Precious metals have been valuable resources for centuries, stemming back to ancient civilizations like Egypt. If you’ve frequented museums, it’s likely that you’ve seen golden jewelry and sarcophagi on display. These and other artefacts were crafted by hand all those years ago with a variety of precious metals and gemstones. In fact, the ancient Egyptians mastered mining and metallurgy, creating the foundation for modern metalsmithing.
Much of ancient mining was done by extracting metals from ores, which was an expensive process since their tools were barely harder than rock and transportation was cumbersome. Because of the cost, many metal objects were melted down for a new purpose once they were no longer useful. Today’s surviving artefacts are mostly comprised of objects that were deliberately buried within tombs, as opposed to everyday items of the time period.
Still, the Egyptians found many uses for a variety of metals. How were these metals used back then?
Copper objects of the era were often cast, which was a difficult process due to bubble formation during the pouring of the metal. The Egyptian people learned that hammering copper increased its hardness, but could lead to the metal becoming more brittle. They combatted the brittleness by annealing or tempering, which involved heating the metal to soften it slightly. These techniques were used to make weapons, tools, vessels, statues, and ornaments out of copper.
Goldsmiths shaped the yellow metal by casting and hammering, while adding embellishments with techniques like embossing and engraving. Precious stones and glass were often set into decorative gold pieces. Gold was also pounded into thin plates, which could be glued or riveted onto other materials. This technique was used in the making of columns, obelisks, furniture, coffins, death masks, and jewelry. Artisans also created gold leaf, which could be applied to surfaces using gesso.
Ancient Egyptians frequently used a naturally-occuring alloy known as electrum, which consisted of gold, silver, and a small amount of copper. It was pale amber in color. Electrum was used to make chariots, columns, thrones, offering tables, statues, amulets, and jewelry.
Bronze
Some historians believe that bronze was discovered when artisans accidentally mixed tin and copper ores. Egyptians then deliberately began producing bronze and copper-arsenic alloys, and also imported bronze from neighboring lands. Artisans used bronze to create not only tools and weapons, but also ornamental doors for temples and shrines, vessels, offering tables, statues, and jewelry.
Tin
Metals in History
While we do have a decent understanding of how the ancient Egyptians used a variety of precious metals and other materials, plenty of information has been lost to history. Many metal objects were melted down long ago, and many tombs and other sites have been looted over the years. The remaining artifacts tell a skewed history, since we don’t have all the facts.
Yet, there’s a lot we have learned from what remains. And history shows us that precious metals were just as important and coveted to ancient Egyptians as they still are to people in today’s society.
Tell us—which Egyptian god most captures your interest? You might just find them on our next silver round!