Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 September 1906 — The Turquoise Land. [ARTICLE]

The Turquoise Land.

Sinai was known as the “turquoise land” in very ancient times, and l»r. Flinders Petrie believes that it was the first mining center in the world. In his took on the subject Dr. I’etrie i~lla of the various expeditions sent to Sinai by the Egyptian government. At the head of the party was the “commander,” or “bearer of the seal of the god,” the pharaoh. The official stuff consisted of "masters of the house of metals,” or assayers, scribes and secretaries, to make inventories of the output of the mines. Even more modern were the “devisers of metals,” or prospectors. The working staff consisted of miners and their assistants. The commissariat had cooks, bread bakers, water carriers and even a doctor attached. The mines could only be worked for a certain period, from January to May, which is exactly the best period for archaeological work In Sinai today. The miners lived in camps, and the so called forts and camps were really miners’ villages.