Gebel El-Zeit, 1: Les Mines de galene.

• Author: Muhly, J.D.

The Gebel el-Zeit contains ancient galena mines (though petroleum deposits might have been expected at a location known as the "Mountain of Oil"). The French conglomerate known as TOTAL (Compagnie francaise des petroles) had, in fact, been prospecting for oil in the wider region, known as the Ras Gharib (the western shore of the Red Sea, opposite the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula) and, as a gesture in enlightened corporate philanthropy, agreed to finance the fieldwork (and the resulting publication) of the team investigating the pharaonic galena mines. This generous support made possible five field seasons (1982-1986) and the publication of this first volume, devoted to work at the two main mining sites (known as Site 1 and Site 2). The second volume will publish the settlements and sanctuaries associated with the mines.

Matters of chronology are also to be discussed in the second volume. It seems, however, that mining activity at the Gebel el-Zeit began as early as the reign of Amenemhet II and continued, not without interruption, down to the reign of Ramses II, giving a general chronological range of ca. 1900-1300 B.C. In general the main period of mining activity seems to have been during the Second Intermediate Period.

This first volume, by G. Castel and G. Soukiassian (with a chapter by G. Pout), is a model publication. The maps, plans, and diagrams are of very high quality. The presentation of the stone mining tools is so good that one hopes it will come to serve as a model for all future publications of such material. The fifteen color photographs, plus the dramatic color photograph on the cover of the volume, are a further welcome part of this handsome volume. In addition to the maps and plans of the mining sites themselves, especially of mine no. 399 (in Site 2), this publication also includes an excellent...