Alum In Ancient Egypt The Written Evidence

Excavating, analysing,
reconstructing
Textiles
of the st millennium 
from Egypt
and neighbouring countries
Proceedings of the th conference of the research group
‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’
Antwerp, – November 
Edited by Antoine De Moor,
Cäcilia Fluck
and Petra Linscheid

This book has been edited
by Logistic General Contracting
and Engineering
a daughter company of
Katoen Natie
Cover
Roman linen cloth decorated using
a reserve technique, inv. KTN 
14C dating (.% probability)
 – (%)
 – (.%)
© The Phoebus Foundation; photo H. Maertens
Frontispice
Linen tunic with inwoven polychrome
wool decorations, inv. KTN  (DM )
New 14C dating () (.% probability)
 –
Publisher: Luc Demeester
Layout: Antoon De Vylder
Typeset in dtl Prokyon
and dtl Antares from Erhard Kaiser
by De Diamant Pers, Herentals
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of
the publisher.
© Lannoo Publishers, Tielt, Belgium–2017
isbn: 978 94 014 4399 9
D/2017/45/256
nur 655/643
www.lannoo.com
Abb. Abbildung
ad Anno Domini
äm Ägyptisches Museum und
Papyrussammlung, Staatliche
Museen zu Berlin
aes The British Museum, Depart-
ment of Ancient Egypt and
Sudan
bc before Christ
bm The British Museum, London
bp before present (before 1950,
the start of radiocarbon dat-
ing)
c. circa
cal. calendar
cat. Catalogue
cf. confer
cm centimetre
d. diametre
ed./s edition, editor/s
eef Egypt Exploration Fund
e. g. exempli gratia
et al. et alii
etc. et cetera
F/cm Fäden per cm
fig./s figure/s
fs i, fs ii Fadensystem i, Fadensystem
ii
i.e. id est
inv. Inventory, Inventar
irpa Institut royal du patrimoine
artistique
kik Koninklijk instituut voor het
kunstpatrimonium
ktn Collection Katoen Natie (now
The Phoebus Foundation)
lab. laboratory
m metre
mak Museum für Angewandte
Kunst/Museum of Applied
Arts, Vienna
mkb Museum der Kulturen der
Welt/Museum of Cultures,
Basel
mm millimetre
mt Musée des Tissus, Lyon
no/s number/s
nr Nummer
P. Papyrus
p., pp. page, pages
pl. plate
Ps. Psalm
r/cm rows per centimetre
reg. register Rijksmuseum van
Oudheden, Leiden
smbkg Staatliche Museen zu Berlin,
Kunstgewerbemuseum
s. u. siehe unten
rom Royal Ontario Museum,
Toronto
rpm Römer-Pelizaeus-Museum,
Hildesheim
S yarn spun in S-direction
smäk Staatliches Museum Ägyp-
tischer Kunst, Munich
smb Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
st/cm stitches per centimetre
S2
Z two S-spun yarns plied in
Z-direction
tpc thread count per centimeter
v&a Victoria and Albert Museum,
London
Z yarn spun in Z-direction
Z2
S two Z-spun yarns plied in
S-direction
Abbreviations
not including those abbreviations
explained in the individual papers

Wool panel with a hunter on horseback, surrounded with linen loops, inv. KTN  (DM )
14C dating (.% probability)  –
Katoen Natie has two similar pieces, inv. :
14C dating (.% probability)  –,and inv. -,
14C dated (.% probability)  –.
These are no cushion covers but fragments of a large cover with linen loops
and four square woollen decorations, made during a short period, possibly in Akhmim.

Alexandria
Naukratis
Wadi-Natrun
Saqqara
Cairo and Fustat
St. Catherine
Qarara
al-Bahnasā (Oxyrhynchos)
Antinoupolis
Bawit
Asyut
Wadi Sarga
Sohag Akhmim (Panopolis)
Koptos (Quft)
Thebes
(Paulos Monastery) Luxor
Esna
Edfu
Aswan
Berenike
Hermopolis Magna
Fayyum
Siwa Oasis
Lower Egypt
Middle Egypt
Upper Egypt
Sinai
Red sea
Mediterranean sea
Memphis
Pelusium
Karanis
Fag el-Gamus
Hawara
Ahnas (Herakleopolis magna)
Deir el-Banat
Arsinoë (Crocodilopolis)
Kom el-Ah
.mar (Šaruna)
Bahriya Oasis
Tell el-Amarna Abu Sha’ar
Abydos
Qasr Ibrim
Qustul
Meroe
Dush
Kharga Oasis
Dakhla Oasis
el-Bagawat
Kellis (Ismant al-Kharab)
el-Deir
Lake Menzaleh
Dimyāt
.
Tinnis
Mons Porphyrites
Lake Nasser
Matmar
Mostagedda
Mons Claudianus
Kulubnarti

4 Abbreviations
Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck
and Petra Linscheid 8 Preface
9 Acknowledgements
11 Textiles from excavations
Olga Orfinskaya and Elena Tolmacheva 12 Textile finds from the grave 213 at Deir el-Banat: from an object to a loom
Elena Tolmacheva 32 Archaeological textiles at the Deir el-Banat site (Fayyum):
parallels, study, conservation and general description
Frances Pritchard 60 Textiles from Wadi Sarga, a 6th to 8th-century monastic site in Middle Egypt excavated
in 1913/1914
Alexandra D. Pleşa 72 The Late Antique and Early Islamic necropolises at Matmar and Mostagedda, Middle Egypt.
A reassessment of the excavation and present state of the collection
Kristin South 88 The use of basket-weave linen in burials of the necropolis of Fag el-Gamus, Egypt
Sabrina Tatz 108 The textile finds from the monastery of Deir el-Bachît/Paulos monastery (6th–10th century)
in Western Thebes
Anna Harrison and Ruiha Smalley 124 The care, conservation and study of archaeological textiles from Jordan and Sudan,
with particular reference to the Fourth Nile Cataract mummies
147 Textile techniques
Carol James
with the contribution of Fabienne Médard 148 Appreciation of the ancient craftsmen through the recreation of a byzantine sprang bonnet
from the Antinoopolis necropolis
Gisela Helmecke und Irina Seekamp
(Appendix von Frances Pritchard, Manchester) 162 Eine Kappe aus dem Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin
Barbara Köstner 172 Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North
Anne Kwaspen 196 Different finishing techniques of the neck slits on Late Antique tunics from Egypt
207 Iconography
Maya Müller 208 Aphrodite and her hair on Late Antique textiles
Olga V. Osharina 220 Typology and evolution of portrait images, personifications and allegories on Late Antique
textiles from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
Tineke Rooijakkers 242 Tracing the red thread
253 Dyeing and mordanting
Ines Bogensperger 254 Alum in Ancient Egypt: The written evidence
Antoine De Moor, Chris Verhecken-Lammens,
Mark Van Strydonck, Mathieu Boudin
and Ina Vanden Berghe 264 Can the presence of Indian lac be used as a dating method for ‘late Coptic’ textiles?
277 From collections
Amandine Mérat 278 New work on an old collection: 1st millennium ad Egyptian textiles in the Department
of Ancient Egypt and Sudan, The British Museum
Maciej Szymaszek 296 Radiocarbon dating of Late Nubian textiles at the Museum Gustavianum in Uppsala,
and the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago
304 Bibliography
Index of names
Index of places
Index of textile, tools and costume terms
Index of museums, collections and institutions
Authors
Table of content


