The Roman quarry that supplied imperial purple stone
Mons Porphyrites
Typical visit: 2 h 30 m
The only known source of imperial porphyry in the Roman world, high in the mountains behind Hurghada.
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Porphyry — the deep purple stone reserved for emperors — came from exactly one place, and this is it. The workings are scattered up the wadis of Gebel Dokhan with ramps, a ruined fort and an unfinished column still lying where it cracked. It is a rough drive in and almost always empty.
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See it with
Places that carry the same story forward, or sit close enough to take in the same day.
- Same period
Mons Claudianus
A Roman granite quarry and its garrison, intact in the desert
53 km away
Same periodDendera Temple of Hathor
54 BC · Ptolemaic
139 km away
Same periodTemple of Khnum (Esna)
AD 50 · Roman
230 km away
NearbyGhost City — Umm El Howeitat
1920 · Modern Egypt
101 km away
NearbyMonasteries of St Anthony & St Paul
AD 356 · Early Christian
207 km away
NearbyHurghada Grand Aquarium
2015 · Contemporary
53 km away
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