Abstract
The research of Old Kingdom copper metallurgy is hindered by several problems. Old Kingdom artefacts abroad are in many cases unique objects and not all of them can be subjected to methods that provide accurate results because samples are needed for this purpose.
Non-destructive methods are preferred, but their results are less accurate. Additionally, a vast number of small metal artefacts from the Old Kingdom are completely corroded without any metal core preserved, which renders any analysis meaningless.
The issues of more precise typological definition of Old Kingdom artefact classes and distinguishing between full-size tools and model tools have been addressed recently in the monograph "Old Kingdom Copper Tools and Model Tools" by Martin Odler. Based also on these results, two projects have recently been examining archaeometallurgical questions connected with the production of Old Kingdom copper alloy artefacts.
In the Egyptian Museum of the Leipzig University, selected Old Kingdom artefacts from Giza have been sampled by drilling and sawing and the samples were submitted to a wide array of contemporary methods in the Czech Republic, examining the chemical composition (X-ray fluorescence, neutron activation analysis), ore sources (lead isotope analysis), and technology (metallography, micro-hardness testing). Another set of artefacts from Giza, deposited in the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, has been submitted to X-ray fluorescence to find out the chemical composition of the objects.
Moreover, a previously unknown inscription has been discovered on a spouted bowl (ÄS 7441). The paper informs about the results of the analyses, answering the questions of the ore sources, chemical composition and technologies applied to produce the artefacts.
We also address the question of the use of alloys in Old Kingdom Egypt anew, as it appears that arsenical copper was used more widely and in different contexts than was previously thought.