Forgotten hand tool rewrites ancient Egyptian history
Nearly a century ago, archaeologists excavating an Upper Egyptian cemetery dating from the late 4th millennium BCE discovered a small, unrecognizable artifact in the tomb of an adult man. While experts have dated the object to the predynastic era, the purpose of the approximately 2.5-inch-long object was less clear. Researchers at the University of Cambridge eventually cataloged it as “a small copper awl, surrounded by a leather strap” and kept it at the institution’s Museum of Archeology and Anthropology.
However, careful re-examinations indicate that the “little hallmark” is much more important than initially thought – so much so that it could rewrite ancient Egyptian history. In a study published in the journal Egypt and the LevantA team led by Newcastle University archaeologist Martin Odler claims that this object is in fact the first known example of a bow drill from the region. If true, this pushes back the creation of the tool by over 2,000 years.
“The ancient Egyptians are famous for their stone temples, painted tombs, and dazzling jewelry, but behind these achievements lie practical, everyday technologies that rarely survive in the archaeological record,” Odler explained in an accompanying statement. “One of the most important was the drill: a tool used for drilling into wood, stone and beads, enabling everything from furniture making to the production of ornaments.”
Odler and his colleagues say the vestigial leather thong is all that remains of a bowstring, which a wielder would rotate by pulling back and forth on a bow. After analyzing the general condition of the tool, the team also believes that the relic has damage consistent with regular use: rounded edges, a subtle curve at the working end, and light scratches.
Its physical condition also suggests that it was a bow drill. X-ray fluorescence analyzes revealed that the drill was made from a strange copper alloy.
“The drill contains arsenic and nickel, with notable amounts of lead and silver. Such a recipe would have produced a harder and visually distinctive metal compared to standard copper,” said study co-author and archaeometallurgist Jiřà Kmošek. He added that lead and silver “could hint at deliberate alloy choices and, potentially, broader networks of materials or know-how linking Egypt to the broader ancient eastern Mediterranean in the fourth millennium BCE.”
Before the recent reassessment, archery exercises were only documented in later eras of Egyptian history, such as the New Kingdom, between the mid-to-late 2nd century BCE. Evidence includes tomb artwork in the West Bank of Luxor depicting artisans fashioning beads and woodwork.
“This reanalysis provided strong evidence that this object was used as a bow drill, which would have produced a faster and more controlled drilling action than simply pushing or twisting an awl-like tool by hand,” Odler added. “This suggests that Egyptian artisans mastered reliable rotary drilling more than two millennia before some of the best-preserved drill sets.”
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