NEXT APPEARANCE: Saturday July 17th 2010, 2.30pm. Ramases, Newington Village Hall, Nr Sittingbourne, Kent. Contact:01795 663475

The Egyptians went to great trouble to obtain the correct stone for their monuments: classically the red granite, which from as far back as the Old Kingdom was brought from Aswan to adorn structures throughout the Two Lands. This talk looks at the interest the Egyptian had in the Eastern Desert. From here came the sacred Bekhen stone and then, in the time of the Romans, the prized purple porphyry. This talk traces some recent explorations following in the footsteps of the ancient seekers, and looks at how goods crossed the mountainous Eastern Desert.   SI