of Maat, has perfected me", also read Snefru or Snofru), well known under his Hellenized name Soris ( grc-koi, Σῶρις by Manetho), was the founding phar ...

and

Khufu Khufu or Cheops was an ancient Egyptian monarch who was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty, in the first half of the Old Kingdom period ( 26th century BC). Khufu succeeded his father Sneferu as king. He is generally accepted as having c ...

from the Fourth Dynasty are also found there. The Fifth Dynasty king

Sahure Sahure (also Sahura, meaning "He who is close to Re") was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the second ruler of the Fifth Dynasty (c. 2465 – c. 2325 BC). He reigned for about 13 years in the early 25th century BC during the Old Kingdom Period. ...

's funerary temple at

Abusir Abusir ( ar, ابو صير ; Egyptian ''pr wsjr'' cop, ⲃⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲓ ' "the House or Temple of Osiris"; grc, Βούσιρις) is the name given to an Egyptian archaeological locality – specifically, an extensive necropolis o ...

has a relief representing him dispatch of a fleet to the Red Sea, probably to collect turquoise at Maghareh.Hall, ''The Ancient History of the Near East from Earliest Times to the Battle of Salamis'', 3rd Ed., p. 131. Sahure raised a monument depicting himself "smiting the Mentju of all foreign lands" which was found at Maghareh. Fifth Dynasty rock tablets include those of King Nyuserre Ini accompanied by a libation vase and images of the gods Horus and

Thoth Thoth (; from grc-koi, Θώθ ''Thṓth'', borrowed from cop, Ⲑⲱⲟⲩⲧ ''Thōout'', Egyptian: ', the reflex of " eis like the Ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or ...

, one of king

Menkauhor Kaiu Menkauhor Kaiu (also known as Ikauhor and in Greek as Mencherês, Μεγχερῆς) was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom period. He was the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynasty at the end of the 25th century BC or early in the 24t ...

, and three of king

Djedkare Isesi Djedkare Isesi (known in Greek as Tancheres) was a pharaoh, the eighth and penultimate ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt in the late 25th century to mid- 24th century BC, during the Old Kingdom. Djedkare succeeded Menkauhor Kaiu and was in ...

. In addition to pharaonic monuments, an Old Kingdom settlement was founded on the summit of a hill in Wadi Igneh containing 125 rough stone structures containing wood ash and potsherds, some of which are of Nile Valley clay. File:Sneferu_Wadi_Maghara.png, Relief of

, Wadi Maghara. File:Khufu Wadi Maghara.png, Relief of

, Wadi Maghara. Karl Richard Lepsius: ''Denkmaler'' Abtheilung II Band II
Available online see p. 2, p. 39
/ref> File:Sahure Wadi Maghara.jpg, Relief of

, Wadi Maghara. File:Niuserre Iny Wadi Maghara.jpg, Relief of Nyuserre Ini, Wadi Maghara. File:Menkauhor Wadi Maghara.png, Relief of

, Wadi Maghara. File:Relief of Djedkare Isesi Wadi Maghara.png, Relief of

, Wadi Maghara.

References

{{coord, 28.8973, N, 33.3726, E, source:kolossus-hewiki, display=title Archaeological sites in Egypt