In this new edition of Experiments in Egyptian Archaeology,Denys A. Stocks introduces further experimental research on stoneworking in Ancient Egypt through archaeological and pictorial evidence.
A further 20 years of research has been added to the original publication and the book now includes the results of experiments that test and evaluate over 250 reconstructed and replica tools, bringing alive the methods and practices of Ancient Egyptian craftworking. This practical approach to understanding the fundamentals of Ancient Egyptian stoneworking highlights the evolution of tools and techniques, and how these come together to produce the wonders of Egyptian art and architecture. A new chapter on Predynastic industrial transitions and convergence explores how the surge in technology, particularly in the expanding production of stone vessels and in the production of faience artifacts, drove the expansion of the economy of the Late Predynastic period in Egypt.
Introducing the results of new research to enrich our understanding of the fundamental development of stoneworking, and other supporting technologies in Ancient Egypt, this book remains an important volume for students and researchers wishing to understand Ancient Egyptian technology and development.
Author(s): Denys A. Stocks
Edition: 2
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 311
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
List of tables
List of figures
Foreword
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Predynastic and Dynastic chronology
Map of Egypt
Preface to new edition
Introduction
Part I Skills and tools: fledgling industrialists
1 Craftworking: industry’s driving force
Craftworking: mind over matter
Important tools, materials and artifacts: a brief overview
Experiments and their interpretation
2 The cutting edge
Copper and bronze cutting tools
A cluster of furnaces: the key to manufacturing expansion
Hammering: the art of forceful shaping
Enter the bow: a power transmission device
Copper and bronze cutting tools: experimental manufacture and hardness tests
To cut, or not to cut – that is the problem
3 A flint for all seasons
Some evidence for the working of hard stones
Flint and chert: a brief description
The experiments with the flint tools
Tools for keeping: tools for throwing away
Part II High priests of industry: the state’s influence on technology
4 The abrasive technologists
Flora and technology connections
Abrasives and metals in use for the sawing and tubular drilling of stone
The sand environment in Egypt: effects on human activity
Drilling stones with reed tubes
Copper: a new material for an old purpose
The construction and use of the experimental Manchester saws and tubular drills
The Aswan sawing and drilling experiments
Discussion
5 Making stone vessels
Stone vessels by the thousand
The tomb evidence for stone vessel making
Analysis of the pictorial evidence
A twist/reverse twist drill attachment tool
Reconstructed twist/reverse twist drills
The twist/reverse twist drill tests
Making stone vessels in ancient Mesopotamia
Manufacturing a limestone barrel-shaped vase
Discussion
6 The development of stone sarcophagus manufacture
Shaping stone sarcophagi: surface decoration tools and techniques
Hollowing hard-stone sarcophagi interiors
Discussion
7 Master masonry fitters
Masonry fitters’ tools
Some problems confronting the mason
The Kahun set of rods and string
Some ancient uses for rods and string
Fitting two megalithic blocks together: a proposal
Friction and force: physics to the rescue
Part III Industrial revolution in Ancient Egypt
8 Theban mass-production tools
Early bead-making techniques
Six New Kingdom tombs in the Theban necropolis
Interpretation of the illustrations
Manufacture of the reconstructed tools
Experimental bead-drilling
Discussion of the experimental results
9 By-products from a bygone age
Modern by-product materials
Ancient faience: a brief description
Experimental faience manufacture
Discussion
10 Predynastic transitions and convergence
Evidence of Late Neolithic stone-drilling reed tubes in Egypt’s western Delta
The stonecutting copper tubular drill: a primary generator of Egypt’s economic strength
Transitions and convergence
Some economic consequences of manufacturing soft- and hard-stone vessels
Discussion
11 Ancient technical interrelationships
Interconnected tools and processes
Indicated craftworkers’ health problems
Final summary
Glossary of technical terms
Bibliography
Index
