Carve like an Egyptian

Visitors to the Egyptian Galleries at the British Museum are often impressed by the crisp lines and clarity of hieroglyphic inscriptions up to 5,000 years old, and the delicate detail on images of Pharaohs and their exotic deities.

The crispness is due to the hardness of much of the stone used in Ancient Egypt, including red granite from Aswan, purple porphyry, quartzite and various marbles. Some types were so prized that the Roman Emperors had them shipped to adorn their capital, as with the giant columns of the Pantheon, from a source between the Nile and the Red Sea.

There have been numerous speculations about how the Egyptians worked these hard stones; now Denys Stocks, a specialist in ancient technology, has reported on the results of many years’ experiments in making and using tools like those used in Pharaonic times. In a new book, Experiments in Egyptian Archaeology, he notes that flint, one of the earliest material used by mankind, is still one of the best materials for working the hardest stones.

Posted by David on October 9, 2003 2:35 PM