Egypt is a land rich in gold, and ancient miners using traditional methods thoroughly exploited economically viable sources. In addition to the resources of the Eastern Desert, Egypt had access to the riches of Nubia, which is reflected in its old name, nbw (the Egyptian word for gold). There is no doubt that the ancient Egyptians had a voracious appetite for gold. Descriptions of the metal appeared in hieroglyphics as early as 2600 BC.
C. Around 1500 BC C. The source of this gold was Nubia, or Kush, a sub-Saharan empire located on the Nile, south of Egypt. The pharaohs sent expeditions to Nubia to extract gold from quartz veins, which Egyptian goldsmiths transformed into vessels, furniture, funerary equipment and sophisticated jewelry.
Gold mining in Upper Egypt dates back to the predynastic era, and the oldest known map in the world, from the Ramesside period, dating from around 1160 BC. C., shows the route to the gold mines in Wadi Hammamat, in the eastern desert. The Sukari gold mine (SGM) is located in the south of Egypt's eastern desert and is considered to be the largest and most modernized gold mine in the country. Ancient Egypt's legendary gold wealth seems to correspond to an unexpected number of gold production sites in the eastern desert of Egypt and Nubia.
