Ramses the Great's Nubian Gold Mines: The Riches of Kush

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the vast gold mining operations that fueled Ramses the Great's building boom and military campaigns. They journey to the gold-rich regions of Wawat and Kush in Nubia, where the pharaoh's engineers extracted gold from quartz veins using fire-setting and grinding techniques. The hosts discuss the organization of labor, with prisoners of war and conscripted Egyptians working under the watchful eye of the Medjay police. They also touch on the geopolitical importance of controlling Nubian gold, which allowed Ramses to finance his temples, pay for the Hittite peace treaty, and maintain a standing army. The episode references the Turin Papyrus Map, the oldest surviving topographical map, which details the gold mines of the Eastern Desert. Lucas and Luna also consider the human cost, including harsh conditions and the symbolic significance of gold as 'the flesh of the gods' in Egyptian culture. #RamsesTheGreat #NubianGold #Kush #Wawat #GoldMining #FireSetting #TurinPapyrusMap #Medjay #NewKingdom #19thDynasty #AncientEgypt #MiningTechnology #PrisonersOfWar #EasternDesert #FexingoHistory #History #AncientEconomy #GoldTrade Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo