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'Wadi Hammamat' (Arabic: ''Valley of Many Baths'') is a dry river bed in Egypt's Eastern Desert, about halfway between Qusier and Qena. It was a major trade route east from the Nile valley in ancient times, and three thousand years of rock carvings and graffiti make it a major scientific and tourist site today.
Hammamat became the major route from Thebes to the Red Sea port of Elim, and then to the Silk Road to Asia, or to Arabia and the horn of Africa. This 200km journey was the most direct route from the Nile to the Red Sea, as the Nile bends towards the coast at the western end of the wadi. The Hammamat route ran from Qift (ancient Coptos) just north of Luxor to Quseir on the coast,and both ends were established by the First Dynasty, though evidence of pre dynastic occupation has been found along the route.[1]
In Ancient Egypt Hammamat was a major quarrying area for the Nile Valley. Quarrying expeditions to in the Eastern Desert are recorded from the second millenia BCE, as the wadi exposes Precambrian rocks of the Arabian-Nubian Shield. These include Basalts, schists, ''bekhen''-stone (an especially prized green metagraywacke sandstone to be used for bowls, statues and sarcophagi),[2] and gold-containing quartz.[3] Pharaoh Seti is recorded having the first well dug to provide water in the Wadi, and Senusret I sent mining epeditions there. The site is described in the earliest known ancient geological map: the Turin Papyrus Map describing a quarrying expedition prepared for Ramesses IV.
Today Hammamat is famous mostly for its ancient Egyptian graffiti, as in ancient times it was a quary that lay on the Silk Road to Asia, and is a common destination for modern tourists. But the Wadi is densely populated with carvings and inscriptions from before the earliest Eqyptian Dyanasties to the modern era, in cluding the only painted petroglyph known from the Eastern Desert and drawings of Egyptian reed boats dated to 4000 BCE.[4]
The Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire used both the route and the mines, the Roman's establishing toll stations, the Byzantines reopening New Kingdom and Ptolemaic mines at Bir Um Fawakhir, and both building watch towers along the route which survive today. The Romans built a series of eight watering stages (hydreuma), one of which, the Qasr el-Benat ("Castle of the Maidens") survives.
A modern asphalt road, the ''Wadi Hammamat road'' now runs for 194km through the Wadi, making it a vital transport route, and enabling tourists to easily travel from the sites of nearby Luxour and Thebes.[5]
The first European descriptions of the Wadi Hammamat were from the Scottish traveler James Bruce in 1769, and the Russian Egyptologist Vladimir Golenishchev led the first modern study of the inscriptions in 1884-1885.
Pi-hahiroth on the eastern shore of Egypt just south of the Gulf of Aqaba, near Thebes port of Elim, is recorded in the Book of Exodus as a stop on the flight of the Jews from Egypt, suggesting that their path was through the Wadi Hammamat.
The Pogues wrote a song about it, titled ''Girl From The Wadi Hammamat''.
1. The Archaeology of the Eastern Desert, Appendix F: Desert Rock Areas and Sites. Andie Byrnes, University College London, June 2007. Retrieved September 2007.
2. Survey of ancient Egyptian stone quarries (rock varieties and images, locations, and ages). James A. Harrell, Professor of Geology, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo. Retrieved September 2007.
3. [http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/mining.htm Mining in
An introduction to the history and culture of Pharaonic Egypt. André Dollinger, 2000. Retrieved September 2007.
4. //hometown.aol.co.uk/lankester2/page6.html WADI HAMAMMAT: Gallery and description of several dyanastic and pre-dynastic sites in the Wadi, by Francis Lankester. Retrieved September 2007.
5. planetware, detailed modern travel description.
★ touregypt.net the Wadi Hammamat.
★ Hammamat Inscriptions, translated to English in An introduction to the history and culture of Pharaonic Egypt. André Dollinger, 2000. Retrieved September 2007.
★ Stone quarries of ancient Egypt
★ Narmer Palette, 3100 BCE, one of a number of early and pre-dynastic artifacts carved from the destinctive stone of the Wadi Hammamat.
★ Photo Gallery of a visit to Wadi Hammamat.
★ Demotic Graffiti from the Wadi Hammamat, from Dr. Eugene Cruz-Uribe, Northern Arizona University.
★ Wadi Hammamat, The Road to the Sea. Photos by Yarko Kobylecky.
★ The Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri. ''O.Wadi Hamm.: Nouveaux textes grecs du Ouadi Hammamat'', Database of Greek inscriptions in the Wadi Hammamat.
