One thing is for sure, those ancient people knew how to work with stone. And the quality of what they did,with us today knowing hardly anything about the tools and processes,is what makes this great mystery so interesting. Great video !!
ya those diorite vases are the clincher for me that it cant be copper tools alone. They were using power tools, Power doesnt have to be electricity. Living on the great river I can imagine water wheels and belt driven machines as one possibility.
Thank you! Very interesting clues, I am realy happy that I can see those artifacts presented and examined this way. Please next time make longer videos.
They flattened those surfaces so they had other flat surfaces to work with(lapping) they had different types of saps or pitch they could have used to inbed diorite powder(different grades) to get the smooth finish with but they must have used some type of clear polish as well to get the glasy look. Good video my freind😊
finding the statue ' upside down ' .... any conjecture on how the object was moved or its weight ( looting or techtonic. ) Might there have been a thyrsus as part of its original design
I quite agree. In fact that is my position re. most of the ruins and artifacts of ancient Egypt...they cannot be fully appreciated by reading books or watching videos, you have to go see them in person to take in the full effect.
Some ancient Egyptian artifacts are amazingly well crafted, others seem casually or even done without skill...with the most impressive examples being dated from the earliest dynasties. This does not follow the logic of a technology evolving from low to high over time, and therefore does not make a lot of sense. Nonetheless it is what we are expected to believe.
Exactly right. Most statues displaying what they would consider a "god-king" are like that in degrees. A proclamation of richness, skill and ability to their gods and people. "The Leader" is great because he commands such displays of his great Empire's wealth and talents.
Very interesting analysis of this statue. I've hunted Native American Artifacts for over 50 years. I've found quartz, granite, gneiss and hematite relics with drilled holes and polished so well you can see your reflection in them. Banner stones, gorgets, pipes, discoudals and others. Many of these are 5-10 thousand years old. It never ceases to amaze me how much time and effort it would take to drill a perfect hole in a quartz banner stone. Also drilling high quality hematite must have been extremely difficult. You got a sub from me.👍♋
I found the same anomalies in the British Museum. Diorite carved stone with perfect symmetry and craftsmanship but the hieroglyphs were chiseled very crudely. Clearly a different artists and highly likely some time after. They'll never admit it though. Keep up the good work.
Yup. Re-purposing/hi-jacking earlier work was a long-cherished tradition in Ancient Egypt and other cultures around the globe as well, although it does not get the attention it deserves.
From Flanders Petrie, more than 120 years ago: "And when we find on the surfaces of the saw-cuts in diorite, grooves as deep as 1/100 inch, it appears far more likely that such were produced by fixed jewel points in the saw, than by any fortuitous rubbing about of a loose powder. And when, further, it is seen that these deep grooves are almost always regular and uniform in depth, and equidistant, their production by the successive cuts of the jewel teeth of a saw appears to be beyond question..." "That the blades of the saw were of bronze, we know from the green staining on the sides of the saw cuts, and on grains of sand left in a saw cut. The forms of the tools were straight saws, circular saws, tubular drills, and lathes. The straight saws varied from .03 to .2 inch thick, according to the work; the largest were 8 feet or more in length..." "...No. 6, a slice of diorite bearing equidistant and regular grooves of circular arcs, parallel to one another; these grooves have been nearly polished out by cross grinding, but are still visible. The only feasible explanation of this piece is that it was produced by a circular saw." "...the lathe appears to have been as familiar an instrument in the fourth dynasty, as it is in the modern workshops. The diorite bowls and vases of the Old Kingdom are frequently met with, and show great technical skill."
No doubt they used saws like that for the strait cuts, but it still leaves the question how did they make the vases and statues with very intricate radiuses, convex and concave surfaces? It would be fairly easy to power a large saw with animal power, man power, water power, etc. But the small size the tools needed for these objects, idk what power source could have been used, as it would have to be very mobile (hand held). Something similar to a dremel tool or small electric drill. What I DO know is they sure as hell didnt do it with copper tools or by bashing it with rocks like many “experts” claim.
All of the great cathedrals were built with technology we would never use today. Yet there they are standing witness to the abilities of our recent ancestors.
Most builders like Asam..... used straight cut blocks of concrete, clay bricks, limestone other sedimentary bricks and mortar. It is the work of a mason. This is the work of a stonemason who had the right tools and measuring instruments.
The first pyramid has 100ton stones. And is built hundreds of times more proficiently then all othered outside of the first three. Not built by the same people. The second set improved. But never even came close. They copied it and pretended their own made up story of what it ment. That’s why the druids were exterminated by Rome. Then there story’s made into lore by the church. Aliens aren’t real. Only the timeline of the bible is. Wrong
Not inexplicably, though. The end result will always be close to something we still do today. We don’t work hard stone like this and honestly, never have. Explaining how they did something with this precision thousands of years ago, that we never did again, is the conundrum.
