Egypt | Sikair-Zubara, Wadi Sikait Emerald Mines

Mons Smaragdus

Egypt's Sikair-Zubara region 75 miles north-west of Berenice, is the site of some of the first emerald mines in the world, known as the "Wadi Gimal" mines. The Wadi Gimal mines are located south of the Edfu/Marsa Alam Highway between the Mons Smaragdus area and the settlement in Kab Marfu'a. The region became known as the Mons Smaragdus or 'Emerald Mountains," and the grouping of mines became known generically as the "Wadi Gimal" or "Cleopatra Mines."

The Wadi Gimal & Wadi Sikait Mines

There are several emerald mines in the 'Wadi Gimal' complex: Wadi Sikait in the central-north (satellite image below), Wadi Nugrus and Wadi Abu Rusheid to the south-west, Gebel Zabara to the north-west, Wadi Gimal to the southwest, and Wadi Umm Kabu and Wadi Umm Debaa to the south-east.

The Wadi Gimal and Wadi Sikait mines may have been exploited as early as the reign of Pharaoh Senusret III (Sesostris III), in around 1800 BC, continuing through the Ptolemaic and early Roman period. Contradicting this theory, the Greek geographer Strabo (c. 63/64 BC - 20 AD) documented in his book History, that emerald mining began during the Ptolemaic period (c. 330 BC - 30 BC). No known text links Cleopatra directly to the mines.

For additional Information on the Mons Smaragdus region, go to: The Sikait Project