Ancient Copper Smelting Workshop Unearthed in South Sinai

Nevine El-Aref 

Sunday 14 Sep 2025

An Egyptian archaeological mission has uncovered a copper smelting workshop, administrative buildings, and observation points at the Wadi El-Nasab site in South Sinai, shedding new light on the scale and organization of ancient Egypt's mining industry.

The site, long known as a major source of copper and turquoise, appears to have been active from the Old Kingdom through the Late Period, with peak activity during the New Kingdom, according to the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).

“The workshops, copper ingots of different shapes and sizes, and tuyère heads uncovered provide clear evidence of an advanced and well-organized system for smelting and casting copper before transporting it to the Nile Valley for use in craftsmanship, military tools, and administration,” explained Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the SCA.

Excavations also revealed two sandstone buildings near the entrance of the wadi that were initially used as lookout points and later converted into smelting workshops during the New Kingdom, said Mohamed Abdel-Badie, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector.

Inside, archaeologists found furnaces, slag, copper ingots weighing over one kilogram, and clay tuyère heads of various sizes.

A third structure, believed to have served as a control and observation post for mining expeditions, likely predates the New Kingdom, said Head of the Central Administration for Lower Egypt Antiquities and mission director Hesham Hussein.

“We also succeeded in uncovering part of a large central workshop that contained multiple types of copper smelting furnaces, ore-preparation tools, ceramic crucibles, amphorae and Egyptian vessels, as well as large quantities of charcoal prepared from local trees and blocks of refined clay for manufacturing tuyère heads,” Hussein added.

“Sinai was not just a mining hub; it was a strategic extension of the Egyptian state,” said Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities.

He stated that it demonstrates how ancient Egyptians managed natural resources in ways that “resonate with today’s concepts of sustainable development.”

The mission will continue excavations at Wadi El-Nasab, considered one of Egypt’s most important ancient mining centres.