Editing Djedkare Isesi (section)

====Expeditions to mines and quarries====
Three or four{{efn|group=note|It is unclear whether two of the inscribed texts originate from the same damaged inscription or have always been part of two different inscriptions.{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|pp=137–138|loc=Texts C and D}}}} rock inscriptions dating to Djedkare's reign have been found in the [[Wadi Maghareh]] in Sinai, where mines of copper and semi-precious stones were exploited throughout the Old Kingdom, from the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|Fourth]] until the [[Sixth Dynasty of Egypt|Sixth Dynasty]].{{sfn|Mumford|1999|pp=1071–1072}} These inscriptions record three expeditions sent to look for [[turquoise]]: the earliest one, dated to the third{{sfn|Mumford|1999|p=1072}} or fourth{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=137}} [[Cattle count (Egypt)|cattle count]]–possibly corresponding to the sixth or eighth year of Dejdkare's reign–explicitly recalls the arrival of the mining party to the "hills of the turquoise"{{efn|group=note|Also translated as "terraces of turquoise" from the Egyptian ''ḫtjw mfk3t''.{{sfn|Tallet|2012|p=151}}}} after being given "divine authority for the finding of semi-precious stones in the writing of the god himself, [as was enacted] in the broad court of the [[Userkaf#Sun temple|temple Nekhenre]]".{{sfn|Mumford|1999|p=1072}}{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=137}} This sentence could indicate the earliest known record of an oracular [[divination]] undertaken in order to ensure the success of the expedition prior to its departure, Nekhenre being the sun temple of Userkaf.{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=137}}
Another inscription dating to the year of the ninth cattle count–possibly Djedkare's 18th year on the throne&nbsp;– shows the king "subduing all foreign lands. Smiting the chief of the foreign land".{{sfn|Mumford|1999|p=1072}}{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=137}} The expedition that left this inscription comprised over 1400 men and administration officials.{{sfn|Gardiner|Peet|Černý|1955|loc=Pl. IX num. 19}}{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=138}} Some Egyptologists have proposed that these men were also sent to mine copper.{{sfn|Valbelle|Bonnet|1996|p=3}}{{sfn|Allen et al.|1999|p=177}}

These expeditions departed Egypt from the port of [[Ain Sukhna]], on the western shore of the [[Gulf of Suez]], as revealed by papyri and seals bearing Djedkare's name found on the site.{{sfn|Tallet|2012|p=20}}{{sfn|Tallet|2012|p=150}} The port comprised large galleries carved into the sandstone serving as living quarters and storage places.{{sfn|Tallet|2012|p=150}} The wall of one such gallery was inscribed with a text mentioning yet another expedition to the hills of turquoise in the year of the seventh cattle count–possibly Djedkare's 14th year on the throne.{{sfn|Tallet|2012|p=151}}{{sfn|Tallet|2010|p=21}} In early 2018, more than 220 clay seals bearing the serekh of Djedkare were uncovered in [[Edfu#Ancient Tell Edfu|Tell Edfu]] in the south of Upper Egypt. These seals have been found in close association with copper ore, Nubian pottery, the remains of two large buildings and a settlement. Edfu, called Behdet by the ancient Egyptians, was likely the place of departure for the mining expeditions sent to the Eastern desert and the Red Sea during Djedkare's reign. These expeditions were undertaken by a special group of prospectors, called the ''sementiu'', who were under the orders of an administration official sent by the king from Memphis to Edfu.{{sfn|Tell Edfu project|2018}}

[[File:2414-2375 050 PHARAOHS OF EGYPT- Gold Seal of Office. Old Kingdom, Dynasty 5, reign of DJEDKARE ISESI. Museum of Fine Arts Boston ©Hans Ollermann.jpg|thumb|upright|Gold [[cylinder seal]] bearing the names of Djedkare and Menkauhor Kaiu, purportedly from Anatolia{{sfn|Seal of office 68.115, BMFA|2015}}]]
South of Egypt, Djedkare dispatched at least one expedition to the [[diorite]] quarries located {{convert|65|km|mi|abbr=on}} north-west of [[Abu Simbel]].{{efn|group=note|The rock exploited in these quarries actually comprises two varieties of [[gneiss]], the word "diorite" being misused by Egyptologists to designate these.{{sfn|Harrell|2001|p=395}}}}{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=79}} Djedkare was not the first king to do so, as these quarries were already exploited during the Fourth Dynasty and continued to be so during the Sixth Dynasty and later, in the Middle Kingdom period ({{circa|2055 BC|1650 BC}}).{{sfn|Harrell|2001|p=395}}

Djedkare probably also exploited gold mines in the [[Eastern Desert]] and in [[Nubia]]: indeed, the earliest mention of the "land of gold"&nbsp;– an Ancient Egyptian term for Nubia{{efn|group=note|Gold is ''Nub'' in Ancient Egyptian, and the "land of gold" may have given rise to the modern word "Nubia"{{sfn|"Nubia"|Catholic Encyclopedia|2016}}}}&nbsp;– is found in an inscription from the mortuary temple of Djedkare.{{sfn|Klemm|Klemm|2013|p=604}}