Site in the Eastern Desert used as a quarry for siltstone (greywacke) beginning in the Old Kingdom. Gold mines were also located here. There are many inscriptions recording expeditions, notably those of Mentuhotep III and Mentuhotep IV of Dynasty 11. The desert wadi was the major access route to the Red Sea coast and its ports at Mersa Gawasis during ancient Egyptian times, Berenike and Myos Hormos during the Graeco-Roman Period, and the land of Punt and later India. The Roman bases along the desert route, like Krokodilo, were excavated by a French expedition from 1994–1997.
See also Akoris; Gebel el-Haridi; Gebel el-Silsila; Hatnub; Mons Claudianus; Mons Porphyrites; Serabit el-Khadim; Wadi el-Hudi; Wadi Maghara.
Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier
Ancient Egypt. A Reference Guide. EdwART. 2011.