2023 Author: Bryan Walter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 22:24
Scientists investigated the composition of copper alloys from which the ancient Egyptian funerary objects (mainly figurines-ushabti) were made during the decline of statehood at the turn of the 2nd-1st millennia BC, after the end of the New Kingdom period. The results of the analysis showed that at this time the number of copper sources that Egypt had at its disposal was significantly reduced. This not only speaks of the weakening of the country, which has lost access to many metal resources, but also helps in reconstructing the picture of trade and exchange relations in the Middle East during the early Iron Age. The study is reported in an article in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
In the XII century BC, during the reign of the kings of the XX dynasty, Egypt entered a period of a protracted crisis of the central government. Under Ramses XI (approximately 1105-1078 BC), the last pharaoh of the New Kingdom, he turned into a civil war, which ended with the actual split of the country. In Upper Egypt, in Thebes, power was seized by the high priesthood (Herihor, who stood at its head, even assumed the official royal title), in the north, where the power of the pharaoh was formally retained, the noble courtier Nesubanebjed, known from the work of Manetho under the name Smendes, rose to the fore. After the death of Ramses XI, he became the founder of a new, XXI dynasty.
Internal turmoil also led to the fall of the international status of Egypt. It is vividly illustrated in the famous literary source of the 11th century BC - the papyrus "Travels of Unu-Amon", which describes the misadventures of the priest, sent under Ramses XI to the Phoenician Byblos to buy cedar. Unu-Amon faced disdain from the rulers of several cities, although the cultural influence that Egypt had over the Levant for centuries continued during this time of crisis. In the archeology of the Near East, it is defined as the Early Iron Age, but the traditions of cultural continuity from the previous Bronze Age were still quite strong.
Lower Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula with the designations of the most important cities of the turn of the II ― I millennia BC and copper mines in Wadi Faynan and Timna Valley
Egypt could no longer regain its former greatness, achieving only episodic successes, such as the military expedition of the founding pharaoh of the XXII dynasty Sheshonk l to Judea. Losing its influence on neighboring countries, Egypt also lost access to sources of metal, primarily copper. During the period of the New Kingdom, he received it from many mines located in different regions: in Sinai, in Nubia, in South-West Asia, in Cyprus. Meanwhile, among the archaeological sites that have come down from the era of the crisis (in Egyptology, it is called the Third Transitional Period), there are finds of bronze items. These include items of a funeral ritual. This means that the pharaohs still managed to deliver copper from some sources, although their number should have been noticeably reduced.
Israeli researchers led by archaeologist Shirly Ben-Dor Evian from Tel Aviv University analyzed the composition of copper alloys from which artifacts found in tombs of the 11th-8th centuries BC were cast. Scientists were interested in the content of lead, tin, arsenic, antimony and other impurities, by which it is possible to establish from which deposit the copper originates. Samples were taken from six exhibits at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. These are four ushabti figurines from the tombs of Tanis (the capital of the XXI dynasty) and two monuments of the 8th century: a figurine (possibly also ushabti) of the XXIV dynasty Bakenranef (Bokhoris) from Sais and a scarab with the name of the pharaoh Shabaki from the XXV - the so-called Kushite - dynasty.
Ushebti of Pharaoh Psusennes I (XXI Dynasty, second half of XI century BC)
Ushebti of Queen Mutnejemet, wife of Pharaoh Psusennes I
X-ray of Ushebti Queen Mutnejemet
In order to identify places in which there are no later contamination, distorting the result, all objects were examined under a stereomicroscope and subjected to radiography. Then the scientists determined the composition of the samples taken (30–70 milligrams each) using mass spectrometry and atomic emission spectral analysis. All measurements for each sample were made twice to exclude laboratory contamination.
Ushebti of the Warlord of Wenjebengedet during the reign of Psusennes I
Ushebti of the Warlord of Wenjebengedet during the reign of Psusennes I
It turned out that the ushebti of the XXI dynasty, made in the XI-X centuries BC, differ in a much lower lead content (from 0, 21 to 0, 79 percent) than later objects (the scarab contains 3, 87, and the Bakenranef figurine - 10, 82 percent). In terms of isotopic composition, the Tanis artifacts are close to copper from mines in the Wadi Faynan region and in the Timna valley, located on the border of the Sinai and the Arabian Desert. Apparently, the supply of metal from there in this era was quite stable, but the pharaohs did not receive copper from other sources at that time. Tin impurities - from 0.35 to 1.54 percent - most likely appeared in the metal from which the ushabti are cast, due to contamination of the crucibles. A similar phenomenon is familiar to archaeologists from studies of an earlier foundry of the New Kingdom era in Per-Ramses.
Figurine (possibly ushabti) of Pharaoh Bakenranef (Bokhoris), VIII century BC, XXIV dynasty
Scarab with the throne name of Pharaoh Shabaka, VIII century BC, XXV dynasty
X-ray of a scarab with the name of King Shabaka
With regard to objects dating from the 8th century BC, the increased lead content in them can be interpreted as a result of deliberate alloying of copper with this metal, especially in the case of the figurine. Assuming that the lead content in the copper ore does not exceed two to five percent, the researchers tried to determine from the isotope ratio where the lead additive comes from. Its most likely sources were deposits in Sardinia, in the Aegeis region and in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, the least likely - in Egypt and Anatolia. Consequently, at this time, lead was delivered to Egypt from afar. Tin (which could have got into it from the crucible), arsenic and antimony were also found in the alloy of the figurine. The copper deposits of Wadi Faynan and Timna valleys are practically free of these impurities, therefore, most likely, the copper comes from another place. The composition of the alloy used to cast the scarab does not allow us to confidently judge the origin of its ingredients. Scientists believe that they are also brought from different regions.
The ratio of lead isotopes in the studied artifacts and in copper from various deposits (hereinafter: 1–4 - ushebti of the 11th century BC; 5, 6 - objects of the 8th century BC)
The ratio of lead isotopes in objects of the 8th century BC and in lead ores from various deposits
The ratio of lead isotopes in the studied artifacts and in the previously studied ancient Egyptian metal objects of different eras
The results obtained show that the geography of the sources from which Egypt received such a demanded resource as metals has changed over the two centuries of the crisis era. Obviously, the pharaohs during this time lost the opportunity to use the mines in the Timna valley and in Wadi Faynan, but managed to find other ways to obtain a valuable commodity, not related to control over any particular deposit.
Previously, archaeologists were able to smelt copper using ancient Egyptian technology, using raw wood and donkey manure, and also learned through a series of experiments and metallographic analysis how the Scythians cast bronze arrowheads.
