THE GREAT QUARRIES OF ANCIENT EGYPT(2)

' The secret of this magnificent work did not lie in numbers but in the almost perfect organization and unlimited patience which enabled these first masons to cut and transport stones with what we would regard today as utterly inadequate tools and appliances. Lining the banks of the river are the remains of shrines and inscriptions left by the Pharaohs and their chief officials of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties. This place held a special religious attraction for the Ancient Egyptians long before the precious stone was exploited for its building qualities.' William Macquitty in 'Island of Isis; Philae, temple of the Nile'(1976)