Antoine De Moor,
Cäcilia Fluck and
Petra Linscheid
Preface
This book presents the proceedings of the
9th conference of the international research
group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’, which
took place at the HeadquARTers of the Katoen
Natie Company in Antwerp, for the sixth time,
from the 27th–29th of November 2015. The
conference focused on ‘Textile find-spots in
Egypt’ and 87 participants from 13 different na-
tions worldwide enjoyed the splendid confe-
rence location and the Textile Galleries at the
HeadquARTers. During the conference days,
26 lectures were presented, of which 18 are
included in the present book.
The first chapter of the book is devoted
to ‘Textiles from excavations’. As in the pre-
vious conference, Olga Orfinskaya and Elena
Tolmacheva report on the textile finds of the
current excavations at Late Antique Deir el-
Banat in the Fayyum. The first article presents
tunics, furnishing textiles and shrouds from
grave 213, which also contains the unusual
grave-good of an unfinished wool-textile.
A second article by Elena Tolmacheva is a
general study of the archaeological textiles at
Deir el-Banat, their conservation and parallels
in other necropolises. In the next contribution,
Frances Pritchard introduces textiles from the
British Museum’s fieldwork at the monastic
site of Wadi Sarga, excavated a hundred years
ago and evaluated currently in a research
project of the British Museum’s department
Ancient Egypt and Sudan. Alexandra D. Pleşa
devotes her article to the Late Antique and
Early Islamic textile finds and other artefacts
from the cemeteries at Matmar and Mostaged-
da, another British excavation in the early
20th century. As in the previous conference
proceedings, Kristin South reports about the
progress in the study of textile finds from the
necropolis of Fag el-Gamus in the Fayyum, in
particular about the consistent use of basket
weave linen shrouds in burials. Sabrina Tatz
introduces the as yet unknown textile material
from the current excavations at Deir el-Bâchit,
the Paulos monastery in Western Thebes, and
provides insight into monastic textile pro-
duction. The care, conservation and study of
Roman to Medieval textiles from Jordan and
Sudan, housed in the British Museum collec-
tions, is the subject of the article of Anna Har-
rison and Ruiha Smalley.
The second chapter of the book deals
with ‘Textile techniques’. This section starts
with an article by Carol James and Fabiénne
Médard presenting the technical analysis and
recreation of a Late Antique sprang bonnet
still in situ on a child’s mummy in the Guimet
Museum, Lyon. Another headcovering,
namely a medieval embroidered skull cap in
the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin, is inves-
tigated in the article by Gisela Helmecke and
Irina Seekamp, with an appendix by Frances
Pritchard about a similar cap in the Whitworth
Art Gallery in Manchester. In her contribu-
tion, Barbara Köstner studies 54 Roman and
late Roman nalbinding socks, their technology,
typology and archaeological context. The next
article by Anne Kwaspen is a thorough investi-
gation into the different finishing techniques of
neck slits on late Antique tunics in the Katoen
Natie collection. As a special attraction during
the 2015 conference days, Chris Verhecken-
Lammens and Anne Kwaspen had prepared a
temporary exhibition displaying neck open-
ings of tunics from the splendid Katoen Natie
textile collection.
A section on ‘Iconography’ starts with
an article by Maya Müller on Late Antique ta-
pestries, mostly from the Museum of Cultures
in Basel, depicting scenes with the antique
goddess Aphrodite. The next contribution by
Olga Osharina deals with the typology and
evolution of portrait images, personifications
and allegories on late Antique tapestries from
the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
Tineke Rooijakkers’ study concerns the mys-
tery of the red thread, inwoven in many tunics,
and traces their apotropaic purpose convinc-
ingly.
The chapter on ‘Dyeing and mordant-
ing’ includes two articles: Ines Bogensperger’s
contribution deals with the written evidence
for alum in Ancient Egypt, a chemical used as
a mordant in the dyeing process. In the second
paper, Antoine De Moor, Chris Verhecken-
Lammens, Mark Van Strydonck, Mathieu
Boudin and Ina Vanden Berghe successfully
combine the analytical methods of radiocar-
bon and dye analysis to demonstrate that the
presence of Indian lac in a ‘late Coptic’ textile
is a valid dating criterion.
In the last chapter ‘From collections’,


Acknowledgements
Amandine Mérat reports about the recent
work on the 1st millennium ad Egyptian
textiles in the Department of Ancient Egypt
and Sudan of the British Museum. The book
concludes with a report of Maciej Szymaszek
about the radiocarbon dating of Nubian tex-
tiles at the Museum Gustavianum in Uppsala
and the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago,
confirming their placing into the Late Meroitic
and X-group periods.
The publication of three conference
lectures by Fleur Letellier-Willemin on
chequered tabbies from el-Deir, by Elizabeth
Dospel-Williams about furnishing textiles
in the Field Museum in Chicago and by Petra
Linscheid on the re-using of tapestry panels is
postponed to the next volume of the proceed-
ings.
We are deeply indebted to Fernand and Ka-
rine Huts for their continued support of the
‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’ research group
through hosting the conference in their Head-
quARTers at Katoen Natie and by funding the
publication of the conference proceedings.
Further heartfelt thanks go to Caroline
Dekyndt, Paul De Loose and the whole team of
Katoen Natie for the practical organization and
smooth running of the 2015 conference.
Various people contributed signifi-
cantly to the development of this book. As in
previous years, John Peter Wild ‘polished’ the
English of the non-native English-speaking
authors and deserves our wholehearted thanks
for his effort. The beautiful lay-out of the book
was created by Antoon De Vylder, with whom
it is always a pleasure to collaborate. We would
cordially like to thank Luc Demeester and Bea-
trice De Keyzer from Lannoo for adding the
book to the program of their publishing house.
Last but not least our thanks are due
to the authors for contributing their compre-
hensive knowledge to the abundance of the
present book.

