EgypToolWear: Metalwork Wear Analysis of Ancient Egyptian Tools
Lead Research Organisation:
Newcastle University
Department Name: Sch of History, Classics and Archaeology
Abstract
EgypToolWear is a groundbreaking analysis of the function and uses of metal craft tools from late Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Egypt (c.3500 - 1070 BC). This is the first ever project to deploy Metalwork Wear Analysis (henceforth MWA) to precisely understand how copper-alloy tools were used in early Egypt, for what crafts, and with what bodily gestures and engagements. The research is grounded in a multidisciplinary approach combining MWA (both low- and high-magnification) with (a) a critical reassessment of written and iconographic sources (which are abundant and often detailed in this context); (b) metallurgical analysis; and (c) experimental archaeology. A corpus of c.170 copper-alloy tools of various periods, provenances, shapes, and presumed uses will be researched, giving much-needed temporal and geographical depth to the research. The project is important in that it deploys an innovative analytical and experimental approach to answer questions that have hitherto only been address by textual and iconographic studies. The new approach will overturn deep-seated misconceptions concerning Egyptian metal tools, e.g., the conservative character and lack of evolution in tool making and using. Furthermore, the project's importance lies in its being the very first large application of MWA to Egyptian bronzes. As such, it will reinvigorate a rather traditional field of scholarship and open new research avenues into early Egyptian metals. This strand will develop independently after the project's end thanks to planned MWA training and engagement initiatives (including in Egypt itself). This is a game-changer for the discipline of Egyptology and for the Fellow, who through the Action will acquire new analytical and interpretative skills enhancing his career prospects. In turn, he will transfer his specialist knowledge of predynastic and dynastic Egypt to Newcastle, where the archaeology of ancient Egypt is neither researched nor meaningfully taught.
| Description | The first year of the project EgypToolWear was dedicated mainly to the training of Martin Odler in the skills and techniques of metalwork wear analysis, in the Wolfson Archaeological Laboratory of the Newcastle University, under the guidance of the PI, Andrea Dolfini. Initial studies: a collection of Egyptian artefacts was borrowed from the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle and whole range of the microscopes was used to document the artefacts, as well as being analysed for their chemical composition with the portable X-ray fluorescence. This methodology was then applied to a number of artefacts from other collections from around the UK (Egypt Centre, Swansea; Manchester Museum; Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge; Petrie Museum UCL; Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford;), Europe (the Louvre, Paris; Mediterranean Museum, Stockholm; State Museum of Egyptian Art, Munich) and the missions working in Egypt (American project in Giza; German project on the Elephantine Island; the research work was also kindly supported by the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology, Cairo). A database of documentation and observations was gradually built, and the hypotheses and interpretations will follow, especially in the second year. Particularly noteworthy is the collaboration with the Louvre Museum, where their powerful PIXE machine was used and a team of French researchers collaborated on the documentation and analyses of the tools from the Louvre collections, which were never analysed before. Significant new knowledge was generated through the systematic study of Egyptian and Nubian metalwork. In particular, the research revealed that these objects show meaningful use-wear patterns whose study can produce a significant body of new knowledge on early Egyptian/Nubian metalwork. The training increased significantly the trainee's research capabilities and his understanding of the objects being studied. The study and documentation of metal objects will continue in the second year of the project, with increased attention gradually paid to the preparation of publication outcomes from the project, as well as presentation of the interim results at specialist conferences. But, depending on the availability of the museum collections, some other corpora may be still added to the research up to the end of the project. The main challenge to the research is the absence of some specialized items of Egyptological literature in the library of the Newcastle University, but this was mitigated by frequent visits to the Bill Bryson Library of the Durham University, which is better equipped. Within the framework and budget of the project, this is better value for money and more convenient than to procure often expensive publications for Newcastle University's library. Nevertheless, this also means that work on the project's database will continue into the second year of the project. Furthermore, changing international situation in the MENA region might cause difficulties in accessing materials in Egypt, thus this branch of the project might be significantly reduced. During the first year of the project, the Fellow gave two conference papers, four seminars, and two public lectures. These are discussed in the Narrative Impact section. |
| Exploitation Route | There are two main outcomes of the project that, when published, will benefit others: (1) method and (2) actual research results. Methodologically, the research is demonstrating that the principles and methods of Metalwork Wear Analysis can be applied to ancient Egyptian copper-alloy tools to gain insights into the fabrication, uses, and museum history of these objects. We expect that the research will generate independent applications of the method by other researchers. In terms of actual results, bearing in mind the project is still ongoing, the research is already shedding light of the ancient uses of understudied classes of crafts tools complementing visual and textual sources. In this area, too, we expect that the approach pioneered by the project will be applied by others to the study of, e.g., other categories of crafts tools and weapons. On both accounts, the project results will change the field of ancient Egyptian metallurgy and artefact studies significantly. |