Our "recent" ancestors..... I could not agree more... I believe this planet has had civilizations far more advanced than present day. Millions of years. Building up of civilizations, and Earth wide catastrophe
It is astonishing just how impressive much of ancient Egypts output was. One needs only to wander through the museum to appreciate the craftsmanship and skill of these ancient people.
Corundum is a 9 on the Mohs scale and has been found in tube drill cuts. Progressing through finer grits would not leave telltale signs since the goal is to polish until the surface is smooth to the eye and hand.
Hoy, con los dispositivos que hay disponibles, SE VE TODO Si sé pulió con disco, con brazo, con enrutador, con torno, con lo que fuere ... Y esas estatuas no presentan ninguno de los rastros de las herramientas de HOY ...
Been there and stood by it,its so lifelike,its unbelieveable,with finger and toe nails a marvel to behold,you feel like saying come on stand up.i asked a guy there how long it might have taken to create,and he said roughly about 25 years..they didnt recognise timescales like we do.its fantastic.
Vibrating sanders do NOT leave strait lines, they leave very small circular patterns. Because it vibrates back and forth, and it is impossible to keep it moving completely forward or backward. I have done a lot of sanding, as a stone mason, and a car restoring enthusiast. If you dont believe me, use a vibrating sander, and then look at the pattern left behind. A sanding block on the other hand, leaves long strait lines, just like those in your video.
Amazing video. I visited the Cairo Museum about 20 years ago. It changed the way I looked at ancient history. Thank you for these points. Keep them coming. 🏆😁👍
The minerals in diorite (most of them) are either calcium-rich feldspar or pyroxenes. Pyroxenes have a Mohs hardness value between 5 and 6. Feldspars have a Mohs hardness value between 6 and 6.5. It would be better to say the hardness of diorite is between 5 and 6.5. Quartz and other hardstones can cut it and its variable nature allows for many effective techniques to be used.
Diorite has a hardness of approximately 6 to 7 on the Mohs scale. The exact hardness can vary slightly depending on the mineral composition of the specific diorite sample. Diorite is composed primarily of plagioclase feldspar, along with minerals like hornblende and biotite, which contribute to its durability and toughness.
The Egyptian’s found the statue and carved hieroglyphs to try and claim credit for the statue at 1:40 That’s why the carvings are so rough compared to the rest of the work.
With everything you see from ancient Egypt once you get you head around what you are looking at, your mind begins to repeatedly alternate between 'how did they do it', then 'what did they use to do it'?
In Karnak, there is a large green diorite doorway, perfectly cut from a single block 8 ft tall and about 6 feet wide and over 2 feet deep to walk through. It has been polished to a glass finish. It is absolute perfection, flat with polished inside angles, similar to the boxes in the Ramasseum. Marvels we could not produce even today.
Yes, I noticed that too, also that the surrounding masonry does not seem to be of the same period or quality, as if it was built around the doorway at a much later date. (Not an unusual thing in Egypt's ancient sites)
@@AncientEgyptArchitecture That was restoration work. The whole structure is cast stone concrete. Don't look to the restorers for announcements of all the things that aren't original.
i dont know how this ended up on my recommended but I'm happy it was, good stuff 😁 Makes me wonder just how much manual work went into all of these incredible artifacts!? But at the same time, what work ethic were they approaching this with? Maybe they were truly thinking "well, this *is* going to last *forever*" and given the subject matter of the artwork, that gives it a whole new context to view it from the perspective of a worker/artist in ancient Egypt. What i'd give to be a fly on the wall in those times, even just for a fleeting moment
Great comment. Yeah, I'm sure they had some idea of the longevity of what they were creating, and clearly went to great pains to make it immaculate. I love the details on the bird, and how the tail overlaps the back of the chair. And cuticles on the toes! Stunning. I think that desire, like you said, to be a "fly on the wall" is what gets so many people into Egyptology in the first place.
I love this video. this is true science!! imagine trying to carve metal into a statue and this stone is harder!!! Thank you for dealing in real analysis and science. Great video!
One of the simplest ways of separating by particle size with abrasives is decanting in oil. The longer you wait the finer the particles are left in suspension. It's not outside the realm of possibility they knew and used this method.
Great video can you do more about the rose granite vases and artefacts. It’s time for mainstream to move over and allow true open investigation..fully funded too.