fig. 1 Alunite from Egypt, two synthesised alum
crystals, and the chemical alum as it is available
today (inv. Ab 1105 (1843); H 1256 (1902); private).
© Natural History Museum, Vienna

Alum in Ancient Egypt:
The written evidence1
Ines Bogensperger
D  

1 This paper is written in course of the FWF research
project ‘Texts and Textiles in Late Antique Egypt’
(P 28282). I would like to thank my colleagues and
friends, who helped and supported me in this study,
especially Bernhard Palme, Julia Budka, Julia Galliker,
Vera Hammer, Regina Hofmann-de Keijzer, Cheri
Hunter, Thomas Kruse, Aurelius Noell, Lucian Rein-
fandt, Hans Reschreiter, Helga Rösel-Mautendorfer,
André Verhecken, and Johannes Weber.
2 E. g. Goffer 1996, s. v.; Singer 1946; Shortland et al.
2006.
3 Dictionaries record stypteria as a ‘name of any of a
group of astringent substances containing (a) alum or
(b) ferrous sulphate’ (LSJ s. v.), hereby underlining the
broad sense of meaning.
4 E. g. Pokorny 1930, 91.
5 In earlier literature one also reads of alum stone (cf.
‘Alaunstein’ in German), see Lüschen 1968, 167 s. v.
6 Concreti aluminis unum genus appellant Graeci, in
capillamenta quaedam canescentia dehiscens, unde
quidam trichtim potius appellavere (Plin. HN 35.186).
‘One kind of solid alum which is called in Greek schiston,
‘splittable‘ splits into a sort of filament of a whitish col-
our, owing to which some people have preferred to give
it in Greek the name of trichitis, “hairy alum”.’ (English
translation: Rackham 1961, 399).
We hardly can imagine textiles without
colours. In most textiles, the colour plays an
essential part in the design. Through trial
and error, ancient dyers learned to dye using
natural dyes with various ingredients in order
to achieve colourfast results. Next to direct and
vat dyeing, the method of mordant dyeing was
applied. Mordants are mineral or even organic
substances that ensure dyes to adhere better
to the fibres. Alum, a metallic salt based on
aluminium is said to be the most appreciated
mordant until modern times.
 Terminology and definition
As historians are neither chemists nor geolo-
gists, substances such as alum sound unfamil-
iar and rather strange today. Therefore, here
is a brief definition of alum: alum is a chemical
and, generally speaking, a hydrated double
sulphate, containing aluminium sulphate with
a second sulphate (potassium or ammonium)
and with or without another alkali, alkaline
earth or transition metal.2 In a narrower sense
and according to modern terminology, alum
denotes hydrated double sulphate of potas-
sium and aluminium, which is described by the
chemical formula KAl(SO4)2·12H2O.
In ancient times, alum referred to a
whole group of various naturally hydrated
minerals with astringent characteristics, in-
cluding potassium aluminium.3 It was used as a
generic term for impure mixtures of sulphates
of iron and aluminium that occurred naturally.
And in this broad meaning, the term alum is
used in this paper.
Greek and Latin terms for alum are
stypteria (στυπτηρία) and alumen, contain-
ing the Indo-European root ‘alu-‘–meaning
‘bitter’–from where also our modern terms in
English, French or even German are derived.4
This bitterness correlates with its bitter taste.
Alum is further referenced in umbrella terms
such as pharmakon (φάρμακον) and medica-
mentum comprising various herbal, animal
and mineral substances.
 Different kinds of alunites
As they were understood in antiquity, stypteria
and alumen refer to a large group of miner-
als with astringent properties and not to the
homogeneous substance that we may purchase
in drugstores today. In different geological
areas worldwide, different geomorphological
compositions occur, creating different kinds
of alum. These natural minerals out of which
the chemical alum is obtained are also called
‘alunites’ according to today’s terminology
(figs. 1–2).5
Alunites show various colours: from a
transparent, white mineral to reddish-grey,
depending on rich inclusions, like iron.
Alum can be purged by dissolving the
mineral in water: its impurities will settle on
the bottom. After decanting and evaporating
the clear solution, alum is grown in a char-
acteristic crystalline rhombohedral form.
Moreover, alum can be produced synthetically
by mixing solutions of aluminium sulphate
with potassium sulphate. Alum is obtained
thereby in the course of efflorescence.
In ancient times, people knew several
different kinds of alum or respectively alu-
nites, distinguished by provenance, colour,
and property. Ancient authors distinguish
between different kinds of alum with special
properties and uses. Pliny the Elder classifies
the different known kinds of alum into genus
and species. ‘Plura et eius genera’, as he states in
his Natural History (Plin. HN 35.183). However,
unlike in modern botany, no comprehensible
system of categories can be seen, to which he
restricts himself.
In particular, three kinds (species) of
alum for medical uses were of great impor-
tance in the ancient world:
First, schiste stypteria (σχιστή
στυπτηρία) belongs to a solid, massive kind
and is recorded by both ancient authors Di-
oscorides and Pliny the Elder. Pliny includes
further information on its physical character-
istics, when he categorises it as a concretum
alumen, and compares it to white-grey hair.
Consequently, this type is also called trichi-
tis in Greek (τριχῖτις).6 It is derived from a
copper-bearing mineral denoted as chalkitis
(χαλκῖτις).
A modern translation of schiste stypteria
proves to be difficult. The Greek term schistos
actually refers to the mineral’s property of
being capable of being split or divided. Qua
fissile, however, it is connected with today’s
nuclear physics and nuclear engineering; Jean

