 Wādī Nugruṣ, looking southeast | ||
| Wādī Nugruṣ · وادي نجرص | ||
| Governorate | Red Sea | |
|---|---|---|
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | ||
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Wadi Nugrus, Arabic:وادي نجرص, Wādī Nugruṣ, also Wādī Nuqruṣ, وادي نقرص, Is a valley north of the Wādī el-Gimāl valley, on the slopes of which there is an abandoned mining settlement, which is part of the emerald mining area Mons Smaragdus belongs. The miners were in the vicinity of the settlement Sikait employed.
background
The Wādī Nugruṣ is about two and a half kilometers southwest of Sikait. On both flanks of the wadi are both the buildings and shallow shafts in which the emeralds were dug.
Wādī Nugruṣ is a modern name. The ancient name of this site is unknown.
In the 1990s, on-site inspections were carried out by the working groups of Steven Sidebotham and Ian Shaw (1994). Based on the ceramic shards found, it was possible to date the settlement between the early and late Roman times (around 6th-9th centuries). Sidebotham reported that one of the buildings, a little south of the main group of buildings, may have been a Roman temple built on an artificial platform and accessible by stairs. The finds included a fragment of a statue of a seated deity with an animal figure on the sides of the throne.
The emeralds were created in open-cast mining. The shallow shafts below the settlement, about 2 meters deep and 3–4 meters in diameter, are usually littered with pseudo debris. Over time, the new shafts were built higher and higher, and the overburden covered the deeper shafts.
The emerald predominantly crystallized on the edges of quartz lenses and ducts embedded in layers of slate. The emeralds contain inclusions of quartz and biotite.
getting there
In addition to the authorization from the military and the national park administration, several all-wheel-drive all-terrain vehicles are required for the journey.
The arrival takes place from Marsā ʿAlam on trunk road 24 until after 52 kilometers you get to the 1 Access to Wādī el-Gimāl(24 ° 39 '44 "N.35 ° 5 '28 "E) reached. Shortly before you pass the building of the 1 National Park Administration(24 ° 41 ′ 12 ″ N.35 ° 5 ′ 1 ″ E).
Now you follow the wadi to the west and after 40 kilometers you reach one 2 crotch(24 ° 34 '35 "N.34 ° 49 ′ 37 ″ E), and you drive to the right in a north-northwest direction 2.3 kilometers further to another 3 crotch(24 ° 35 ′ 17 ″ N.34 ° 48 ′ 50 ″ E). To the north (to the right) one arrives at the Wādī Sikait and after 6 or 8 kilometers you reach the Sikait miners' settlement and later the emerald mine. If you continue west at the last fork into the Wādī Nugruṣ, you will reach another after another 6 kilometers 4 Side valley(24 ° 37 ′ 3 ″ N.34 ° 46 ′ 33 ″ E) to the northwest and then after 400 meters you come to the miners' settlement of Wādī Nugruṣ.
mobility
The slope to the settlement can be covered with an all-terrain all-wheel drive vehicle. The ascent of the sometimes steep valley slopes must be done on foot. Sturdy shoes are advisable.
Tourist Attractions
On both slopes, but mainly on the northern slope, there are the remains of over a hundred buildings, of which about two dozen are in good condition. The buildings are usually square or rectangular and taller than a man. Some buildings even have two floors. The purpose of each building is unknown.
The buildings have dry stone walls without local sandstone mortar. Doors and windows have a lintel from a large rock. Shelves were also occasionally inserted in the masonry. The roofs were made with large stone slabs.
Kitchen, shelter and security
see article Mons Smaragdus.
trips
The excursion to Wādī Nugruṣ can be made with visits to Sikait and Umm kaboo connect.
literature
- : Emerald mining in Roman and Byzantine Egypt. In:Journal of Roman archeology (JRA), ISSN1047-7594, Vol.12 (1999), Pp. 203–215, in particular pp. 210 f, doi:10.1017 / S1047759400017980.
- : The Red Land: the illustrated archeology of Egypt’s Eastern desert. Cairo: American University at Cairo Press, 2008, ISBN 978-977-416-094-3 , Pp. 130-132, 298-300.
