Monday, May 14, 2007

University of Toledo geologist shows rock-steady resolve

" Jim Harrell, 58, does not stand out in a crowd. He is of medium build, with medium brown hair, and a tidy, graying beard. A lifelong bachelor who shares his home with six cats, he speaks in a composed, methodical manner that hints at a deep unflappability. Perhaps that's what brought him safely through encounters with outlaws and smugglers, through near-death by dehydration, face-offs with jackals, and a night fleeing wild dogs while lost in the desert. And that's just the icing.
He is most likely the world's leading expert on ancient Egyptian mines, having made it his mission to visit them all.
While some of those mines were known before Mr. Harrell stopped by - such as the mines for Egypt's cloudy light-green emeralds - many were identified only after he ranged into the rocky oven of the Eastern Desert, which lies between the Nile and the Red Sea.
Among his discoveries are ancient petroleum wells that Egyptians dipped out with ceramic vessels. The vessels were still scattered about."
See the above page for the full story.

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