The Gebel el-Asr quarry is an almost invisible site in southwest Egypt, some 65 km northwest of Abu Simbel. It is also known as Chephren’s Quarry and Chephren Diorite Quarry, after the famous statue of Khafre, which is now in the Cairo Museum and was carved from stone quarried at the site. Before the formation of Lake Nasser, the quarry was sometimes known as Tushka Quarry, after the terminus of the 80 km ancient quarry road leading from the site to the Nile. This famous statue is shown in the photo below.
Location of Gebel el Asr quarry
The Gebel el-Asr region is located in Lower Nubia, about 65 km northwest of Abu Simbel.
Discovery
The Gebel el-Asr quarries were rediscovered in 1932 by a British Military patrol vehicle that strayed from its intended route during a sandstorm. Two archaeological expeditions travelled to the site in 1933 and 1938. They confirmed that the site was the source of the stone for the already famous statues of Khafre, recorded the location of the remains and removed the inscribed artefacts. The same expedition excavated a loading ramp, where large blocks were lifted onto sledges or other forms of transport for transfer to the Nile, and recorded the longest surviving Pharaonic quarry road, the 80 km ancient road between Gebel el-Asr and the Nile.
Gebel el-Asr Project
Geological investigations were undertaken in 1990, and in 1997, the Gebel el-Asr Project began surveying and excavating loci across the site to document and excavate the remains before any further destruction could occur. The site had been badly damaged due to the nearby reclamation and hydrological works associated with the Tushka Project, and continuing development made survey and excavation a priority.
Gebel el-Asr Project studied an Old and Middle Kingdom operational centre at Quartz Ridge, excavated two stone-built loading ramps and an area of Old Kingdom settlement in the south of the quarrying region. The ancient quarry road from Gebel el-Asr to Tushka was also surveyed, and two Old Kingdom camps were excavated along this road. Crucially, the Gebel el-Asr Project team could bring the site’s importance to the attention of the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA) and obtain SCA protection for the surviving sections. Government protection should ensure some level of site preservation. However, it can be difficult to police such a large area, mainly when it is a considerable distance from nearby settlements.
The early 21st century has also seen further investigation into the inscriptions from the site, notably the Middle Kingdom stelae from the Carnelian mine at Stelae Ridge. A team is currently translating these from Yale, which recently published an assemblage of stelae from one of the cairn shrines at Stelae Ridge.
