Note 106 — Chapter XV · THE PREPARATIONS OF CLEOPATRA AND ANTONY FOR THE OVERTHROW OF OCTAVIAN.

I suppose the “purple stone” referred to by Lucan was the famous imperial porphyry from the quarries of Gebel Dukhan, though I am not certain that the stone was used as early as this. Cf. my expedition to these quarries described in my ‘Travels in the Upper Egyptian Deserts.’