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Terenouthis: a Roman town in Egypt
Maiken Mosleth King explores life in Terenouthis, an important mining and trade centre that rose to prominence in the Graeco-Roman era.
The archaeological site of Kom Abu Billou is located in the western Nile Delta, in the vicinity of the Wadi el-Natrun. In antiquity, the site was the hallowed cemetery of Terenouthis, a rural town founded during the Old Kingdom or even earlier. The inhabitants developed a local industry centred on the mining of the natron deposits that occur naturally in the Wadi el-Natrun. This natron was exported throughout Egypt for use in cosmetics, mummification, and industrial purposes such as glassmaking. Until the Ptolemaic Period, the town carried the name Per-Hathor-nebet-mefkat (‘Estate of Hathor, Lady of Turquoise’), in honour of its chief deity. For simplicity, most people simply referred to
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