2-Theta - Scale
A.b.1105 Alaun, Ägypten - File: 2016-8.raw - Type: 2Th/Th locked - Start: 2.000 ° - End: 65.000 ° - Step: 0.020 ° - Step time: 1. s - Temp.: 25 °C (Room) - Time Started: 22 s - 2-Theta: 2.000 ° - Theta: 1.000 ° -
00-036-0432 (D)- Gypsum - CaSO4·2H2O- Y: 61.88 %- d x by: 1. -WL: 1.5406 - Monoclinic- a 5.68000 - b 15.18000 - c 6.52000 - alpha 90.000 - beta 118.383 - gamma 90.000 - Body-centered -I2/a (15)-4
00-005-0631 (D)- Thenardite, syn - Na2SO4 - Y: 24.44 % - d x by: 1. -WL: 1.5406 - Orthorhombic- a 5.86300 - b 12.30400 - c 9.82100 - alpha 90.000 - beta 90.000- gamma 90.000- Face-centered - Fddd (7
00-033-1161 (D)- Quartz, syn - SiO2 - Y: 67.79 % - d x by: 1. -WL: 1.5406- Hexagonal - a 4.91340- b 4.91340- c 5.40530 - alpha 90.000- beta 90.000 - gamma 120.000 - Primitive - P3221 (154)- 3 - 113.00
01-071-1797 (N)-Alunogen - (Al(H2O)6)2(SO4)3(H2O)5 - Y: 16.51 % - d x by: 1. -WL: 1.5406 - Triclinic - a 7.42000 - b 26.97000 - c 6.06200 - alpha 89.570 - beta 97.340 - gamma 91.530 - Primitive- P-1 (2)
00-037-1496 (*)-Anhydrite, syn - CaSO4 - Y: 12.60 % - d x by: 1. -WL: 1.5406 - Orthorhombic - a 6.99330 - b 7.00170 - c 6.24110 - alpha 90.000 - beta 90.000- gamma 90.000- Base-centered - Bmmb (63)-
A  A E: T   D   
fig. 2 X-ray diffraction analysis (xrd) of the alunite
shows different sulphates contained therein
(analysis: Vera Hammer, inv. Ab 1105 (1843).
7 Martin/Younos/Chevin et al. 1988, 280–281.
8 Zedler 1732, 1617–1618 s. v.
9 Zedler 1732, 1618: ‘Alumen plumosum heißt sie, weil
diese Art der Alaune einiger maaßen den Seiten-Federn
an den Feder-Kielen ähnlich sehen. Alumen scissile wird
sie genannt, weil sie sich ganz leichtlich theilen und
zerschneiden lasset.’
not only to the fibrous asbestos, but also to a
scissile, i.e. fibrous alunite. Therefore, this
term is to be correlated with Pliny’s expla-
nation on alumen trichitis, a scissile kind of
alunite, as noted above. In the comprehensive
18th century lexicon of Johann Heinrich Ze-
dler, when various kinds of alunites were still
regarded as an important resource for numer-
ous industries, this kind is recorded amongst
others.8 The term is based on its characteristic
similarity to feathers used for quills that are
still attached to a less-white root.9 As late as
the 18th century, it is stated that feather-alum
a rare find and often only accessible in so-
Martin suggests translating the Greek term as
scissile or fibrous alum in modern English.7
Although Pliny the Elder and Dios-
corides mainly discuss medical practices,
semi-literary documents reveal another use: a
scissile kind of alum is explicitly mentioned in
a dyeing recipe for the water-insoluble alkanet
(P.Holm. 138): a paste of alkanet, walnuts and
scissile alum is mixed and put into water. As al-
kanet is not soluble in water, the mixture of oil
serves to dissolve the dyestuff. Alum is needed
as a mordant.
Alumen plumosum or alumen plumae is
often found in historical literature that refers

A  A E: T  
D  

10 English translation Osbaldeston 2000, 806 with
slight amendments.
11 P.Holm. 89, see Halleux 1981, 133 = Reinking 1938,
1–2, no. 1 = Jensen 2008, 68 (Caley no. 84).
12 P.Holm. 107, see Halleux 1981, 137–138 = Reinking
1938, 17–18, no. 19 = Jensen 2008, 72–72 (Caley no.
102).
13 P.Holm. 125: Στυπτηρία δὲ ὑγρὰ καὶ λευκὴ λείαν. Ἡ
δὲ ἅλμην ἔχουσα ἀχρία ἔστιν; see Halleux 1981, 144;
Reinking 1938, 30–31, no. 38, Jensen 2008, 78 (= Caley
no. 120).
14 Already suggested by the French chemist Marcelin
Berthelot, see Jensen 2008, 38.
For P.Holm. 101 see Halleux 1981, 136; Reinking 1938,
12–13, no. 13; Jensen 2008, 71 (= Caley no. 96); for
P.Leid. 93 see Halleux 1981, 106; Reinking 1938, 48,
no. 5; Jensen 2008, 38 (= Caley no. 95).
fig. 3 The Natural History Museum in Vienna houses
a special kind of alunite: alumen plumosum or
‘feather-alum’ (inv. Aa525).
Phrygia and Cappadocia. In Dioscorides’ work
it is listed separately from stypteria (Dsc. 5.
123). In the recipes P.Holm. 101 and P.Leid. 93,
Phrygian stone is clearly used as a mordant for
dyeing with orchil and has been identified as
kind of alunite.14
Moreover, the Greek physician Galen
records three more kinds in his œuvre De
simplicium medicamentorum temperamentis
et facultatibus: stypteria plinthitis (στυπτηρία
πλινθῖτις) or plakitis (πλακῖτις) and astragalote
(ἀστραγαλωτή); unfortunately, none of them
can be identified to date (Gal. 12.237).
 Alum–the universal chemical:
its properties
Given the different kinds known to the ancient
world, different alunites were sought for a
range of specific uses. This wide range of ap-
plicability gave alum the additional name of
‘universal chemical’.
. External medical use
Because of its astringent properties, alum
shows an antiseptic effect and was therefore
used for medical treatments. This main pur-
called chambers of art or in museum cabinets
(fig. 3).
A second category, strongyle stypteria
(στρογγύλη στυπτηρία), is a round and compact
kind of alum that also proves difficult to render
into modern terminology. At the moment,
‘botryoidal’ seems an appropriate description
for such a feature in mineralogy.
A third category, stypteria hygra
(στυπτηρία ὑγρά), is also frequently found in
ancient sources, corresponding to the Latin
alumen liquidum. The term creates some sort
of confusion, if a solution or a solid form of alu-
nite is meant. The Greek hygros, literally ‘wet’,
‘moist’, ‘fluid’, needs to be seen in connection
with the four temperaments, the ancient theo-
retical concept, which focuses on different
metabolic agents in medical treatment where
alum was an essential ingredient. Upon closer
inspection, an excellent explanation is already
provided in Dioscorides’ treaty, where he
states: ‘Deliquescent alum that is most trans-
parent must be chosen–milky, even, and juicy
throughout, and furthermore without stones and
giving out a smell of fire.’10
In today’s terminology, the English
‘deliquescent’ might be less confusing than
‘liquid’ and would certainly fit the properties
noted by Dioscorides.
Besidesthesethreealunitesthatwere
highlyesteemedformedicaltreatments,other
kindsareattested.Inancientdyeingrecipes,
stypteriabaphike(στυπτηρία βαφική),11 i.e.
alumfordyeing,oralumtastinglikevinegar,
stypteriaoxitis(στυπτηρία ὀξῖτις),12 areexplic-
itlyindemand.Anadditionalrecommendation
ondyeingmaterialsnotesthatalumhastobe
‘deliquescentandplainwhite.Thatwhichcon-
tainssaltisunsuitable.’13 Thiscorrespondsto
Dioscorides’description,asnotedbeforehand,
whichshowsthatthesamekindofalumwasnot
onlyusedinmedicinebutalsoindyeing.More-
over,similaradviceisgiveninPliny’sNatural
History,wheretwoalunitesoccurinCyprus
thatdifferincolour.Accordingly,‘thewhiteand
deliquescentkindismostusefulfordyeingwool
withabrightclearcolour’.Thisanalogydemon-
stratesclearlythatthesamesourcewasusedfor
literarytextsasforpracticalrecipes.
The so-called ‘Phrygian stone’ appears
to denote another alunite found in ancient

