Gebel el-Silsila

Gebel el-Silsila جبل السلسلة ḫny Khenu
Westward picture of west bank rock temples of Ramses II and Merenptah cut directly into the rocks at the Silsileh quarring site, near Aswan.
Gebel el-Silsila جبل السلسلة Location in Egypt
Coordinates: 24°38′N 32°56′E / 24.633°N 32.933°E / 24.633; 32.933
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Aswan Governorate
Time zone	EST (UTC+2)
Area code(s)	(+20) 97
Gebel Silsila in hieroglyphs Kheny ḫny in hieroglyphs The nomes of Ancient Egypt, in Upper Egypt.

Gebel el-Silsila or Gebel Silsileh (Arabic: جبل السلسلة - Jabal al-Silsila or Ǧabal as-Silsila - "Chain of Mountains" or "Series of Mountains"; Egyptian: ẖny, Khenyt,Kheny or Khenu - "The Place of Rowing"; German: Dschabal as-Silsila - "Ruderort", or "Ort des Ruderns" - "Place of Rowing"; Italian: Gebel Silsila - "Monte della Catena" - "Upstream Mountain Chain") is 65 km north of Aswan in Upper Egypt, where the cliffs on both sides close to the narrowest point along the length of the entire Nile. The location is between Edfu in the north towards Lower Egypt and Kom Ombo in the south towards Upper Egypt. The name Kheny (or sometimes Khenu) means "The Place of Rowing". It was used as a major quarry site on both sides of the Nile from at least the 18th Dynasty to Greco-Roman times. Silsila is famous for its New Kingdom stelai and cenotaphs.

During the 18th dynasty the Egyptians switched from limestone to sandstone. At this time the quarries at Gebelein were not yielding as much limestone as before. Gebel el-Silsila became a source of sandstone. The use of this stone allowed for the use of larger architraves.

Many of the talatats used by Akhenaten were quarried from here, and used in buildings at Luxor and Amarna. A stela from the early part of Akhenaten's reign shows the king offering to Amun beneath the winged sun-disk. The inscription records that stone was cut for the great Benben of Harakhty in Thebes. Akhenaten's sculptor Bek oversaw the opening of a stone quarry here.