illustration extraite de l'ouvrage de Grinsell
Sources and Quarrying of the Soft Stones
(I) Coarse limestone was normally obtained from the immediate
vicinity of each pyramid. Coarse limestone quarries used for
the Gîza Pyramids have been located around the Sphinx, south-east of the pyramid of Mycerinus, and south-east of the pyramid
of Khephren. Quarries of coarse limestone for the Dahshur
north pyramid are located south-west of that pyramid, to which
they are connected by causeways. There is textual evidence
that the coarse limestone for both of the Lisht pyramids was
obtained from a quarry near the north Lisht pyramid.
(II) Fine limestone was used extensively for casing the pyramids,
lining their passages and chambers, and lining the walls and pavements of the temples and causeways. The main source of supply
was from the Moqattam-Tura-Ma'sara caves between Cairo and
Helwan, which were worked from Dynasty III onwards.
The history of these caves may be briefly related. Examination of the limestone facing of the pyramids and associated buildings of Dynasty III leaves little or no doubt that the quarries in question were being worked during that period. The earliest textual references to the Tura Quarries are of Dynasty VI. Among the titles of one Meryrê-‘ankh of this Dynasty was "Overseer of the Tura Quarries". A papyrus letter of Dynasty VI found at Saqqâra and now in the Cairo Museum (No. 49623) was written by an officer in charge of Tura quarrymen, and complains of delay in issuing clothes to his men. It is unfortunate that any Old Kingdom inscriptions that may have existed in the quarries themselves must have been destroyed by later quarrying. During the Middle Kingdom the quarries were extensively worked, and it is to this period that the earliest known surviving quarry inscription belongs. It described "the opening of the quarry-chambers anew in order to quarry good white stone of Tura for the buildings of this priest, of millions of years", and was written during the reign of Ammenemes III.
During the New Kingdom and later, the quarries continued active, and about a dozen hieroglyphic inscriptions on the quarry walls are referable to these times. The working of the quarries has continued until the present day, and is still flourishing.
Although most of the caves are now closed to the public, a few are still accessible, notably two examples at the Bektashi Monastery south of the citadel at Cairo, and two or three examples at the north end of the Tura group, accessible by road from Tura-Cozzika Railway Station.
The following features of the caves are of interest : 1. Rows of notches arranged vertically on the walls ; these were footholds for the workmen to climb to the top of the quarry faces.
2. Ledges beneath the ceiling at the top of each quarry face, where the quarrymen squatted in order to extract the stone.
3. Parallel striae on each quarry face, caused by the use of copper chisels and adzes.
4. Lines, symbols, and inscriptions on the ceilings, giving directions for quarrying and probably describing the progress of work.
The ancient quarrying of fine limestone was divided into two
main operations : 1. Working downwards with chisels or adzes on the four
vertical sides of the block to be extracted.
2. Striking the horizontal blows along the base in order to
detach the block ; this was a comparatively easy process.
There is some evidence that convicts and prisoners of war constituted a considerable portion of the quarry labour. Convict labour is still used at Tura, and two mutilated inscriptions of Ahmose I (Dynasty XVIII) refer either to the Fenkhu (Phoenicians) or to cattle belonging to the Fenkhu as having been employed in the quarries.
(III) Alabaster was used for flooring the lower and upper temples of Khephren, and the upper temples of Unis and Teti. It was
especially in demand for altars (that of Neuserrê at Abu Girâb)
and offering tables (Mernerâ, Udjebten, and many others).
The quarries at Hatnub about 25 km. east of El Amarna were
the main source of supply during the Old and Middle Kingdoms.
They contain inscriptions of the reigns of Kheops, Teti, Pepy I and II, Mernerê, Sesostris I and III, and Ammenemes II. The
inscription of Uni, in Cairo Museum, described his journey to
Hatnub in order to get an alabaster offering table for the pyramid
of Mernerê.
There was also a small alabaster quarry in the Wadi Garâwi
about 8 km. south-west of Helwan, which was worked during the
Old Kingdom.
The method of quarrying alabaster was similar to that for
limestone, the chief tools used being probably copper chisels and
adzes.
Sources and Quarrying of the Hard Stones
(1) Granite used very occasionally during Dynasties I and II, and for
the main burial chamber of the Step Pyramid of Djeser at Saqqâra.
