Wadi el-Hudi Expedition

Wadi el-Hudi Expedition Wadi el-Hudi encompasses multiple Ancient Egyptian amethyst mines that may be the source of all purple jewelry in the ancient world. www.wadielhudi.com

Wadi el-Hudi is an area southeast of Aswan that is made up of many archaeological sites, consisting of fortified settlements, amethyst mines, and rock inscriptions. Egyptians mined this region during the Middle Kingdom and the Roman period. The state of preservation of the settlement areas is astonishing; the distribution of artifacts on the surface allows for a reconstruction of the various activ

ities that took place at Wadi el-Hudi over three-thousand years ago. The area was first discovered in 1917 and has been intermittently studied by geologists and archaeologists since. In the 1940’s Ahmed Fakhry conducted a survey of the area, where he identified 14 archaeological sites and recorded over 100 inscriptions. In the 1990s the sites were also visited by Ian Shaw, Robert Jameson, Rosemarie Klemm and Dietrich Klemm as part of large studies of Egyptian mining operations. The Wadi el-Hudi Expedition was launched in May of 2014 to continue studying the area and to yield answers to questions of settlement planning, organization of state-sponsored projects, the mechanics of semiprecious stone mining, interactions between Nubians and Egyptians, literacy among a soldiering class, and much more. Since beginning our work, the expedition has identified new, unknown archaeological sites and a dozen more inscriptions that were previously unpublished. The hope of the initial season was to mark a beginning of a long-term effort to investigate these archaeological gems in the desert. The expedition is currently directed by Kate Liszka and Bryan Kraemer and is sponsored by California State University, San Bernardino. We would like to extend our thanks to the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo and especially the Aswan Inspectorate for their continued support of and assistance with our project.

A throwback to the beautiful view that we have on our lunch breaks on site!
11/05/2026

A throwback to the beautiful view that we have on our lunch breaks on site!

A throwback to Wadi el-Hudi team members, Gaia Bencini, Amy Wilson, and Cristina Alu, sight reading some text on a weeke...
04/05/2026

A throwback to Wadi el-Hudi team members, Gaia Bencini, Amy Wilson, and Cristina Alu, sight reading some text on a weekend excursion to the Monastery of St. Simeon!

Have you received your ARCE SCRIBE magazine yet? Our second volume of "Tales from the Land of Amethyst" is now out! Thi...
17/04/2026

Have you received your ARCE SCRIBE magazine yet? Our second volume of "Tales from the Land of Amethyst" is now out! This article features the amazing work of our digital epigraphy team!

Now that we're back from the field and working on publications, it's easy to reminisce past field seasons. When we have ...
26/03/2026

Now that we're back from the field and working on publications, it's easy to reminisce past field seasons. When we have any spare time during a field season, Wadi el-Hudi team members love exploring the many archaeological and cultural places around Aswan! Last year, some of our excavation and lab team members visited the Monastery of St. Simeon.

Ramadan Kareem! رمضان كريم
19/02/2026

Ramadan Kareem! رمضان كريم

The Wadi el Hudi study season is officially over! We spent four quick weeks analyzing and drawing pottery (Middle Kingdo...
26/01/2026

The Wadi el Hudi study season is officially over! We spent four quick weeks analyzing and drawing pottery (Middle Kingdom, Ptolemaic, and Islamic), analyzing and photographing lithic stone tools, grinding stones and other small finds. We had a small team this season but everyone was ready and willing to jump in and help with whatever task needed to be done!

18/01/2026

This season we've been prioritizing object photography for upcoming publications. Both Nicolette and Gaia spent weeks photographing and 3D modelling pottery and stone tools. Here you can see one of our Nubian pots rotating on our turn table to make photogrammetry easier!

Jane mended Nubian pots today to prepare them for 3D photogrammetry. Once the pots are rendered into a 3D model we can c...
12/01/2026

Jane mended Nubian pots today to prepare them for 3D photogrammetry. Once the pots are rendered into a 3D model we can create orthophotos of these vessels that can be manipulated in virtual space and saved as high-resolution photos for publication. Also check out her cute Hathor T-Shirt, which is available in our merch shop!

Yesterday some of the team spent the day visiting Kom Ombo and the Nubian Museum in Aswan. Swipe to see the dramatic san...
10/01/2026

Yesterday some of the team spent the day visiting Kom Ombo and the Nubian Museum in Aswan. Swipe to see the dramatic sandstorm that blew in on the drive up to Kom Ombo!

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