Abstract This paper presents the results of the geochemical analysis carried out on the obsidian artefacts discovered at the archaeological site of Mersa/Wadi Gawasis, located along the Egyptian Red Sea coast, in between the modern cities of Safaja and Quseir. During the 12th and 13th Dynasties of Egypt the site hosted a port city from where the Egyptian expeditions set sail directed to the south, on both edges of the Red Sea. Six obsidian artefacts collected during the 1970s’ research carried out at the site by A. Sayed, were geochemically analysed, together with five geological samples from the obsidian Kusrale source in Eritrea. The major element concentrations were determined by SEM-EDS analysis and the trace element concentrations were obtained by LA-ICP-MS method, a micro-destructive technique, capable of chemically characterizing the volcanic glass. A comparison of geochemical results obtained on the archaeological artefacts and geologic samples, together with the literature data on different geological obsidian outcrops from the Horn of Africa and the southwestern Arabian peninsula, allowed us to determine the provenance of the Mersa/Wadi Gawasis obsidian artefacts in both the Kusrale source of Eritrea, and the volcanic area of Dhamar Reda in Yemen. These results can provide further insights on ancient trade routes along the Red Sea during the early second millennium BC.

中文翻译：

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埃及 Mersa/Wadi Gawasis 中央王国港口黑曜石制品的来源及其对公元前 2 千年红海贸易路线的影响

摘要 本文介绍了对位于埃及红海沿岸的 Mersa/Wadi Gawasis 考古遗址中发现的黑曜石文物进行的地球化学分析结果，该遗址位于现代城市 Safaja 和 Quseir 之间。在埃及第 12 和第 13 王朝期间，该遗址是一座港口城市，埃及探险队从这里启航，前往红海两侧的南部。对 1970 年代由 A. Sayed 在该地点进行的研究期间收集的六件黑曜石人工制品以及来自厄立特里亚黑曜石库斯拉莱源的五个地质样本进行了地球化学分析。主要元素浓度通过 SEM-EDS 分析确定，微量元素浓度通过 LA-ICP-MS 方法获得，这是一种微破坏技术，能够对火山玻璃进行化学表征。对考古文物和地质样品的地球化学结果进行比较，以及非洲之角和阿拉伯半岛西南部不同地质黑曜石露头的文献数据，使我们能够确定 Mersa/Wadi Gawasis 黑曜石文物的出处厄立特里亚的 Kusrale 源头和也门的 Dhamar Reda 火山区。这些结果可以提供对公元前二千年早期沿红海的古代贸易路线的进一步见解。使我们能够确定厄立特里亚的 Kusrale 来源和也门的 Dhamar Reda 火山区的 Mersa/Wadi Gawasis 黑曜石人工制品的来源。这些结果可以提供对公元前二千年早期沿红海的古代贸易路线的进一步见解。使我们能够确定厄立特里亚的 Kusrale 来源和也门的 Dhamar Reda 火山区的 Mersa/Wadi Gawasis 黑曜石人工制品的来源。这些结果可以提供对公元前二千年早期沿红海的古代贸易路线的进一步见解。