From Dynasty IV onwards its use became common, notably in the
pyramid complexes of Kheops, Khephren and Mycerinus. It was
nearly always used for the portcullis slabs and other important
parts of the interior of the pyramids of the Old Kingdom. Where
roof-spans were more than about 3 metres, as in the so-called
King’s chamber of the pyramid of Kheops, granite had to be used
as limestone tends to crack if used for roofing such spans. When
there was difficulty in getting granite, blocks of limestone were
sometimes used instead and painted to resemble granite, (e.g. the
false door of Udjebten ; the tomb of Mehu at Saqqâra, and many
other instances). The source of supply of nearly all the granite used in ancient
Egyptian building was the neighbourhood of Aswân, especially
Elephantine Island. The beautiful red variety was most frequently
used, but occasionally black granite was employed, notably for
lining the walls of the north corridor of the upper temple of
Mycerinus. The pyramidia were always of a black or grey-black
stone, either granite, basalt, or schist.
Among the Old Kingdom references to the quarrying of
granite from Elephantine Island are two of special interest. That
relating to the quarrying and transport of granite palmiform
columns for the pyramid temples of Unis occurs in the form of
reliefs and inscriptions on the walls of the causeway of that king’s
pyramid at Saqqâra. The inscription of Uni in Cairo Museum
includes an account of his journey to Elephantine to get a granite
false door, offering slab, and doorway settings and thresholds for
the pyramid complex of Mernerê.Although there are great numbers of hieroglyphic rock
inscriptions in the Aswân area, those so far published do not
include references to the granite quarries, and there can be little
doubt that the quarry inscriptions have been destroyed by later
workings.
The rounded surfaces of some of the untrimmed granite casing
blocks of the pyramid of Mycerinus show that they were derived
from boulders from the river at Aswân. On the other hand the
large slabs used e.g. for roofing the King’s chamber of Kheops
must have been quarried.
The ancient quarries south of Aswân are famous for the unfinished obelisk still in its original quarry, which exhibits the
characteristic laboriously pounded faces and shows a few of the
masons’ guide lines and other symbols in red ochre. In the
vicinity of the ancient quarries are large numbers of pounders of
greenish-black dolerite, used in quarrying and working all kinds of
hard stone. It is certain that saws were also used in working
granite and other hard stones, as saw-marks often occur on them.
(2) Basalt. Black or dark grey basalt was used for flooring the upper
temples of Kheops, Userkaf, Sahurê and Neuserrê. The material
may have corne from Gebel-el-Qatrâni in the Faiyûm.
(3) Schist was often used for statues and offering vases, but seldom for
building material. The main source of supply was the celebrated
quarries of Wadi Hammâmât between Qus and Quseir, which
contain some 250 hieroglyphic inscriptions, including examples
of the reigns of Pepy I, the Mentuhotpes, Ammenemes I and III,
Sesostris III, and many of later date. Among the inscriptions of
the reign of Pepy I is a reference to a pyramid builder named
Tjetjy.
The quarrying of schist and other hard stones was sometimes
accompanied by curious ritual. The inscription of Intef (Dynasty
XII), in the Hammâmât quarries, relates how he prostrated himself
before all the gods and goddesses of the desert, including Min
and Mut, and burned incense to them, in order to obtain their
assistance in guiding him to a large and sound block of stone, the
like of which had never been brought since the time of the gods.
On other occasions animals were sacrificed after suitable stone had been found. The numbers of men sent on some of the quarrying expeditions to Wadi Hammâmât often ran into thousands. Ammenemes III for example sent an expedition of 2,000 troops, 20 necropolis
soldiers, 30 sailors, and 30 quarrymen to those quarries in order
to quarry and hew ten statues, each of which was 5 cubits (about
8 1/2 feet) high.
(4) Quartzite. Although quartzite was used in Dynasties IV and VI for statues of Djedefrâ and in the upper temple of Teti, it
was not employed extensively until Dynasties XII and XIII, when
it was used for the sarcophagus of Ammenemes III at Hawâra,
and for portcullis slabs, sarcophagus chambers, and/or sarcophagi
of Middle Kingdom pyramids between Saqqâra and Mazghûna.
The main source of supply was most likely the quarries at El
Gebel el Ahmar, about 10 kilometres north-east of Cairo, where
hieroglyphic inscriptions of late date existed until recently. On the
site there are still quarry-faces marked with red guide-lines to aid
the quarrymen, and there is an unfinished recumbent royal statue.
Dolerite pounders are common in the vicinity.
