A valuable scientific discovery helped scientists make a silver bracelet for Queen Hetepheres I, the mother of Pharaoh Cheops.
The decoration for the first time in history confirmed that there were trade relations between Greece and Egypt. Finding the first evidence of this was announced by scientists, informs scientific publication Archaeological Science: Reports after examining the jewelry of the ancient Egyptian queen discovered during archaeological excavations.
The purpose of the research by an international group of archaeologists was to determine what materials the jewelry was made of. In their composition, gold, copper, lead, and fragments of precious and semi-precious stones – turquoise, carnelian, lapis lazuli, familiar to Egypt, were found. But one bracelet, created in 2600 BC, was special and attracted the attention of researchers. The butterfly decoration contained silver, although at that time there were no sources of it in Egypt.
After examining the bracelet more carefully, scientists came to the conclusion that silver was mined on the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, in particular, in the city of Lavrion, and then transported to Egypt. The researchers said the discovery represents the first evidence of trade between the two countries that was not even known before. The authors of the scientific work suggested that the silver was probably transported through the port of Byblos, where many silver objects were also found and which was actively trading with Egypt. Karin Sovada, lead author of the study, lecturer in history and archeology at Macquarie University in Sydney, said:
“This new find perfectly demonstrates the geographic extent of the first trading networks of the Egyptian state during the early Old Kingdom, at the height of the pyramid building era.”
Earlier, our publication told how the mines of Lavrio changed ancient Athens and the modern world. Just fifty kilometers south of Athens, between capes Thorikus and Sounio, Lavrio mines are located. Silver, copper, lead and even rare metals have been mined here since the Late Neolithic, around the beginning of the 4th millennium BC.
More Stories
Schools in Germany: convert to Islam so as not to be an outsider
On this day in 1896, a statue was found in Delphi "Delphic Charioteer"
Notre Dame is promised to be renovated for the Olympics in Paris