Page 139 - A Historical Lie: The Stone Age

HARUN YAHYA

Advanced Metallurgy in Ancient Egypt
In the general sense, metallurgy is the branch of science and
technology involving the refining from raw materials, shaping and
preservation of metals and their compounds. An examination of
Ancient Egyptian civilization shows that between 3,000 and 3,500
years ago, the Egyptians had become expert at extracting and work-
ing various minerals and metals, especially gold, copper and iron.
Their highly developed metallurgy shows that the Egyptians were
advanced in finding, extracting and working ores, and had a highly
developed knowledge of chemistry.
Archaeological research has revealed that the Egyptians were

producing detailed work on copper ore and producing metallic com-
pounds in around 3,400 BCE. In the Fourth Dynasty (around 2,900
BCE), mining research and operations were monitored by very high-
ranking officials and are known to have been supervised by
Pharaoh's sons.
In addition to copper, the Ancient Egyptians often used iron.
Tin was used to create bronze, and cobalt to color glass. Metals not
naturally occurring in Egypt were imported from other regions, par-
ticularly from Persia.
Their most frequently used and highly prized metal was gold.
Hundreds of gold mines have been discovered in Egypt and parts of
modern-day Sudan. One papyrus dating back to the 14th century
BCE contains the plans of a gold mine near Apollinopolis, revealing
the Ancient Egyptians' professionalism on the subject. The papyrus
describes the construction of more than 1,300 dwellings around the
mine just to accommodate those working in it. From this, the impor-
tance of goldsmithing and the art of jewelry in Ancient Egypt is ap-
parent. Indeed, the hundreds of decorative golden objects

137