36. Weight for Gold  

This weight is incised with a hieroglyphic symbol denoting gold (nebu): a stylized gold collar. The numeral (9) incised above denotes the number of gold deben (units). In the Middle Kingdom one gold deben was equal to about 13.6 gr, thus the weight represents 122.4 gr of gold. The stone piece was used as a counterweight to measure gold ore or dust on a two-pan scale. Small quantities were eventually melted into donut-shaped ingots. Comparable finds at other forts reveal complex administrative processes verifying the output of mining activity. The weight was excavated at Uronarti, a fort built by Senusret III. It is one of two forts that survived the flooding of Lake Nasser. Other weights were found in the same space, a room next to the main gateway, indicating the vital role of forts in extracting Nubian resources, especially gold. In the New Kingdom, additional gold mines were exploited further south in the Abri-Delgo reach near the Third Cataract.