March
15
/ 2025
For decades archaeologists have exploring Egypt’s Eastern Desert, uncovering among other things the remnants of its vast ancient mining industry that functioned as an economic engine for the empire in ancient Egyptian times. Since 1994, the French Archaeological Mission has excavated over 20 sites in the region, with a focus on Roman forts and Ptolemaic-era mines. This resource-rich landscape was heavily exploited during the Hellenistic period (332–30 BC), and recent discoveries at an ancient site known as Ghozza have provided a stark look at the brutal conditions endured by the slaves who toiled in the gold mines of ancient Egypt. A Gold Boom in the Ptolemaic Period Egyptian gold has long been prized, as was long found in abundance in
