Ancient site · Red Sea
Mons Porphyrites
Ancient Roman quarries in the Red Sea Hills, once the only known source of imperial purple porphyry.
The story
Gebel Dokhan is the present name of Mons Porphyrites, a group of ancient quarries in the Red Sea Hills of the Eastern Desert. Under the Roman Empire it was the only known source of the purple imperial variety of porphyry, worked between the 1st and 5th centuries AD. The quarries were discovered in AD 18 by Caius Cominus Leugas and spread over about nine square kilometres. Together with other imperial quarries in the Eastern Desert they were probably run under one administration, and the central complex held workers' housing, a fort and temples.
Good to know
- It was the only known source of imperial purple porphyry.
- The quarries were exploited between the 1st and 5th centuries AD.
- The quarries are spread over about 9 square kilometres.