Gebel el-Zeit III

In the 2nd millennium BC, pharaonic expeditions crossed the Egyptian eastern desert to extract galena from Gebel el-Zeit on the shores of the Red Sea. Adjacent to the mines, a sanctuary of Hathor "mistress of galena" consisted of a dry-stone enclosure set against the rock wall. It contained a wealth of material deposited as ex-voto offerings, dating from the 12th Dynasty to the reign of Ramses II, in particular female terracotta figurines wrapped in linen and adorned with jewels. This publication presents these figurines and their transformations over this long period.