Stonework was one of the earliest industries in ancient Egypt.  A natural wealth of ornamental stone was first exploited in the Pre-Dynastic period ( 4,000 BC ) and assorted quarry sites yielded basalt, breccia, granite, porphyry, limestone and alabaster.  2 ancient alabaster quarry sites have been identified, one at Wadi Gera and the other near Helena and in an area south of Mania.  While Egyptian alabaster, geologically known as Calcium carbonate, was worked from the Pre-Dynastic time on, it was most well liked in the New dominion.  The use of alabaster in Egypt dates well back into the Pharaonic period of Egyptian history, and it is obvious when one visits the temples, crypts and museums in Egypt. 

the original alabaster was a type of Calcite, a translucent assortment of gypsum.  On the hardness scale of one to ten, the alabaster would stand at only 2 to 2.5 soft enough to scrape with a fingernail.  Due to the low toughness, it is easy to carve and polish, but it’s also simply weathered, especially in wet conditions.  Because of its softness , therefore , alabaster is often carved for statuary and other decorative purposes.  Traditional pharaohs used alabaster for many purposes, including home goods, ritual objects, and for a number of different funerary purposes such as sarcophaguses and canopic equipments. 

The Working of hard stone reached its height in the third and 4th dynasties ( 2600 – 2400 BC ).  The early vessels were of simple but elegant shape, frequently with flat broad rims and tiny lug handles for suspension.  The traditional workmen demonstrated their mastery of this medium as they formed hard stone as if it were clay, producing a diversity of finely made vessels.  There have been no intact stone drilling tools recovered from ancient Egypt, though part of a stone employee toll kit survived.  Decorative tomb paintings showing daily life scenes have been the best source of info as to how stone pots were carved.

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