| Sectors | Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| Description | In the first year, EgypToolWear created meaningful impact both inside and outside academia. Academic impact was overall higher. Necessarily, the first year of the project was dedicated to data procurement, and impact will increase in the second year alongside data processing and interpretation. However, a number of seminars were presented for the specialist audience at the universities in the UK (Cambridge, Edinburgh) and Europe (Paris, Prague), as well as at specialist conferences, invited lecture in Vienna and an Egyptological congress in Leiden, where the fellow proposed a significant reassessment of the chronology and typology of metal tools and weapons, especially within Early and Middle Bronze Age of Egypt and Nubia. This met with positive feedback from international colleagues, and the Fellow and PI will be working on the publications further explaining the broader implications of the use-wear and functional analysis. Impact outside of the academia is related especially to the public lectures given by the Fellow in the first year, e.g., those for the Friends of the Petrie Museum at the UCL London, where the audience and the later feedback was the largest, and a lecture for a smaller group and venue, in the Oriental Museum Durham, for the North-East Ancient Egypt Society. Both were in hybrid form, so that interested public could follow them through Zoom. Inevitably, the lectures were also based on the Fellow's previous research, but a trajectory towards the current project was explained and some initial results of the new project presented. In a similar vein, the Fellow submitted an article to for a popular Egyptological journal, Egyptian archaeology, published by the Egypt Exploration Society (London) in the spring issue, 2024. The article will draw attention from Egypt enthusiasts and the public and will perhaps attract invitations for the second year of the project. The Fellow is also promoting the project on his own social media, where he has a following of c. 1,000 friends and c. 300 followers (on Facebook). The posts are also relied by the School of History, Classics and Archaeology's social media accounts. Significant challenges, but also opportunities, are to be found in the deeply ingrained misconceptions on the use of ancient Egyptian metal tools within the general public that is interested in ancient Egypt and human past in general. Access to venues with broader impact will be sought, e.g., popular podcasts, YouTube channels, and traditional media, in order to reach a wider audience. The main point of interest is that ancient Egyptian technology is often considered to be "primitive" by the wider public. This is not supported by the data unveiled by the project, which is revealing that ancient Egyptian copper-alloy technology was highly sophisticated for its time and place. Here is a golden opportunity to change widely held misconceptions that the Fellow and PI are harnessing through their wide-ranging impact work. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural |
| Description | Restarting Archeometallurgy in Modern Egypt |
| Amount | € 2,400 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 19463 (action spécifique) |
| Organisation | Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Egypt |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 12/2024 |
| Description | Collaboration with archaeometallurgist Ing. Jirí Kmošek |
| Organisation | University of Applied Arts Vienna |
| Country | Austria |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Contribution of Martin Odler is in the communication with the heritage institutions (museums) and missions in Egypt, in organizing the schedules of the research visits, as well as the archaeological documentation, including the detailed research of the metalwork wear. Studies finds are then evaluated also typologically and chronologically, and set within the framework of our current knowledge of the ancient Egyptian and Nubian material culture. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Jirí Kmošek is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Natural Sciences and Technology in Arts, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and a part time researcher at the Nuclear Physics Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; Rež. In the project, Jirí Kmošek is helping in some of the museum collections, using portable X-ray fluorescence machine to analyse the artefacts under study, as well as sampling, if sampling is allowed. In Egypt, collaboration develops in the same direction and we are cooperating with the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology, which has facilities that are able to support our collaboration in Egypt. |
| Impact | Within the framework of this project, there are no published outputs yet. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Collaboration with the Ancient Egypt Research Associates |
| Organisation | Ancient Egypt Research Associates |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Martin Odler is studying, in collaboration with Jirí Kmošek, metalworking remains and metal finds from the settlement debris excavated at the Heit el-Ghurab settlement and adjacent structures, neighbouring with Giza pyramids. Martin Odler is producing archaeological documentation of the finds. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA), led by Dr Mark Lehner, is providing access to their material and administrative support in conducting the research within Egypt, and under the valid legislature of Arab Republic of Egypt, and specifically Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. |
