The second major group of sites that were visited were the Dakhla and Kharga Oases (Figure 2) that lie in the heart of the Egyptian Western Desert and were exploited for alum (Figure 3) which was used in the dyeing of cloth. Rarely some of these alums are pinkish in colour from the presence of cobalt and these form the source of the cobalt colorant that was widely used in glass, glazes and on ceramic vessels in the New Kingdom (1550-1085BC) (Kaczmarczyk 1986). In cooperation with the Dakhla Oasis Project, samples of alum of many colours were collected and will be analysed. It is hoped that these will lead to a great understanding of the use of these alums and how the cobalt colorant came to be discovered and used.
Several other sites were also visited, including Malkata, the site of the earliest known glass workshops. Ancient mining was studied at Mons Porphyrites, in the Eastern Desert which was exploited in the Roman period for ornamental stone. Earlier mines were also seen at the site of Serabit el Khadim in Sinai, which was the major source of turquoise for Egypt and the Levant in the pharaohnic period. A temple to the goddess Hathor, "Lady of Turquoise" still lies above the mines (Figure 4). Modern mines on Sinai for the exploitation of glassmaking sand and manganese were also visited.
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