A  A E: T   D   
15 Gazza 1955; Gazza 1956, esp. 104 for papyrus texts, and
for ostraca see Préaux 195, esp. 139.
16 Alphos refers to a broader sense of what is understood
by leprosy today. A cure against some sort of scabby
dermatosis is probably meant here; see also Aufmess-
er 2002, 19. In addition to scissile alum, murrh, vitriol,
and litharge are listed.
17 Cf. PSI V 465 (264–268 ad; Oxyrhynchos) see Johnson
1936, 633, no. 387; this document does not contain any
information on the tannery-process. On this topic see
further Herz 2012.
fig. 4 Papyrus text P.Vindob. Worp 20 shows two lists
of pharmaceutical products; different ingredi-
ents are named which have not been found in
this distinctive composition in any other source.
The lists’ purpose remains therefore unclear for
the time being.
© Austrian National Library
of ingredients, as can be seen for instance
in P.Vindob. Worp 20, where various phar-
maceutical products are recorded (1st–3rd
century ad; unknown provenance), or P.Ross.
Georg. V 52 (2nd century ad; unknown prov-
enance). As the second recipe is preserved
in its entirety from the beginning, we learn
clearly which ingredients are needed for treat-
ing ‘white leprosy on the body’ (ll. 4–5: πρὸς
ἀλφὸν λευκὸν ἐπὶ σώ|ματι).16 Moreover, four
drachmas of stypteria schistes are specified
in line 6, which demonstrated once again the
detailed knowledge of the different properties
of chemical substances that existed in ancient
times. Mention of this specific type of alum, on
the medical use of which we are best informed
by Pliny’s work, illustrates the reception of
Classical authors already in the second centu-
ry, and specific as well as widespread knowl-
edge on the different properties of chemical
substances.
. Leather tanning, metallurgy, cosmetics
In addition to its use in medicine, alum was
employed for leather tanning, an essential pro-
cess, for instance, when we consider the use of
tanned hides which were used for manufactur-
ing arms for the Roman military.17 Moreover,
alum was used with inorganic substances:
literary sources note that alum was used for
gold manufacturing. The compilation of late
antique recipes, preserved as Papyrus Graecus
Holmiensis and Papyrus Leidensis X, not only
deals with dyeing wool, but also with purifica-
tion of metals, such as gold and other precious
and semi-precious stones (metallurgy). In
this context, alum is used often together with
vinegar.
An application that is even seen today, is
the use of alum for cosmetic purposes: alum is
well known to soothe the after-effects of shav-
ing, being a styptic to stop cuts from bleed-
ing. Since ancient times, alum has been used
against sweating, and today found in deodor-
ants, a treatment that is already mentioned in
Pliny’s Natural History (Plin. NH 35.185).
. Alum used as a mordant
in dyeing recipes
Besides medical uses, alum plays an essential
role in dyeing with natural dyestuffs. Like
pose of alum is best seen in both of our main lit-
erary sources, Pliny the Elder and Dioscorides,
where most information concerns medical
issues (fig. 4).
In addition to literature, plenty of
documentary texts also reveal ancient medi-
cal treatments.15 Some of them contain lists

A  A E: T  
D  

18 Cardon 2007, 20–49; Hofenk de Graaff 2004, esp.
14–16; Schweppe 1993, 18.
Naturally, other ways of mordanting can be seen,
especially when resources such as alum were not
available. See for instance Vajanto 2015.
19 Halleux 2005.
20 See note 12.
21 Cf. Bieber 2015.
22 Halleux 2005, 7.
fig. 5 Wool dyed with madder, mordanted with alum
and without treatment.
Image: Ines Bogensperger
Considerable information on alum and
ancient knowledge of it has survived in the
works of two authors from the 1st century ad.
Both œuvres were reproduced, translated and
constantly used in scientific works throughout
many centuries from ancient to modern times.
How detailed the information on alum has
already been demonstrated above, with regard
to the different kinds of alum.
First, the Roman author Pliny the
Elder discusses alum among minerals in his
monumental work Natural History (Plin. NH
33.84,94; 35.183–190): Pliny defines alum as
a salt exudation from the earth, that is to say,
an effloresced mineral resulting from natural
crystal formation and occurring in various
colours from different sites. Actually, his defi-
nition does not differ much from today’s, but
captures many essential characteristics.
Among ancient sources, Pliny states
most places of known alum deposits. Accord-
ing to him, the Egyptian kind was the one most
praised, next to the one from Melos, a Greek
island (‘laudatissimum in Aegypto, proximum in
Melo’).
Regarding textile production, where
the dyeing industry is an important branch,
Pliny informs that the white and ‘deliquescent’
kind is considered to be the most useful for
dyeing unpigmented wool. He actually distin-
guishes two species, i. e. forms of alum, liquid
and solid, apart from different kinds of alum
from different places.
Second, Pliny’s contemporary Peda-
nius Dioscorides of Anazarba or Anazarbos in
Cilicia (c. ad 40–90) and his work De materia
medica (in Greek: Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς) in five
books serve as a basic source. Just like the
Naturalis historia, the circulation of Diosco-
rides’ work never ceased over the centuries
and both works were authoritative. Only in
the 12th century was ancient knowledge and
practice amplified by new discoveries, such as
alum from Edessa and Yemen.
The importance of this œuvre even for
Western Europe is seen in its reception: in the
6th century ad, this herbarium was translated
to Latin, of which several versions existed. The
Latin translation grouped entries into alpha-
betical order, with some information added in
the late 11th or early 12th century.22
other metal salts, alum acts as a fixing agent
for a group of dyestuffs. In contrast to direct
dyes, so called mordant dyes require a pre-
treatment with mordants in order to bond the
dye with the fibres (fig. 5).18 For those dyestuffs
which show less affinity to fibres alum is an
essential mordant. In addition, metal mordants
containing aluminium, iron or copper inten-
sify and change the hue to achieve the desired
colour. The use of special mordants by ancient
dyers, as we learn in the dyeing recipes in
Papyrus Graecus Holmiensis (P.Holm.) and Pa-
pyrus Leidensis X (P.Leid.), illustrates the wish
for a specific colour tone. And alum is the key
ingredient in all recipes.19 Pure alum is seen in
the absence of any colour, and is important for
dyeing.20 Field research recently proved the
highly developed technological dye process,
creating light- and colourfast dyes long before
the invention of synthetic dyes.21 Moreover,
the combination of different substances with
additives shows that even when using natural
dyes, colours were not obtained at random.
The evaluation of late antique recipes
in P.Holm. and P.Leid. shows a distinctive
sequence of working steps that does not vary
from modern procedures: washing the wool —
(pre-) mordanting — rinsing — drying — dye-
ing. Many recipes recommend mordanting
the wool before dyeing; only in few cases is
mordanting done in combination with dyeing.
Therein, alum is the most frequently men-
tioned mordant.
 Ancient knowledge
from literary sources
As such an important and universal chemical,
alum is mentioned in many ancient literary
sources, mainly in pharmacopeia, natural
histories or texts dealing with alchemy. Major
Greek and Latin works can be tapped for what
they can tell us (see table 1, p. 260).
Alum from Egypt is already mentioned
in the 6th century bc by the historian Herodo-
tus. He informs us that king Amasis of Egypt
had sent 1000 talents of alum, stypteria, to
Delphi in order to reconstruct the temple of
Apollo, which had been destroyed by an acci-
dentalfirein548bc(Hdt.2.180).Thisisanearly
attestation for alum from Egypt, however: we
do not get much information on alum itself.

