They were discovered at Wadi el-Hudi, a valley in the deserts of Southern Egypt, which was used for extracting amethyst. The violet-coloured crystal was popular among Egyptian pharaohs during the age of the Middle Kingdom. The excavation team also unearthed 14 inscriptions carved on stone tablets and 45 inscriptions written on pottery.
Analysis of the findings are under way, but so far, archaeologists believe they date back at least 3,900 years.
Some of the pieces are around 2,000-years-old – when the Roman Empire took over Egypt.
Though Wadi el-Hudi was surveyed in the past by other scholars, little excavation has been done and the surveys missed many inscriptions.
Kate Liszka, the director of the Wadi el-Hudi expedition, told Live Science: “The site is just so full of inscriptions behind every boulder and around every wall that they missed a lot of them.
“The site was popular because they [Egyptians] were bringing amethyst back and making it into jewellery and doling it out to their elite and their princesses.”
The team used 3D modelling, reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) and photogrammetry, among other techniques, to help find new inscriptions.
They had to work fast, as modern-day gold mines have opened in the area – damaging the archaeological remains.
It is hoped that this find, along with other previous discoveries, can help answer questions about ancient Egypt.
However, there are a few mysteries over the site that left researchers scratching their heads.
The biggest came from a 3,400-year-old stela written in the name of a senior officer named Usersatet.
It dates to a time when there was no mining activity at Wadi el-Hudi and the site had been abandoned.
This has led researchers to question why someone bothered to drag the stela 19 miles into the eastern desert.
Ms Liszka also admitted the team are unclear whether miners worked at the site on their own free will or not.
She said: “I don’t know if I’m excavating a legitimate settlement where people were treated well or if I’m excavating a prison camp.”
However, some of the inscriptions reveal how the miners were “proud of their work” and no bodies were discovered there.
This suggests that anyone who died was brought back to the Nile Valley for a proper burial and therefore could imply they were of noble birth or of important standing within society, Ms Liszka added.
The inscriptions also show groups of soldiers were looking down at the mines, leading researchers to wonder if this was to protect them or make sure they kept working.