"A tiny copper-alloy tool long overlooked in a museum collection is reshaping what archaeologists know about the origins of human engineering. Researchers said the artefact shows ancient Egyptians were using a mechanically sophisticated rotary bow drill more than 5,300 years ago. The object, cataloged as 1924.948 A in the University of Cambridge's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, has now been identified as the earliest known metal drill."
"When archaeologist Guy Brunton first documented the object in the 1920s, he described it simply as a small copper awl with leather wrapped around it. The brief classification led the artefact to be largely overlooked for nearly a century. Microscopic analysis revealed wear patterns inconsistent with simple puncturing or scraping. Fine striations, rounded edges, and a subtle curve at the tip indicate the tool was repeatedly rotated, pointing to sustained rotary drilling rather than basic piercing. Researchers also found six coils of extremely fragile leather thong still wrapped around the shaft, which"
A tiny copper-alloy tool (catalogue 1924.948 A) in a Cambridge museum has been identified as the earliest known metal drill, dating to more than 5,300 years ago and recovered from a Badari cemetery in Upper Egypt. Microscopic wear patterns include fine striations, rounded edges, and a subtle curved tip that indicate sustained rotary drilling rather than simple puncturing. Six coils of fragile leather thong remained wrapped around the shaft. Metallurgical analysis detected arsenic, nickel, lead, and silver, suggesting deliberate alloying choices and possible material exchange or shared technical knowledge across the ancient Mediterranean. The find pushes back complex drilling technology by over two millennia.
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