<P> Gold mining in Upper Egypt can be traced back to predynastic times , and the earliest map known in the world from the Ramesside Period dating to about 1160 BCE , shows the route to the gold mines in the Wadi Hammamat , Eastern Desert . Gold mining started with alluvial workings in Egypt and was followed by shallow underground vein mining in Nubia about 1300 BCE , during the New Kingdom period . The methods of working included fire - setting to weaken rocks by thermal shock , a method described by Diodorus Siculus in his Bibliotheca historica written about 60 BCE . </P>
<P> Gold mining in Upper Egypt can be traced back to predynastic times , and the earliest map known in the world from the Ramesside Period dating to about 1160 BCE , shows the route to the gold mines in the Wadi Hammamat , Eastern Desert . Gold mining started with alluvial workings in Egypt and was followed by shallow underground vein mining in Nubia about 1300 BCE , during the New Kingdom period . The methods of working included fire - setting to weaken rocks by thermal shock , a method described by Diodorus Siculus in his Bibliotheca historica written about 60 BCE . </P>
where did all the gold come from in egypt
where did all the gold come from in egypt
Wadi Hammamat , Eastern Desert
Wadi Hammamat , Eastern Desert