North of Aswân is the remnant of another ancient quartzite
quarry.
(5) Sandstone. Sandstone was seldom used in the building of any parts of the pyramid complexes, except at the pyramid-temple of Mentuhotpe II-III at El Deir el Bahari. There is evidence however that the sandstone quarries of the Western Nubian Desert, about 65 kilometres north-west of Abu Simbel were worked during the reigns of Djedefrê, Djedkarê-Isesi, Ammenemes I, Sesostris I (period of co-regency), and Ammenemes II and III. The earliest inscriptions in the sandstone quarries of Gebel Silsila, between Luxor and Aswân, are of Dynasty XVIII.
Sources of Other Materials. (1) Copper, for implements used in quarrying, probably all came from the mines in the vicinity of Serâbit el Khâdim and Wadi Maghârah in south-eastern Sinai where there are many inscriptions of Old, Middle and New Kingdoms.
(2) Gold was used extensively for the royal grave furniture, nearly all of which was looted long ago. The articles from the tomb of Hetepheres (mother of Kheops) now in Cairo Museum may be taken as a sample of what every royal tomb of Old or Middle Kingdom must have contained. The source of supply was the quartz veins running through the granite, especially between Qena and Quseir in Upper Egypt.
(3) Faïence was used in Dynasty III in the blue tile chambers of the monument of Djeser at Saqqâra. It is believed to contain natron from the Wadi Natrûn.
(4) Woods, imported largely from Syria, included ebony (from Dynasty I), juniper (from Dynasty III), fir (from Dynasty V), yew (from Dynasty VI) and cedar (from the Middle Kingdom and probably earlier). A coffin of cypress (Dynasty III) was found in the Step Pyramid at Saqqâra.
Transport of stone from quarry to pyramid, which may have been
done with the assistance of oxen, involved the following operations :(1) Transport from the quarry to the water’s edge. This process
was often facilitated by constructing an embankment or causeway.
Such embankments or causeways still exist at the granite quarries
of Aswân, the alabaster quarries of Hatnub, the basalt quarry
in the Faiyûm, and the limestone quarries in the Moqattam-Tura-Ma'sara area. The stones were moved on sledges as depicted
on a stela from the Tura caves. At the river’s edge there was
most likely a quayside (mryt) on which the blocks of stone were
unloaded before embarkation.
(2) Transport by river to the western bank. In the case of the transport of fine white limestone from the Moqattam-Tura-Ma‘sara
area this merely involved the short journey across the river, and
may have been done by a type of barge of which models were
found near the pyramid of Queen Neit. Most of the transport
across river was done during the inundation season in order to
minimise land transport.
Accounts of journeys downstream with stone from the Upper
Egyptian quarries have survived mainly in the inscription of Uni,
who gave a detailed account of his expeditions to Upper Egypt to
get materials for the pyramid complex of Mernerê at Saqqâra. He transported the alabaster from Hatnub in a
cargo boat 60 cubits long and 30 cubits broad, built in 17 days. (...)
On the walls of the causeway of Unis at Saqqâra are reliefs
and inscriptions of 'the coming (of the ships) from Elephantine
Island loaded with red granite columns and cornice-blocks for
the pyramid called ‘"the Places of the Son of Re Unis are
beautiful"'. Carl V. Solver suggests that advantage was taken of
a rising Nile for transport of stone from Upper Egypt, in order to
minimise the risk of the vessel grounding on the way.
On the western bank of the river there were quaysides for the
unloading of the stone. A block of fine white limestone from the
Pyramid of Sesostris I at Lisht was inscribed, 'Brought from the
Rekhet landing stage'. It is possible that some of these quay-sides may have later served the lower temples of pyramids, as
quays have been found near the lower temples of Sahurê, Neuserê,
and Unis.
(3) Transport from the western bank of the river to the site of the
pyramid was effected by sledges of acacia or cedar, evidences of
which have been found near the pyramids of Sesostris III at
Dahshûr and Sesostris III at Lahûn. It seems probable that
most of the stone was taken to each pyramid along the causeway
connecting the sites for the upper and lower temples."
extrait d' Egyptian Pyramids, 1947, par Leslie Grinsell (1907-1995), archéologue et conservateur de musée anglais. Durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, il a rejoint la Royal Air Force et a servi en Égypte, où il s'est familiarisé avec les vestiges archéologiques de l'Égypte antique.
