MINERALOGY OF SAND SAMPLES FROM ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES ALONG THE NILE RIVER, EGYPT, DETERMINED BY X-RAY DIFFRACTION

This study details the results obtained from x-ray diffraction analyses of 10 samples of Egypt sands, located between Luxor and the Nassar Lake, near the Nile River. Sand samples were analyzed in a Philips MOD 1130/96 (generator) and PW1050/25 (Goniometer) diffractometer, with digital record and using CuK. The most abundant mineral in all sand facies is quartz, but other minerals were also identified. Two sand samples from Luxor contain nitratine and halite, in addition to detrital quartz. Nitratine in particular is indicative of very dry climate conditions. These samples also contain feldspar, calcite and traces of mica and amphibole. Samples from the archeological sites located from Edfu to Aswan, and from Lake Nasser contain calcite, kaolinite, K feldspar, plagioclase (both microcline and sanidine), dolomite, lepidocrocite, and ankerite, in addition to quartz. Also some traces of clay minerals were identified in the diffractograms. Both ankerite and lepidocrocite suggest weathering and/or hydrothermal alteration of iron-rich rock sources. One sand sample from the Sahara desert is mostly composed of quartz, but it also contains calcite, ankerite, feldspar and dolomite. Traces of mica, amphibole, and the abundance of quarts and feldspar are compatible with potential rock sources for the sands in the Aswan region (Precambrian granites).