The broken column
About 18 m long and 200 tonnes.
Panegyrics of Granovetter — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Panegyrics of Granovetter — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Panegyrics of Granovetter — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Panegyrics of Granovetter — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Panegyrics of Granovetter — CC BY-SA 2.0
Mons Claudianus is a Roman quarry in the mountains of Egypt's Eastern Desert, between the Red Sea and Qena, at about 700 m above sea level. It combined a garrison, a quarrying site and housing for civilians and workers. Buildings still stand to roof height, and broken columns lie where the Romans left them. History and desert lovers come on 4x4 trips. The Romans worked the site from the 1st century AD to the mid-3rd century, extracting grey granodiorite. The stone went to Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, Diocletian's Palace at Split and the portico columns of the Pantheon in Rome. The army ran the place, and inscribed pottery shards show that skilled workers earned about 47 drachmas a month, around double their counterparts in the Nile Valley. The settlement looks like a fort, with a wall and projecting towers, and housed about 1,000 people; its rooms and lanes are still easy to read. Above it stands a small temple, and the surrounding quarries hold basins and unfinished pieces, most famously a broken column about 18 m long and weighing some 200 tonnes. A Roman road with way stations runs towards the Nile, along which stone travelled for five days or more. The site lies 58 km from Hurghada and 45 km from Safaga in a straight line, though the drive is much longer, and in practice you need a tour operator or an experienced driver. Avoid the June to September heat, and carry water.
About 18 m long and 200 tonnes.
A wall, towers and standing rooms.
Way stations towards the Nile.
Red Sea Mountains, Eastern Desert, west of Safaga
They were hauled across the desert on carts or sledges to the Nile, floated down to the Mediterranean, shipped to the port of Ostia, then taken up the Tiber to Rome.
It isn't advisable: the site is far from services and the desert tracks take experience. A 4x4 trip with an operator who knows the area is the better choice.