- The Porphyry Mountain was the Quarry of Mons Porphyritis, located in the Red Sea Mountains of Egypt, where the purple Marble Porphyry was produced.
- The quarry is located to the west of Hurghada and was the only source of purple marble in the Roman Empire.
History
- Porphyry means Purple in Greek.
- The mountain was found on 21 July 18 CE by a Roman Engineer on the peak of a mountain in the Egyptian eastern desert.
- The marble had to be mined high up on the peak of the mountainside.
Porphyry in Roman Architecture
- Pantheon in Rome.
- All the red Porphyry Marble Panels in the Pantheon, the red porphyry togas on busts of Roman Emperors, the red porphyry columns, altars, fountains and vases, are from this one quarry.
- The ‘Porphyra’ in the Great Palace of Constantinople, Greece.
- Built by Constantine I in 330 CE, the Porphyra (Purple Room) was lined with red Porphyry marble from the same Quarry. It was the official delivery room for the pregnant Empresses.
Via Porphyritis
- Then the Marble had to travel 70 miles to reach the Nile, 5 days journey away.
- The Quarry was worked until 335 CE.
Other Marble Quarries in Egypt
- Mons Claudianus
- This was another quarry site 31 miles (50 km) away from Mons Porphyritis, which produced Black and Grey Marble, found in the columns of the Portico of the Pantheon. It was also used in the Temple of Venus for its floors and columns, Hadrian’s villa at Tivoli, in the Public Baths and in Diocletian's Palace at Split.
Mons Porphyritis