| Summary: | The Wadi Hammamat which provides a route from the Nile to the Red Sea has been used by the inhabitants of Egypt since the earliest times. This thesis studies the Middle and new Kingdom inscription found in the wadi with special reference to those left by the expeditions sent there for <I>bekhen</I>-stone. In the Middle and New Kingdom inscriptions studied in this thesis the size of the expeditions and the status of the senior commanders, in one case the vizier, indicates that <I>bekhen</I>-stone was a prized material. The inscriptions which were selected for study on the basis of completeness, significance of contribution and interest of content, have been translated and given detailed examination in order to extract information about the organization of the expeditions and the underlying concepts in the Egyptian culture which provided the motivation of the investment of resource which they represent. The thesis provides first translations for many inscriptions and first full translations into English for others. The results of the study show that expeditions organization reflected the four key royal qualities, the traditional division of the Egypt into the Two Lands and the national unity under the king. They were powerful propaganda vehicles for royal validity. The study of the inscriptions has also revealed that the region had a symbolic identification with the Primeval Mound, Chemmis and probably Osiris-grave. The identification meant that <I>bekhen</I>-stone was a source of cosmicizing or demiurgic power for the kings and justified the investment which was made to obtain it. The study has identified a possible unrecognized 'marvel' text to Amenemhat III. A new solution is offered to the problem of the nine-hundred men in the Ramesses IV inscription: they cannot be dead.
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