Author Archives: Per Storemyr

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About Per Storemyr

I work with the geoarchaeology of old stone: monuments, rock art, quarries. And I try to figure out about their weathering, and conservation using traditional crafts. I also burn lime the traditional way. For the joy of old stone!

Ten quarries of Ancient Egypt: 6 – Gebel Manzal el-Seyl volcanic tuff quarry

Looking for old quarries in Egypt’s Eastern Desert means that you are not only walking in the footsteps of ancient quarrymen, but also of archaeological geologist Jim Harrell. Jim has crisscrossed the Eastern Desert and found several very important quarries … Continue reading

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Ten quarries of Ancient Egypt: 5 – “The loner” at Chephren’s Quarry

Most of you have heard about the famous, vast Old Kingdom Chephren’s Quarry in the far south of the Western Desert of Egypt. There are hundreds of quarry workings, which took advantage of clusters of big boulders in a flat … Continue reading

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Ten quarries of Ancient Egypt: 4 – Wadi el-Muluk limestone quarry

It was my first trip to Egypt. In 1999, with Tom Heldal, I simply wanted to see as many old quarries as possible. We had several weeks at hand, meagre information on the location of quarries, and no idea of … Continue reading

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Ten quarries of Ancient Egypt: 3 – The Second Pyramid at Giza

A quarry? The Second Pyramid?? The Pyramid of Old Kingdom Pharaoh Chephren at Giza??? This is not a quarry – it is a Wonder of the World, it is a Pyramid! False. It is also a quarry!

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Ten quarries of Ancient Egypt: 2 – Rod el-Gamra dolerite porphyry quarry

Rod el-Gamra is a gem. A gem because it is small, even tiny, yet it features the typical archaeology that is found at ancient quarry sites. A gem because what was produced here, so-called naoi, are beautifully strewn in front … Continue reading

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Ten quarries of Ancient Egypt: 1 – Wadi Abu Qureya soapstone quarry

2012 was the first year since 1999 that I was not able to spend one or two or three field seasons in Egypt, exploring ancient quarries, rock art and generally some of the world’s most fascinating archaeology. So I have … Continue reading

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When in Rome…

When in Rome… What else can you do than to discuss Norwegian archaeology!? So we did, at the beginning of this week, 30+ archaeologists and scientists at a workshop within the Norwegian Research Council’s network programme “Cooperative Research” (NO: Forskning … Continue reading

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Firesetting in the Stone Age chert quarries at Melsvik in Northern Norway?

Update: See this blog post for confirmation of firesetting at Melsvik! A few weeks ago I had the great opportunity to take a look at the large, recently discovered Stone Age chert quarries at Melsvik, some 10 km to the … Continue reading

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The World Heritage Rock Art at Alta in Northern Norway

Earlier this week I attended a workshop on conservation of the prehistoric rock art at Alta in Northern Norway. This gave me the opportunity to take a closer look at the great Stone Age panels in the Hjemmeluft area, which … Continue reading

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Making medieval stone architecture: the use of slate in Central Norway

The use of slate has traditions back to the Neolithic in Norway. Stone that were easy to split could be used for anything from the erection of fine burial chambers to the production of knives – phenomena that have been … Continue reading

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