A panorama of the overall site. click on it to get the full image - its about 60K so no great problem loading. The same applies for the following thumbnails.  The images are taken with a Panasonic NVDX100 producing approx. 640*480 images.

 

Mons Claudianus was a quarrying settlement stuck out in the mountains of the Egyptian Eastern desert about midway between the Red Sea and the Nile. It is a good 20 miles off-road journey to get to it from the main Qena / Hurghadha road, assuming of course that you are able to find the turn-off which is on the Nile side of a lonely, barren and windswept tea and coke stop about 20 miles out from Hughadha. At this point there is a track that heads off into the desert, every so often it is tarmac but that is degrading (the tarmac is). We came from Hurghadha to get to Mons. This meant persuading the police/military checkpoint that we were only going to Mons Claudianus and the desert and did not merit an escort. (Anybody who goes near the Nile has to have an escort. A bit like trailing around very slowly with a large sign saying 'Target', the sign having a few loaded kalashnikovs casually drapped over the bouncing tailboard of various pickups pointing straight at you!) Mons was largely a slave settlement with a garrison - I suppose to make sure they worked. Work would be done all hours, there are the remains of pyers which would have shed light on the work place. There are a number of additional structures, a bath house and various block houses around the area. The construction method is invariably cut stone a method that is also used .... (mention the Luxor/Quesir road and the Roman staging posts, guard towers and settlement). See: Article in 'The Times' about Roman fast food

	Sitting above the main fort is what I believe to be the 'Centurians' house or certainly the guy who was in charge. The pillar in front - almost centre of image matches the one that was dragged to the wadi floor - I guess somebody is trying to steal it. When we visted in 1986 there were two or more very ornate Capitols on the ground these are also missing - stolen?
	This is Geoff near one of the main walls of the settlement.  To the right is an image of the North Wall
	The base that has been dragged away from the Centurian's house.  To the right, looking into the settlement showing the use of cut stone as lintels - note, its a quarry and a 'stone masons' Little use of cut stone blocks!
	This is one of the abandoned pillars. I believe it had a fault in it which caused it to shear - all that work for nothing. I suppose they could have turned it into a smaller pillar ? I'm next to the one on the right
	We are descending the main track that leads to the quarry. At this point there was a thunderstorm brewing and we wanted to get a bit lower and in the car. To the right is a stone pire (pyre?) which would provide light at night (a bonfire would be on top)
	We got to the car just as the first drops of rain were falling. The previous evening we had a fairly dry thunderstorm - Lightening all around us and over us. We all retreated to the car and had a spectacular show - Wadis can be dangerous in times of sudden heavy rain. That is how they are formed and they can fill very quickly - about once every 10 years but invariably when somebody is camping in it.
	Geoff with his fine figure cuts a dashing pose - I remember that plinth in that place from 1986.
	We are leaving Mons and heading towards Hurghadha the back way. This was a route that was a first for us and more a case of we knew it should be possible, there was a track and we followed it.  It was great and we ended up at one of the most beautiful Wadis we had seen.
	Last and most certainly least. Right out in the middle of the courtyard that is to the rear of Mons as you would normally approach itis a growing rubbish dump. There was a huge volume of discarded and broken Champagne bottles. All 'Moet' and all with German labelling. Certainly not dumped by Egyptians, without doubt it was Germans and I would guess from the Embassy. Sad isn't it.

 

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