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Archaeological geology of the world's first emerald mine.
Geoscience Canada
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June 1, 2004|
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COPYRIGHT 2004 Geological Association of Canada. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.
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ABSTRACT
Emerald, a green transparent variety of beryl, was one of the most highly prized gemstones in antiquity. The earliest known emerald mine is located in the mountain valley of Wadi Sikait in Egypt's Eastern Desert, where mining probably began toward the end of the Ptolemaic period in the first century BC. Most of the mining activity, however, dates to the Roman and Byzantine periods, from the late first century BC through the sixth century AD. The Romans referred to emerald as smaragdus and named the Sikait region Mons Smaragdus or Emerald Mountain. An archaeological ...
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