Expeditions to the Wadi Hammamat during the New Kingdom *

Abstract

From the Old Kingdom on Egyptians were procuring raw materials from sites in the Eastern Desert or the Sinai peninsula at an organised and sophisticated level. The Wadi Hammamat has yielded abundant textual and archaeological material for the New Kingdom. This article focuses on the textual evidence of that period and examines the organisation and supply efforts which the Egyptians undertook on a grand scale, sometimes equipping more than 8,000 men. The economic effects of these large enterprises had profound repercussions for the Egyptian economy, stretching its capabilities and potential to the limits. Within the overall political situation, this certainly contributed to the fading power of the late Ramesside rulers domestically and internationally.