A  A E: T   D   
23 English translation with slight amendment by Os-
baldeston 2000, 806.
24 Bandy/Bandy 2013, 45.
25 Plin. NH 35.184.
26 Beadnell 1909, 3.
27 Dakhla means the ‘inner’ oasis, while Kharga Oasis
means the ‘outer’.
found in silver mines.24 Medical uses were
described by Aulus Cornelius Celsus (c. 25
bc–c. 50 ad) in De medicina, which was part
of a larger encyclopaedic work that has only
partially survived. In it, Celsus mentions
alum from Melos and Egypt and distinguishes
between alumen scissile, liquidum and rotun-
dum. In a collection of anecdotes called Attic
Nights, Aulus Gellius (c. 125–after 180 ad)
mentions alum used to impregnate wood in
order to make it inflammable (Noctes Atticae
15.1). Galen of Pergamon (c. 129-c. 200/216
ad), who was also a physician, names several
kinds of alum, as noted before (Gal. 12.237).
In the 3rd century, Diogenes Laërtius wrote
a treatise on salt, natron and alum, which
is wrongly attributed to Theophrastus. It is
based on Dioscorides.
 Alum in Ancient Egypt
Alum from Egypt was considered as ‘laudatis-
simum’, the most praised kind in the ancient
world according to Pliny’s Natural History.25 It
is generally known that alum has been mined
in the oases of Egypt’s Western Desert since
ancient times. The Western Desert, also called
Libyan Desert, is hostile to humans and other
forms of life. Within this part of the Sahara,
there are several depressions with access to the
underlying artesian water supplies that create
habitable terrain in the arid desert. Because of
a continuous water supply, not only nomads
but also sedentary populations survived and
maintained settlements there. The term oasis
is actually an ancient Egyptian word denoting a
fertile spot in a desert, but was generally used
for a whole depression.26 There are in princi-
ple five major oases in the Western Desert of
Egypt: Siwa, Bah
.ariya, Farafa, Dakhla27 and
Kharga Oases.
In Antiquity, Dakhla and Kharga Oases
were administratively unified as the ‘Great
Oasis’ with the city Trimithis, today’s Am-
heida (see map in front). Both oases were
connected with each other through tracks,
and were moreover linked to the Nile Valley
in the East, which was the most important
direction for exchange and communica-
tion. Presumably in Roman times, watering
stations were established along the routes
at given distances to enable travel to and
The Greek ‘physician’ Dioscorides
studied several alunites in his work, especially
in his fifth book, where he highlights the as-
tringent properties (Dsc. 5.106):
‘Almost every kind of alum is found in the
same mines in Egypt, such as the scissile and the
flower of Bolitis. It is also found in certain other
places–in Melos, Macedonia, Sardinia, Liparis,
and Hierapolis in Phrygia, in Africa, Armenia
and many other places (like red ochre).’23
The similarity of Dioscorides to Pliny
the Elder is explained in the use of the same
common source of knowledge, the Roman
pharmacologist Sextius Niger.
Other authors dealing with alum are
the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus from
1st century bc (Diod. 5.10), or the geogra-
pher Strabo (64/63 bc–c. 24 ad) who men-
tions alum for production of metal, when he
discusses Spain (Strab. 3.2.8). According to
the 16th century Georgius Agricola, alum is
Table  Alum deposits recorded by ancient authors throughout the Mediterranean
Pliny the Elder Celsus Dioscorides Diodorus Siculus Strabo
Spain Spain
Egypt Egypt Egypt
Armenia Armenia
Macedonia Macedonia
Pontos
Africa
Sardinia Sardinia
Melos Melos Melos Melos
Liparis (Aeolian Islands) Liparis (Aeolian Islands) Liparis (Aeolian Islands)
Strongyle
Hierapolis of Phrygia
Libya

