Figure 124. The Site of the Emerald Mines. 



PREHISTORIC EMERALD MINES. 



By LEOPOLD CLAREMONT, 

 Author of " Ceylon, the Island of Jewels," " The Gem-Cutter's Craft." 



In 1812, a Frenchman named Cailliard rediscovered 

 a series of anciently-worked emerald mines, the 

 history of which is lost in antiquity. 



They were found in a desolate mountain range 

 which lies west of, and parallel to the Red Sea 

 hetween the 24th and 25th lines of latitude. 



He was one of 

 a party of ex- 

 plorers sent by 

 Mehemet Ali 

 Pasha, to en- 

 deavour to locate 

 the mines of 

 Ethiopia, whence 

 the ancients ob- 

 tained their emer- 

 alds, and to which 

 old inscriptions 

 refer, but of which 

 all trace had been 

 lost. It is a matter 

 of history that 

 Cleopatra caused 

 her portrait to be 

 engraved on em- 

 eralds, and there 

 is also the legend 

 of Nero viewing 

 the burning of 

 Rome through 



one of these stones. Moreover, emerald jewels 

 are to-day found in the ruins of ancient cities, 

 and enclosed within the bindings of Egyptian 

 mummies, so there can be no doubt that the gems 



Figure 125. A good geological section. 



were much appreciated at a most remote date. 



The result of Cailliard's investigations and also 

 those of a British expedition of recent years, was the 

 discover}- of quantities of emeralds of large size but 

 poor quality, which in every respect resemble the 

 ancient jewels referred to above. 



There is little 

 doubt but that 

 the Frenchman 

 was successful in 

 his quest, and 

 that the mines 

 which he found 

 are the actual 

 ones from which 

 the gems were 

 taken in ancient 

 times. For con- 

 vincing evidence 

 that this is the 

 case, is the ap- 

 pearance of the 

 mines at the 

 present time. 



These mines, 

 to which the 

 name "Cleopatra 

 Emerald Mines " 

 has been given, 

 are situated in a 

 barren region traversed by several picturesque wind- 

 ing valleys, the principal of which is known as the 

 Wady Djemel. 



A wady is a valley formed by an ancient water- 



124 