| Impact | Within the framework of this project, there are not yet any published outputs. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Collaboration with the German Archaeological Institute Cairo, Elephantine mission |
| Organisation | Deutsches Archäologisches Institut |
| Country | Egypt |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Martin Odler is studying, in collaboration with Jirí Kmošek, metalworking remains and metal finds from the settlement debris excavated on the Elephantine Island, located within Aswan city in Egypt. Martin Odler is producing archaeological documentation of the finds. |
| Collaborator Contribution | German Archaeological Institute Cairo, Elephantine mission, currently directed by Dr Martin Sählhof, is providing access to their material and administrative support in conducting the research within Egypt, and under the valid legislature of Arab Republic of Egypt, and specifically Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. |
| Impact | Within the framework of this project, there are not yet any published outputs. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Hybrid seminar (Cambridge) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Martin Odler gave on an invitation a seminar "Recent developments in the research of ancient Egyptian copper metallurgy" within the "Egyptian World Seminar Series" at the Department of Archaeology of the University of Cambridge, on October 11, 2023. The lecture was attended by a full room of Egyptological and archaeological colleagues from the university and also the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and Zoom link was available to students of the department off-site. In the talk was included also information on the current "EgypToolWear" project and its initial results. Among the outputs is establishing a collaboration with Dr Rennan Lemos on the research of ancient Nubian copper metallurgy (in preparation). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/events/egyptian-world-seminar-series |
| Description | Hybrid seminar (Edinburgh) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On October 19, 2023, was given on invitation a seminar "Ancient Egyptian Metals" within the series of ArchSoc Archaeology seminars at the School of History, Classics & Archaeology of The University of Edinburgh. The seminar was attended by colleagues and students from the university, but also from the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, as well as by participants on Zoom. In the seminar presentation was included also information on the current "EgypToolWear" project and its initial results. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.ed.ac.uk/history-classics-archaeology/news-events/events/research-seminars/archaeology-s... |
| Description | Hybrid seminar (Prague) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited hybrid seminar "Metalwork wear analysis of the ancient Egyptian tools and why do we need it", given on November 1, 2023, at the Institute of Classical Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, within the series Current Issues in Archaeology. The seminar was attended by a full room of undergraduate and post-graduate students in Prague, as well as colleagues from the faculty and other institutions in Prague. Seminar was completely dedicated to the current project "EgypToolWear". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://ukar.ff.cuni.cz/cs/2023/10/15/program-cyklu-aktualni-otazky-archeologie-v-zimnim-semestru-20... |
| Description | Hybrid talk (Durham) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Hybrid public lecture "Why we need to understand ancient Egyptian copper" given on January 20, 2024, for the North East Ancient Egypt Society Lectures in the Oriental Museum, Durham University. The lecture was aimed at the interested members of the general public and included information on the initial results of the project "EgypToolWear". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.durham.ac.uk/things-to-do/whats-on/events-calendar/2024/01/north-east-ancient-egypt-soci... |
| Description | Hybrid talk (UC London) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A hybrid invited public lecture given for the "Friends of the Petrie Museum" in the Lecture Theatre G6, UCL Institute of Archaeology, on October 27, 2023, with the title "Why we need to understand ancient Egyptian copper". In the presentation was included also information on the current "EgypToolWear" project and its initial results. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.friendsofpetrie.org.uk/wp/lectures/2023-24-lecture-series/ |
| Description | Online seminar (Paris) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Online talk << Questions around Predynastic and Early Dynastic copper >> on the 29th September 2023 for the Archéo-Nil, Society for the study of pre-pharaonic cultures of the Nile Valley, which has global reach of professional members, including also students, full subscribers, benefactors and donors. In the talk was included also information on the current "EgypToolWear" project and its initial results. Abstract: With the exception of the Maadi site, copper does not seem to be an important element of the research of Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt. Just recently it was even proposed again that the "copper industry" perhaps did not exist at all in Predynastic Egypt. In my contribution, I would like to discuss the existing evidence, demonstrating that there is more to this topic than is commonly assumed. Moreover, the roots of many later phenomena in processing and use of copper must be sought precisely in Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt, otherwise we cannot correctly understand their further development. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.archeonil.com/index.php/the-activities/lectures |