A greenish-blue mineral consisting of hydrated copper aluminium phosphate. Turquoise was used in Egypt from as early as Neolithic times. Among other things it was used as inlay in the jewellery of Queen Hetepheres, the mother of Khufu, found in her tomb at Giza. Further, it was used in the jewellery found at Dahshour and Lahun (12th Dynasty). One turquoise scarab is known from the tomb of Tutankhamun, along with two pectorals with turquoise inlays. The most important source of turquoise was Sinai, in the Wadi Maghara and near Sarabit el-Khadim. Hathor, often associated with the desert and foreign countries, also bore the epithet 'Lady of Turquoise'. A temple was dedicated to her at the quarry at Sarabit el-Khadim. Turquoise was also mined in ancient times in Iran (Persia) and it is possible that some entered Egypt along the trade routes.