Lemos, Rennan;
Tichindelean, Matei;
Kochergina, Yulia V Erban;
Zaggia, Caterina;
Werkstrom, Ludmila;
Hocker, Emma;
Martinon-Torres, Marcos;
(2024)
Bronze age supply chains between ancient Egypt and Nubia revealed by lead isotope analysis of kohl samples.
Scientific Reports
, 14
(1)
, Article 27488. 10.1038/s41598-024-79162-z.
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Abstract
While there is a considerable body of data regarding the sources of minerals employed in Bronze Age Egypt, the supply chains to Sudanese Lower Nubia are virtually unknown. This paper presents results of lead isotope analysis of 11 samples of kohl from C-group, Pan-grave and New Kingdom funerary contexts across the Debeira and Ashkeit areas in Sudanese Lower Nubia during the Bronze Age. The samples could be divided in two groups based on their lead isotope ratios. A comparison between the kohl samples from Sudanese Lower Nubia and galena ores from various mining sites on the Red Sea coast of Egypt indicated that some of the galena used in kohl mixtures in Sudanese Lower Nubia came from the Pharaonic mining site of Gebel el-Zeit. The second group of Nubian samples seems to have originated from an alternative galena source yet to be determined. This is the first time that kohl samples from Sudanese Lower Nubia are integrated into known northeast African networks of supply by using Lead isotope analysis.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Bronze age supply chains between ancient Egypt and Nubia revealed by lead isotope analysis of kohl samples |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-024-79162-z |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79162-z |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2025 Springer Nature Limited. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Kohl, Lead isotope analysis, Supply chains, Sudan, Nubia, Egypt |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10208322 |
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