Abstract
Abstract
Bitumen is a general term for natural hydrocarbons, including asphalt, tar, and petroleum. It was widely used in antiquity for many practical applications with the most notable of these a preservative for ancient Egyptian mummies. The principal source of bitumen was the Dead Sea in Palestine, but Egypt also had other sources in the form of petroleum seeps on the shores of the Gulf of Suez. The best documented of these is the one at Gebel Zeit on the gulf's west coast. Bitumen‐impregnated limestone was also employed by the Egyptians to a minor extent for architectural and sculptural applications.