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The gold of Nubia made Egypt very rich. Egypt
became so rich that the kings of other countries believed that
gold was "as common as dust" there. Archaeologists think that
most of the gold used in Tutankhmun's burial may have been mined
in Nubia, since at that time most of the gold used in Egypt came
from Nubia .
Precious Metals and Stone. Egyptian
interests in Nubia were always driven by economics. The one
factor that chiefly characterized Egypt's relationship with
Nubia through most of their history was exploitation. Nubia's
most important resource for Egypt was precious metal, including
gold and electrum. The gold mines of Nubia were located in
certain valleys and mountains on either side of the Nile River,
although the most important mining center was located in the
Wadi Allaqi. That valley extended eastward into the mountains
near Qubban (about 107 km. south of Elephantine). Nubia was also
an important source of valuable hard stone and copper, both of
which were necessary for Egypt's monumental building projects."
" The gold mines were now extensively worked. Inscriptions from
the 18th. Dynasty record large quantities of precious metal
recieved, subdivided into 'Gold of Wawat' and 'Gold of Kush',
and wall-apintings of some Theban officials include scenes of
Nubian presenting gold to the king. The extent to which the
Egyptians identified Nubia with its most desirable product is
reflected in one of the viceroy's secondary titles, 'Overseer of
Gold Lands of the Lord of the two lands'......"
For centuries people knew that gold came from Nubia. When the
Egyptians took over Nubia about 1450 BCE, they began searching
to find where it came from. They discovered some gold near the
Nile, but they found larger amounts in the desert far away from
the Nile. The Egyptians sent many slaves to mine the gold. Many
workers died because of the heat and lack of water.
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