Moustafa Resk Ibrahim, South Sinai inspectorate, Abu Zenima, Egypt
Pierre Tallet, Paris IV-Sorbonne University, Paris, France

Rock inscriptions are a fundamental source for the study of mining expeditions, sent
during the Pharaonic Period to prospect for raw materials in the deserts bordering
the Nile Valley. Markings that line the routs taken by these mining teams, responsible
mainly for bringing back minerals and stones suitable for construction, were noted
as far back as the earliest part of Egyptian history: such as the serekh of Narmer that
was identifi ed in the Eastern Desert at Wadi El-Gash, on a track probably leading to
copper mines.

However, the fi rst monumental bas-reliefs, showing an official image
of the sovereign, do not seem to be attested prior the 3rd Dynasty. In fact, it is during
the reigns of Djoser, Sekhemkhet and Sanakht at the Wadi Maghara (South-Sinai)
that there appears for the fi rst time the familiar image of the King killing the Asian
Bedouin, thus permitting him to take symbolic possession of the mining areas.

[archeonil.com]

Presentation (Fr.) by Tallet (43.35) - [www.academia.edu]