A  A E: T  
D  

28 Giddy 1987, 36: map I and II; Wagner 1987, 140–141.
29 Bagnall 2015.
30 See further P.Kell. IV 96 (‘The Kellis Agricultural Ac-
count Book’: 376–379? ad; Kellis).
31 Picon/Vichy/Ballet 2005; Hope Kucera/Smith
2009.
32 Shortland et al. 2006; the oases are considered to be
treasures for minerals; among them emeralds, ores
and ochres were mined, see Giddy 1987, 5.
33 Beadnell 1909, 222.
34 Rossi/Ikram 2010.
35 Christophe 1964, 77 referring to John L. Burchhardt,
Travels in Nubia.
36 Cardon 2006, 21: it is 350 km southwest of Kharga.
37 Bagnall 2015.
38 O.Kellis 24 (4th century ad; Kellis); O.Bahria Div. 14
= SB XX 14936 (3rd century ad; Oasis Parva); P.Oxy.
XXXI 2567 (18 May 253; Oxyrhynchos), esp. ll. 13–14:
στυπτηρίας μὲν | Ψωβ’τιακῆς ὁλκῆς.
39 To the overview on papyrological evidence provided
by Casanova 2000, 121–124, only O.Narm. I 94 and 95
(2th–3rd century ad; Narmuthis, Arsinoite nome)
need be added. The administration of the alum mo-
nopoly was recently studied by Kruse 2007.
40 Heichelheim 1933; Reil 1913, 99; Johnson 1936,
239–244, 325–335.
41 Strab. 17.798.
42 Wallace 1938, 181–190.
 Roman administration of alum
–the organisation of
the alum monopoly according
to documentary papyri from Egypt
Because of its many properties alum became
an important resource and major commodity
for ancient Egypt. While literary texts reveal
more information about alum deposits and
their uses, the relevance of alum to the econ-
omy and its administration is best attested in
documentary papyri preserved from Egypt.39
Since Ptolemaic times we encounter
a system of monopolies strictly regulating
Egypt’s resources.40 In terms of alum, we have
only one attestation in documentary sources
so far: P.Cair. Zen. III 59326bis (249 bc?; Phila-
delphia?). This is an account in the Zenon-
archive, where various expenses are recorded.
Amongst them we read of 20 mines for alum
but without any further information relevant
to our enquiry (verso 2, l. 26).
Our picture changes during Ro-
man times, when we find that this system
of monopolies, at least to a certain extent,
continued for some industries.41 In general,
the monopolies appear to be reduced after
Ptolemaic times.42 This impression fits the
general line taken by the Roman administra-
tion to allow more private enterprise. Land,
mines, quarries, and lakes, however, presum-
ably remain under the control of the Roman
government, including commodities, such as
alum or metals.
from the Western Desert. This route system
extended further to the North, connect-
ing the Great Oasis with the other oases
Farafa, Bah
.ariya and Siwa.28 Camels, but
also donkeys, served as the main means of
transport for carrying all sorts of freight from
pre-Ptolemaic times onwards and enabled a
certain growth of wealth in these ecologically
remote regions.29
The economy of the oases was pre-
sumably based on a twofold strategy: on one
hand to produce enough to be self-sufficient
from the Nile Valley, and on the other hand to
produce a surplus of high-value goods for ex-
port.30 Among these commodities, alum, given
its many uses, probably played an important
part together with agricultural goods such as
cotton, olive oil, dates, figs and jujubes.
Archaeological traces confirm the
mining of alum in both Dakhla and Kharga Oa-
ses.31 The mines contain cobaltiferous alum,
which is said to have been the source for co-
balt used as a colorant in glass-production as
early as the New Kingdom in Egypt.32 Hugh J.
L. Beadnell additionally notes iron-rich alums
at Dakhla Oasis, whereas for Kharga Oasis,
he states that alum ‘which is often found in
beautiful fibrous or hair-like crystalline masses,
is frequently of a rose tint [...]’, a description
that would point to the previously discussed
feather-alum.33
Alum mines were recently identified in
the hills southwest of the fort of Ain Lebekha,
Kharga Oasis.34 These are presumed to be
the mines H. J. L. Beadnell and A. J. Shortland
refer to. Louis A. Christophe mentions another
small oasis in the south, at today’s border with
North Sudan, which bears the name El-Chab,
or Chabba, the Arab term for alum.35 In fact
this site, also known as El-Shab, is still part of
Kharga Oasis.36
The Small Oasis, today’s Bah
.ariya, with
the ancient city Psobthis, is primarily known
for fruit crops, whereas grain appears to have
been imported.37 In addition, documentary
texts show the occurrence of alum during
Roman times, revealing the Small Oasis as
another source of alum for Roman Egypt.38
Because of its geographical situation, the Small
Oasis was well connected to the Fayyum, in
particular to the city of Oxyrhynchos.
Table  Selection of papyrus documents on the administration of the alum monopoly
Papyrus text Date Provenance correction in BL
BGUIII=W.Chr.=Sel.Pap.II th December  Arsinoite nome BL XII, 
P.Coll. VIII  / Oxyrhynchite nome none
P.Heid. Inv. G.  / unknown43 none
P.Oxy. XVII  – Sep. / Oxyrhynchos (?) none
P.Oxy. XXXI  th May  Oxyrhynchos none
P.Oxy. XII  = C.Pap.Jud. III  th January  Oxyrhynchos (?) none

