Gregory D. Mumford

Pharaonic ventures into South Sinai: El-Markha plain site 346

The objectives of the University of Toronto expedition to South Sinai include tracing pharaonic routes to the turquoise and copper mining region, investigating pharaonic and indigenous camps, mines, and their material culture assemblages in this area, and assessing Egypto-Sinaitic cross-cultural relations. The 2000-01 reconnaissance work and 2002 excavations focused on Site 346, a New Kingdom anchorage and copper smelting camp beside the Red Sea, located at the northern end of el-Markha Plain and to the west of the mining region around Serabit el-Khadim. Two contemporary small pottery scatters (Sites 346a-b) and a circular limestone structure (Site 345) were also investigated. The project has incorporated satellite image interpretation to isolate vegetation signatures and associated water sources within the arid el-Markha Plain, thereby detecting potential archaeological sites for ground reconnaissance work.