The volume discusses the travertine (Egyptian alabaster) quarries at Hatnub, in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. Most of the archaeological remains date to the Old and Middle Kingdoms, but there was also a significant encampment during the New Kingdom. Using archaeological and textual evidence from Hatnub, the volume addresses some of the social and economic issues relating to the Ancient Egyptian procurement of materials from remote sites. It explores issues such as the provisioning and organization of Egyptian quarrying and mining expeditions, the nature of the key groups of workmen involved in quarrying, and the ritualisation of areas of remote, liminal human activity in the pharaonic period.
