The ancient Egyptians were the first to apply the basic rules of geology
Written by: Farha Jamal al-Din
A writer and researcher in ancient Egyptian antiquities and a member of the Civilization Guardians of Archaeological Awareness, Kafr El Sheikh branch
There is some study conducted by a team of Egyptian researchers that the application of contemporary geological concepts appeared for the first time in the ancient Egyptian civilization, as the study published by the Geoheritage Journal showed that geology is one of the sciences known and practiced by the ancient Egyptians through the archaeological evidence left by civilization. Ancient Egyptian
Where the researchers refer to (crystallography) that it is one of the most important contemporary geological concepts about which many ancient Egyptians knew, and this is what was represented in the method of building the pyramids, where seven million stone pieces were carefully cut and polished, in addition to the obelisks that reflected a clear homogeneity in the way of cutting and refinement.
They were also interested in (petrology), which is concerned with the study of rocks, their properties, and their role in the formation and knowledge of the minerals that make up each rock. The ancient Egyptians had a good knowledge of the properties of rocks and their resistance to climatic conditions and time factors. , Obelisks} and other sculptures
The Egyptians gave different names and qualities in order to distinguish between rocks and some of them. This reflects that the Egyptians used types of rocks for different purposes. For example, the ancient Egyptians used dolerite to carve in the hardest stones. This indicates their knowledge of the high resistance of dolerite.
The stages of dealing with stone and metal by the ancient Egyptian:
We find that the ancient Egyptian used flint stone without changing it in its natural form in the lower ancient Stone Age, where he used it in the manufacture of weapons that he uses for hunting and self-defense, then he developed his stone tools (with shrapnel) so that he could make his machines such as scrapers and punches from them, and examples of them were found in the Eastern Desert. And the western and sedimentary layers near the banks of the Nile River
The ancient Egyptian used granite in paving the floors of the chambers of the pyramids of Giza and their funerary temples. It also used {alabaster} in making coffins and also used it in building the Valley Temple of King Unas in Saqqara.
Sandstone was used in the eleventh dynasty in paving the floor of the temple (Mentuhotep II) in Deir el-Bahari, as well as its roof and pillars.
The role of mines and quarries:
The ancient Egyptian, since prehistoric times known as the Stone Ages, realized the extent of his need for stones in order to manufacture his tools, tombs and dwellings, as well as the extent of his need for minerals such as (gold, silver) to make tools for his daily life and decorations
In the western and eastern deserts of Egypt and Sinai there are natural quarries full of various minerals (such as bronze, iron, lead, copper) which were all used to build pyramids, tombs and temples, and the ancient Egyptian discovered in the land of Sinai in the Maghribi Valley (copper) and copper represented a great leap in his life, so he moved From the manufacture of stone tools to the manufacture of tools from copper in addition to stone as well. This move was known (the copper stone age)
Quarries:
Schist: It is a type of quartz rocks with fine, hard and crystalline grains that resemble slate and light color.
Basalt: It is a black rock that was combined with some bright grains. It was used in the manufacture of pots since prehistoric times. Some of them were found in the civilizations (Fayyum, and the Mormadah Bani Salama) and in the Old Kingdom, it was used in the paving of the floor of the pyramid listed in Saqqara and the most important quarries (Abu Zaabal quarries) , Southeast of Samalut)
Quartz: It was used since the Old Kingdom on the doorstep of some doors in the mortuary temple of the king (Titi) in Saqqara and the burial room in the pyramid (Emmanemhat III) in Hawara and its most important quarries (north of Aswan on the eastern bank of the Nile, at the valley of Natrun, the Red Mountain)
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