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Ancient Egyptians - Egyptian Stone |
Egyptian Stone Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Stone Fact Sheet Fact 1 on Egyptian Stone: The stones found in ancient Egypt were used for building, for ornamental purposes and also for creating various kinds of tools and weapons. Fact 2 on Egyptian Stone: The Egyptians fiercely fought for their territories as they needed to keep control of the stone quarries in the desert areas. Fact 3 on Egyptian Stone: There are three general categories of rocks and stones – sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. Fact 4 on Egyptian Stone: Sedimentary rocks are formed by sediment that is deposited over time, usually as layers at the bottom of rivers. Examples of sedimentary rocks and stones include limestone, sandstone, greywacke, and flint. Fact 5 on Egyptian Stone: Igneous rocks and stones are formed when magma cools and solidifies. Examples of igneous rocks and stones include basalt, granite, obsidian and tuff. Fact 6 on Egyptian Stone: Metamorphic stones and rocks have been changed over time by extreme pressure and heat. Examples of metamorphic stones and rocks include quartzite, steatite and marble. Fact 7 on Egyptian Stone: Flint was used by the ancient Egyptians before the use of metals to make tools and weapons such as maces axes, arrows, spears, knives and daggers. All of these objects were commonly made of flint, but other hard stones such as chert, jasper, chalcedony, granite, basalt and sandstone was also used. Fact 8 on Egyptian Stone: Sandstone and Limestone were the main building stones of ancient Egypt. Fact 9 on Egyptian Stone: Yellow sandstone was found all throughout ancient Egypt and was also sourced in Nubia. Sandstone was used to create great statues, reliefs and temples and was often painted. Sandstone is not as durable as limestone. Fact 10 on Egyptian Stone: Limestone was used to cover pyramids, the walls of tombs, Mastaba tombs, and temples and were also used to create statues and bas relief carvings. Fact 11 on Egyptian Stone: Granite was abundant in Upper Egypt, especially in the Aswan region. Granite came in a variety of colors including red, black, blue and gray and used for building and creating sarcophagi and different types of statues. continued... Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Stone Fact Sheet Fact 12 on Egyptian Stone: Quartzite is a hard white, yellow or red rock consisting mainly of quartz found in the Eastern and Western deserts of Egypt. Quartzite was used for statues, the doorway thresholds of temples and wall linings in the ancient Egyptian tombs. Fact 13 on Egyptian Stone: Basalt is a type of volcanic rock, very dark green, grey to black in color. Basalt was used on the floors of temples and tombs. Basalt was also used for making the black statues of Pharaohsand gods especially in their creations depicting cats and jackals. Fact 14 on Egyptian Stone: Tuff or Tuffacious limestone: The greenish colored Tuff was quarried in the Eastern Desert and was used to make small vessels. Fact 15 on Egyptian Stone: Travertine is a calcite rock, a variety of limestone, that was also known as Egyptian alabaster. Travertine was carved into beads or statues and was particularly used to create the sacred tools used during the process of mummification and Canopic jars. Fact 16 on Egyptian Stone: Porphyry: Porphyry is a hard rock containing crystals, usually of feldspar or quartz and found in the mountain areas of the Western Desert. Porphyry was colored black, greenish black or purple and used to build columns and wall linings and to create small vessels. Fact 17 on Egyptian Stone: Steatite: Steatite is a black gray material also known as "soapstone". It was a talc which was worked into ornaments, inlays, statues and bowls by grinding and polishing. Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Stone Fact Sheet |