A  A E: T   D   
43 Without absolute certainty, Thomas Kruse suggested
a possible provenance of Oxyrhynchites.
44 Wagner 1987, 306–308; Beutler-Kränzl 2007.
45 Wallace 1938, 309; cf. BGU III 697 = W.Chr. 321= Sel.
Pap. II 370.
46 Peter J. Parsons states that the monopoly was leased by
three misthotai, that were supervised by three epitere-
tai, see introduction to P.Oxy. XXXI 2567. Cf. P.Oxy. XII
1429 = C.Pap.Jud. III 477.
On epiteretai see Oertel 1917, 237–246; Lewis 1982,
29–31; P.Bingen 70, esp. introduction by U. Hagedorn
and D. Hagedorn.
47 Kruse 2007, 543: Thomas Kruse suggests moreover
not a change, but a continued locally controlled ad-
ministration.
48 BGU III 697 = W.Chr. 321 = Sel. Pap. II 370.
49 Kruse 2007, 534–535; Shelton 1989, or Ulrich Wil-
cken in WO I 611–612.
50 Thomas Kruse classifies P.Oxy. XXXI 2567 as a declara-
tion and not as a receipt like Guy Wagner: Kruse 2007,
540, note 49.
51 Further reading Mitthof 2004.
52 P.Oxy. X 1288.14 (c. 318–323 ad; Oxyrhynchos).
53 Hope/Kucera/Smith 2009.
is attested for the collection of other taxes as
well.49 We might think of a two-fold system
that was in place, where taxes were either
leased to private persons (telonai) or collected
by liturgical officials (epiteretai).
In addition to transportation, the sale
and distribution of alum was supervised, at
least from the middle of the 3rd century ad
onwards: In P.Oxy. XXXI 2567, a pharmakopo-
los, i. e. a drug dealer declared various goods
with the respective amount to the misthotai of
the alum monopoly’s administration (monopo-
liou ascholematos stypterias).50 Among these
goods, alum from Psobthis, i. e. a city in the
Small Oasis, and scissile alum, a special kind
of alum used so far as we know for medical
issues and in the dyeing industry, are recorded.
The other recorded items are substances used
in medicine and dyeing.51 Pharmakopolai, or
drug-dealers, supplied the various needs for
chemical substances, even for private purpos-
es. In that sense, we find alum recorded among
various expenses in a private household of the
4th century ad.52
P.Oxy.XVII2116illustratesthecomplex
andbureaucraticadministrationofthealum
monopoly: Epiteretai, localsupervisors,hadto
writeregularreportsatintervalsoffivedays,
penthemeroilogoi, insextuplicate.Thesewere
submittedtodifferentdepartmentsoftheRo-
manadministration:twowereforwardedto
thecentraldepartmentofthe dioikesis, oneto
atabularium, anarchive,onetothe procurator
adMercurium(epitroposHermou)directlyas
wellasonetohisbureau,andonetooikonomoi,
officialsofunknowncompetence.Allthese
effortstakendemonstratethestate’sinterestin
acarefullysupervisedalummonopoly.
 Discussion
It is generally assumed that the alum mo-
nopoly already existed in Ptolemaic times,
but papyrus texts provide us so far only with
information for the Roman period. During the
New Kingdom alum was already being mined,
which was presumably needed for the pro-
duction of a blue pigment.53 We do not know,
however, anything about the administrative
organisation in Pharaonic times.
In his standard work Grundzüge, Ulrich
Wilcken sees a monopoly system with its
In addition to the previously discussed
papyrus documents P.Holm. and P.Leid. that
contain practical recipes, other papyrus texts
provide some information on the administra-
tive organization (table 2).
As usual in documentary papyrus texts,
no further explanations or descriptions are
provided for the reader, as these were contem-
porary writings, thus presuming an everyday
context. This particular characteristic gives
valuable insights, which are not found in litera-
ture, but it leaves several unanswered ques-
tions for us. Considering this, the documents
listed in table 2 allow us to put at least some
pieces of the puzzle together:
General supervision of the alum mo-
nopoly for Egypt was based in Alexandria,
in the hands of the procurator ad Mercurium,
respectively epitropos Hermou (ἐπίτροπος
Ἑρμοῦ) as the title is styled in Greek.44 The mo-
nopoly was leased and administered by various
local officials.45 We hear of various functionar-
ies, such as epiteretai, telonai or pragmateutai,
who were involved in the control of the alum
monopoly at a local nome level.46 Control at
nome level seems more plausible in practical
terms than a countrywide control system. In
his study, Thomas Kruse suggests that local
officials were to be found just for those nomes
closely connected with the Oases where alum
was mined: Oxyrhynchites and Arsinoites that
were connected with the Small Oasis as well as
Lykopolites and Panopolites connected with
the Great Oasis.47
The scope of control and tasks in admin-
istration appear to have been wide: Epiteretai
and telonai supervised the transportation of
alum from the Oases to the Nile Valley: private
persons had to acquire an annual concession
to be entitled to transport the commodity. The
fee depended on the kind of animal (donkey or
camel) and total number. In other words: the
transport of alum as well as the volume trans-
ported was controlled and documented. Any
customs fee was refunded by the epiteretai.48
The occurrence of two different functionaries,
i.e. epiteretai (tax-superintendents) and telo-
nai (tax-farmers), seems strange, in particular,
as the two documents are divided by only six
years. A plausible explanation might be the
co-existence of epiteretai and telonai, which

A  A E: T  
D  

54 Wilcken 1912, 378.
55 Christophe 1964, 79–80.
56 Bouriant 1900, 315: ‘L’alun provenait de mines situées
dans le Saīd; [...] les Bédouins l’amenaient de la mine au
fleuve, à Akhmim, Siout ou Behnesa, d’où on le transpor-
tait à Alexandrie par les canaus pendant l’inondation.‘
57 Hunt/Murray 1999, 183–184.
connected through road and track systems to
the Nile Valley. This link was presumably es-
tablished during the New Kingdom, when the
cobaltiferous alum mines were sought in order
to obtain a blue colorant. Alum, as a highly
esteemed substance for its various properties
and an indispensable utility for many indus-
tries, played an important part as a trade com-
modity, especially in the economy of the oases.
Different kinds of alum, respectively
alunites, occur naturally as minerals in areas of
past volcanic activity. As natural mineral alum
is only found in a few regions, thus limiting
supply and favouring a monopolistic control
over mining and trade. In analogy to monopo-
lies for other goods and commodities, the alum
monopoly was in all likelihood established
under Ptolemaic rule. However, it is best docu-
mented during Roman times. Literary sources
inform us on the deposits of alum throughout
the ancient world, and on its uses as well as
properties; but thanks to documentary papy-
rus texts, we get some glimpses of a complex
web of organisation and administration.
In later centuries, the interest of the
sovereign, e. g. the state, in restricting valu-
able resources can continuously be seen.
restrictions continued until the Arabic period,
referring to Calcaschandi.54 In fact, the histo-
rian al-Maqrīzī (1364–1442) is the main source
that points to the continuous importance of
that resource for the Arab period.55 In his his-
tory of Egypt, al-Maqrīzī mentions the mines
of alum for Egypt. About the exact location, he
is not certain, as he just refers to the Saīd as the
provenance, which is Upper Egypt in general.
He further notes, that Bedouins transported
alum to the Nile, at Akhmim, Siout or Bahnasa
for it to be shipped to Alexandria.56 One part of
alum was sold to Greek merchants, the other
was sold to Egyptian dyers and fullers. Fixed
prices were applied. Al-Maqrīzī notes moreo-
ver that it was not allowed to purchase directly
from the Bedouins, nor from anyone else. Any
transgressions were punished. However, al-
Maqrīzī mentions that this law was eventually
abolished.
In the ninth century, two centuries after
the conquest by the Arabs, alum from Yemen
became an essential resource for the Middle
East. Its properties are said to be equivalent to
the frequently used scissile alum (schiste) in
ancient times. At least from that time onwards,
another source of supply gained importance.
For Western Europe, Asia minor con-
tinued to be one of the principle suppliers for
alum. Powerful aristocratic families of Geno-
ese and Venetians dominated the worldwide
trade in alum from its source, and controlled
the amount traded to the major textile centres
of Venice, Florence and Brugge.57 With the
conquest of Constantinople (1453) and its con-
trol by the Islamic Ottoman Empire, the Pope
in Rome made efforts to search for alternative
alum deposits due to the interruption of the
trade routes and increasing prices. In 1461,
large alum deposits were found in Tolfa, Italy,
which were then in the Vatican territory and
helped to establish the papal alum monopoly.
 Conclusion
We encounter an anachronism when we speak
of alum these days: the ancient term is less
narrow in its significance than our modern
definition, which refers to hydrated potassium
aluminium sulphate.
In Egypt, alum is found in the oases of
the Western Desert. These remote areas were

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