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    Egypt, Mons Porphyrites

    European Cultural Area: Photos of Egypt, Mons Porphyrites, Egypt

    (37 images)

    0_map_djebel_dokhan.html a_djebel_dokhan.html ab_djebel_dokhan.html b_outpost.html c_rocks_valley.html d_callisaurus_draconoides.html e_old_well.html f_base_well.html fg_base_camp.html g_base_camp.html gh_camp_door.html h_situation.html i_badia_walls.html j_badia_walls.html k_test_block.html kl_serapis_temple.html km_serapis_temple.html kn_serapis_temple.html ko_serapis_temple.html kp_serapis_inscription.html kpq_driver_guide.html l_roman_road.html lm_roman_road.html m_unfinished_block.html mn_unfinished_column.html mno_footpath_station.html n_porphyry_scraps.html no_trail_quarries.html np_mountain_porphyry.html o_shelter.html op_towards_lycabettos.html p_valley.html q_ground_water.html r_abandoned_well.html s_tetrarchs.html st_theodoric.html t_aachen.html

    The Mons Porphyrites, today Gebel Abu Dukhan, was a Roman quarry, in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. It lies on the road between the Red Sea and Maximianopolis, the modern Qena. Porphyry is a hard volcanic rock with inclusions of feldspar or quartz. This red or purple Egyptian porphyry was mined until the 5th century and was used and re-used for the creation of numerous monuments and objects in Europe. The red porphyry was an imperial symbol and the delivery room of the palace in Constantinople was panelled with porphyry, that is why the children of reigning monarch were called "porphyrogenitos" i.e. "born-in-the-purple".

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