Table Of ContentEXPERIMENTS IN EGYPTIAN
ARCHAEOLOGY
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.
Denys A. Stocks is an experimental archaeologist who uses his training in
mechanical engineering, together with his experience in teaching high school
design and technology, to interpret Ancient Egypt’s technical capability. His research
interests include the technological similarities between Egypt, Mesopotamia,
Minoan Crete and the Indus Valley.
EXPERIMENTS
IN EGYPTIAN
ARCHAEOLOGY
Stoneworking Technology
in Ancient Egypt
Second Edition
Denys A. Stocks
Cover image: The northern face of Khufu’s Fourth Dynasty Great Pyramid,
the only face with a few base casing-blocks still in their original positions.
© Denys A. Stocks
Second edition published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Denys A. Stocks
The right of Denys A. Stocks to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2003
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-032-21766-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-21757-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-26992-2 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003269922
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To My Wife, Carol, and Sons, Jeffrey, Ian and Paul
CONTENTS
List of tables xi
List of figures xii
Foreword xix
Acknowledgements xxi
List of abbreviations xxii
Predynastic and Dynastic chronology xxiii
Map of Egypt xxviii
Preface to new edition xxix
Introduction 1
PART I
Skills and tools: fledgling industrialists 5
1 Craftworking: industry’s driving force 7
Craftworking: mind over matter 7
Important tools, materials and artifacts: a brief overview 11
Experiments and their interpretation 21
2 The cutting edge 25
Copper and bronze cutting tools 25
A cluster of furnaces: the key to manufacturing expansion 35
viii Contents
Hammering: the art of forceful shaping 44
Enter the bow: a power transmission device 52
Copper and bronze cutting tools: experimental manufacture and
hardness tests 58
To cut, or not to cut – that is the problem 67
3 A flint for all seasons 78
Some evidence for the working of hard stones 78
Flint and chert: a brief description 86
The experiments with the flint tools 88
Tools for keeping: tools for throwing away 101
PART II
High priests of industry: the state’s influence
on technology 105
4 The abrasive technologists 107
Flora and technology connections 107
Abrasives and metals in use for the sawing and tubular drilling
of stone 109
The sand environment in Egypt: effects on human activity 113
Drilling stones with reed tubes 115
Copper: a new material for an old purpose 116
The construction and use of the experimental Manchester saws
and tubular drills 120
The Aswan sawing and drilling experiments 133
Discussion 140
5 Making stone vessels 143
Stone vessels by the thousand 143
The tomb evidence for stone vessel making 146
Analysis of the pictorial evidence 152
A twist/reverse twist drill attachment tool 154
Reconstructed twist/reverse twist drills 156
The twist/reverse twist drill tests 160
Making stone vessels in ancient Mesopotamia 161
Manufacturing a limestone barrel-shaped vase 162
Discussion 172
Contents ix
6 The development of stone sarcophagus manufacture 176
Shaping stone sarcophagi: surface decoration tools and
techniques 176
Hollowing hard-stone sarcophagi interiors 179
Discussion 184
7 Master masonry fitters 187
Masonry fitters’ tools 187
Some problems confronting the mason 191
The Kahun set of rods and string 195
Some ancient uses for rods and string 197
Fitting two megalithic blocks together: a proposal 199
Friction and force: physics to the rescue 201
PART III
Industrial revolution in Ancient Egypt 209
8 Theban mass-production tools 211
Early bead-making techniques 211
Six New Kingdom tombs in the Theban necropolis 216
Interpretation of the illustrations 219
Manufacture of the reconstructed tools 222
Experimental bead-drilling 226
Discussion of the experimental results 231
9 By-products from a bygone age 234
Modern by-product materials 234
Ancient faience: a brief description 234
Experimental faience manufacture 236
Discussion 239
10 Predynastic transitions and convergence 243
Evidence of Late Neolithic stone-drilling reed tubes in Egypt’s
western Delta 243
The stonecutting copper tubular drill: a primary generator
of Egypt’s economic strength 245
Transitions and convergence 247