★ Aegyptias Museum, University of Leipzig, "Steine der Pharaonen in Leipzig": Guide to 2005 exibit of stonework and photos of the Wadi Hammamat.
| Contents |
| Trade Route |
| Quarries |
| Carvings |
| Common Era |
| Modern European description |
| Biblical significance |
| Popular Culture |
| References |
| See Also |
| External Links |
Trade Route
Hammamat became the major route from Thebes to the Red Sea port of Elim, and then to the Silk Road to Asia, or to Arabia and the horn of Africa. This 200km journey was the most direct route from the Nile to the Red Sea, as the Nile bends towards the coast at the western end of the wadi. The Hammamat route ran from Qift (ancient Coptos) just north of Luxor to Quseir on the coast,and both ends were established by the First Dynasty, though evidence of pre dynastic occupation has been found along the route.[1]
Quarries
In Ancient Egypt Hammamat was a major quarrying area for the Nile Valley. Quarrying expeditions to in the Eastern Desert are recorded from the second millenia BCE, as the wadi exposes Precambrian rocks of the Arabian-Nubian Shield. These include Basalts, schists, ''bekhen''-stone (an especially prized green metagraywacke sandstone to be used for bowls, statues and sarcophagi),[2] and gold-containing quartz.[3] Pharaoh Seti is recorded having the first well dug to provide water in the Wadi, and Senusret I sent mining epeditions there. The site is described in the earliest known ancient geological map: the Turin Papyrus Map describing a quarrying expedition prepared for Ramesses IV.
Carvings
Today Hammamat is famous mostly for its ancient Egyptian graffiti, as in ancient times it was a quary that lay on the Silk Road to Asia, and is a common destination for modern tourists. But the Wadi is densely populated with carvings and inscriptions from before the earliest Eqyptian Dyanasties to the modern era, in cluding the only painted petroglyph known from the Eastern Desert and drawings of Egyptian reed boats dated to 4000 BCE.[4]
Common Era
The Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire used both the route and the mines, the Roman's establishing toll stations, the Byzantines reopening New Kingdom and Ptolemaic mines at Bir Um Fawakhir, and both building watch towers along the route which survive today. The Romans built a series of eight watering stages (hydreuma), one of which, the Qasr el-Benat ("Castle of the Maidens") survives.
A modern asphalt road, the ''Wadi Hammamat road'' now runs for 194km through the Wadi, making it a vital transport route, and enabling tourists to easily travel from the sites of nearby Luxour and Thebes.[5]
Modern European description
The first European descriptions of the Wadi Hammamat were from the Scottish traveler James Bruce in 1769, and the Russian Egyptologist Vladimir Golenishchev led the first modern study of the inscriptions in 1884-1885.
Biblical significance
Pi-hahiroth on the eastern shore of Egypt just south of the Gulf of Aqaba, near Thebes port of Elim, is recorded in the Book of Exodus as a stop on the flight of the Jews from Egypt, suggesting that their path was through the Wadi Hammamat.
Popular Culture
The Pogues wrote a song about it, titled ''Girl From The Wadi Hammamat''.
References
1. The Archaeology of the Eastern Desert, Appendix F: Desert Rock Areas and Sites. Andie Byrnes, University College London, June 2007. Retrieved September 2007.
2. Survey of ancient Egyptian stone quarries (rock varieties and images, locations, and ages). James A. Harrell, Professor of Geology, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo. Retrieved September 2007.
3. [http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/mining.htm Mining in
An introduction to the history and culture of Pharaonic Egypt. André Dollinger, 2000. Retrieved September 2007.
4. //hometown.aol.co.uk/lankester2/page6.html WADI HAMAMMAT: Gallery and description of several dyanastic and pre-dynastic sites in the Wadi, by Francis Lankester. Retrieved September 2007.
5. planetware, detailed modern travel description.
★ touregypt.net the Wadi Hammamat.
★ Hammamat Inscriptions, translated to English in An introduction to the history and culture of Pharaonic Egypt. André Dollinger, 2000. Retrieved September 2007.
See Also
★ Stone quarries of ancient Egypt
★ Narmer Palette, 3100 BCE, one of a number of early and pre-dynastic artifacts carved from the destinctive stone of the Wadi Hammamat.
External Links
★ Photo Gallery of a visit to Wadi Hammamat.
★ Demotic Graffiti from the Wadi Hammamat, from Dr. Eugene Cruz-Uribe, Northern Arizona University.
★ Wadi Hammamat, The Road to the Sea. Photos by Yarko Kobylecky.
★ The Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri. ''O.Wadi Hamm.: Nouveaux textes grecs du Ouadi Hammamat'', Database of Greek inscriptions in the Wadi Hammamat.
★ Aegyptias Museum, University of Leipzig, "Steine der Pharaonen in Leipzig": Guide to 2005 exibit of stonework and photos of the Wadi Hammamat.
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