During the 1920s, during excavations in a cemetery in Upper Egypt, researchers found in a grave a small metal object whose nature and function were clearly not obvious. About a century later, The Debrief recounts, science finally understood the purpose of this artifact dating from Egypt’s predynastic period, an ancient era before the reign of the first pharaohs.
Measuring less than 6.4 centimeters in diameter and weighing less than 2 grams, this object made of a copper alloy would have been made approximately 5,300 years ago? According to archaeologists who presented the results of their research in the journal Egypt and the Levant, it is in fact a “mechanically sophisticated drilling tool”. In other words, more than five millennia ago, the Egyptians had already invented the drill.
An ancient curiosity takes shape
At the time of its discovery, the object was described as “a small copper punch, surrounded by a leather strap”but this description provided little information to researchers regarding its potential use. But archaeologists from the University of Newcastle, who worked hand in hand with the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna (Austria), were able to reveal the presence of traces of wear consistent with drilling tools dating from more recent periods of Egyptian history.
Edges rounded by wear and other streaks allowed experts to highlight the existence of a rotary movement exerted on the object. According to researcher Martin Odler, who led the work, one of the most important technologies behind these famous achievements bequeathed to us by the ancient Egyptians was the drill, which had applications in everything from woodworking to stone cutting.
Research showed that the leather strap was wound into six turns: thanks to tension exerted on this small, very fragile rope, it was possible to turn the small drill very quickly. Fluorescence analysis of the drill in question showed that it contains “arsenic and nickel, as well as notable quantities of lead and silver”as Martin Odler notes, claiming that this alloy made it possible to produce a harder metal than standard copper.
“The technological continuity observed over nearly two millennia underscores the enduring utility of the bow drill and highlights its importance in woodworking and beadmaking”adds the specialist in the article co-written with his research colleagues. “This reassessment not only enriches our understanding of tool use in ancient Egypt, but also raises fascinating questions about ancient metallurgical knowledge and interregional exchange in the ancient Near East.” When the object was discovered a hundred years ago, no one expected that its analysis would lead to so many discoveries.
