A new open-access study published in Archaeometry unveils the first direct evidence of arsenical bronze production on Elephantine Island, Aswan, dating to Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (c. 2000–1650 BCE).
The research reveals a far more intricate metallurgical tradition in ancient Egypt than previously understood. Crucially, the study identifies speiss, a slag-like alloy rich in arsenic and iron, and in this case also several percents of lead, as an intentional reagent in the production process.
This challenges earlier assumptions that arsenical copper in Egypt originated solely from the accidental inclusion of trace elements in copper ore. Instead, the evidence suggests that metallurgists of the Middle Kingdom were applying controlled, intentional methods to elevate arsenic content, significantly enhancing the strength and durability of their bronze alloys: key attributes especially for tools and weapons.
The international team, consisting of Ing Jiří Kmošek (Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and Czech Academy of Sciences) and Dr Martin Odler of Newcastle University, worked with the metalworking remains from Elephantine, concession of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), Cairo Department.
They were allowed to use laboratory facilities of the Institut français d’archéologie orientale (IFAO) in Cairo and Desert Research Center in Cairo, approved by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt, employed advanced compositional and microstructural analyses to study metallurgical remains excavated at Elephantine Island, within the framework of the “Realities of Life” subproject, led by Dr Johanna Sigl.
Dr Odler, corresponding author of the paper, notes that “this find radically alters our perception of Egyptian metallurgy, demonstrating that technological innovation was already well established by the early second millennium BCE, and before, as we have identified even earlier fragments of speiss, which will be investigated later on.”
Meanwhile, Ing Kmošek, main author of the paper, adds: “The integration of speiss indicates a much deeper understanding of alloy production processes than previously credited to ancient Egyptian craftsmen and provides fresh insights on their capabilities.”
The discovery also bears wider implications for ancient trade networks. Speiss, typically a by-product of metalworking processes, implies access to specialised materials and suggests that Egyptian metallurgists were engaging in early forms of resource exchange and refinement processes.
Techniques applied do not allow to identify the source of speiss, best- guess scenario is that the speiss was processed from arsenopyrites occurring in the Egyptian Eastern Desert, procured either by ancient Egyptians themselves or local non-Egyptian populations living in deserts. Contents of lead within speiss makes more complex the interpretation of lead isotope ratios, used for the provenance studies of ancient metalwork, as lead from speiss would shift the lead isotopes of copper ores.
Publication in Archaeometry as open access, thanks to an agreement between Newcastle University and the publisher Wiley, ensures that these findings are available to scholars and the interested public worldwide. The article, “Production of arsenical bronze using speiss on Elephantine Island (Aswan, Egypt) during the Middle Kingdom”, is released under a Creative Commons licence CC BY 4.0.
About the study
- Period & Site: Middle Kingdom (c. 2000–1650 BCE), Elephantine Island, Aswan, Egypt.
- Key Methodology: Material characterisation via spectroscopy, metallographic microscopy, and elemental analysis to identify speiss inclusions.
- Significance: Confirms deliberate addition of arsenic-rich speiss to copper, altering previous interpretations of accidental alloy composition.
This exceptional find offers a rare window into the technological creativity of one of the world’s earliest advanced civilisations, reshaping narratives around early metal production. It is anticipated to prompt renewed investigations into resource procurement, technological knowledge transfer, and trade in the Ancient Near East.
For the full text, visit Archaeometry (open access): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/arcm.70008
