The Archaeological Mission of “L’Orientale” In The Central-Eastern Desert of Egypt

The article presents the results of the first season of fieldwork of the Italian Archaeological Mission in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. In the area of Wadi Gasus, structures of the ‘Graeco-roman station’ have been mapped and documented; fragments of saggars, pointing to the production of Egyptian blue on the site, have been identified, as well as remains of a well (hydreuma) at the bottom of the wadi. A new mining site has also been identified in the area: although working areas and huts do not show signs of repairs or modifications, the site might have been exploited over a long period of time. Analysis of the data resulting from older publications are also presented, in order to gain a deeper knowledge of the evidence than the present conditions of the sites might allow. In the meantime, the possibility that long known sites might be exploited for resources different than previously supposed is also envisaged. Rosanna Pirelli analyses in particular the contents of two groups of Pharaonic inscriptions - one from the Middle Kingdom and one from the 26th dynasty – discovered between the first decades of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century – which are very important to reconstruct the Pharaonic exploitation of this area during the different periods. The consultation of manuscripts and publications of 19th century explorers (Burton and Wilkinson in particular) and the confrontation with the results of the archaeological survey give the author the opportunity to clarify the archaeological and historical context of both the groups of inscriptions and to recover part of the 26th dynasties texts, unpublished and neglected since long time.