Great video very well put and displayed!! the average joe does not realize the man hours involved in that level of polish and/or the way you get there. i polished a lot of "draw dies" made of carbide for forming stainless steel. i would magnify the surface 800 times and had to have the "scratches" out at that level. ive done a lot of polishing, 8+ hours on an interior rectangle 5/8 x 1/2
Totally , the time , dedication and manpower is the real magic involved in all of those ancient works I work as a blacksmith making knives so i sand and polish a lot , and when i see that level of craftmanship in old artifacts/buildings/things I can't stop thinking about all the hours and people behind
Manual hard stone polishing techniques are still used today, though electrical machining has take over almost exclusively. For polishing very hard surfaces, shark skin, ray skin and wet leather, covered in various sizes of sad grains are used. The sand becomes imbedded into the wet leather and is similar to sanding disc today. Final polishing is done with hard leathers, leaving NO scratching, as leather is able to even sharpen modern steels, as seen in barber shops, with a blade sharpening leather strap, which hones the edge of the blade, while not leavening a jagged cutting edge as using a F-Dick or similar sharpening steel tend to. Similarly, wet wood most commonly used, also copper and brass, were also used in this way, as the grains would embed into the soft metals, forming a matrix, like the hole saws and stone cutting saws seen today. Large surface polishing, was not done in a random circular motion, it was done in a straight forward and backward motion, like scrubbing the deck of a ship with sand stone. Ancient people were just as intelligent and resourceful as people today, more so in fact, as people today in the west, have become lazy and had everything made for them.
Mystery solved. Ancient man simply was better than our best stonemasons. Again and again and again. With thousands of artifacts. Probably every ancient egyptian did it. When not building megablocks. How I love easy reductionist answers.
Yah...it was easy! Any idiot with some sand, flint, and sharkskin could do it!!! We're just TOO STUPID to comprehend how easy it really was! Although...you'll notice that none of these know-it-alls has managed to produce so much as a perfect stone bowling pin with their sand and sharkskin, much less a life size diorite statue of a human being, complete with precise anatomical detail and a brilliant polished surface right down to the edges of the cuticles on the nails. Maybe that's because their lifespans aren't long enough to accomplish the task with the methods they propose?
Ah. Easily explainable. The principle has been shown over and over again, be it sawing 4mm of granite in one hour or making tube drill cores that almost but not quite look like Petrie's. How to make these (alabaster...?) vases is shown on a relief, as is towing a statue of unknown material by a bunch of buttflaps. See, it is all there for those who want to see. There is no need for further research, let alone testing, as the easiest answer to the question, nay, the answer to the easiest question has already been found. The rest is just a matter of belief in your pharao, elbow-grease, and, possibly, the whip. Now there, was that so hard to explain? This is how you have to make use of parsimonity. Why, of course we could do it. No need to spend millions on millions if not billions (with the slight chance of a colossal embarassement) in a real experiment on scale if continuously parading the aforesaid arguments on all mainstream channels - as almost sole competitor (at least with the necessary academic credentials) - will do the trick to convince the necessary majority to steer away from this nonsense. Oh - and pointing to rows and rows of books, papers and articles written on the topic py people building on the established paradigm also helps.
@@AncientEgyptArchitecture No one said it was easy, at all, but compared to the morons today, present company included, are not a patch on those of the past. The dedication & mastery of their crafts took their entire lives, their children's lives, unto generations to finish major projects. Today, everything is pumped out to make as much cash as fast as possible & as easy as possible. If you want to find quality artwork made the tradition way, but sadly, most are not willing to look, but would rather attempt to mock & make fun of those who have!Did you know, to cut diamond, you need diamond? Or is that beyond you? To work dolerite, you use dolerite, amazing thought!
Btw, I have been using the leather strop razor blade for my whole facial hair growing life. Yep, the leather works quite nicely. The blade is kept nicely sharp and keen and in the 25 years of weekly sharpening has not lost more than a mm (that would be what, a 25th of an inch?) max of material along the edge. The leather is for the last, final touch. For a blunt blade (i.e. sharpness of a paper cutter) you need the other side of the strop with the 1600 polishing paste. Only for the sake of giving all the facts - the steel used for razor blades is one of the softest, to especcially allow for the ways of sharpening mentioned. It is possible with any other steel as well, but takes much more time.
At 6:17, you can observe, with some difficulty, that there are another set of scratch marks underneath the clearly visible 'top' layer of scrath marks. The lower layer set are at more of a 45% angle. It's possible they used a very large sanding surface, perhaps powered by a person on each side, much like the old-timey saws that frontiers men would saw down huge trees with. Nice video!
Speculation about the method used to smooth the surface? This is fascinating to me as I regularly polish things and just bought a special kit of progressively finer diamond powder polish compounds. You microphotographs are very interesting.
Seems like the Ancient's sought to demonstrate to future civilization a confidence in their fearless choice of stone and their unmatched skill. They expected to impress. They expected that we would celebrate their mastery. They set a high bar in discipline, in difficult material, and in precision. Generations after them had a lower standard and skill set. It doesn't even exist today. Amazing.
Time and pressure, time and pressure that’s all it takes to shape stone with like stone, if I rub butter with butter it will create a smooth and precise feature.
I love that there are mysteries like this. Of course many people will look for the quick answer. In the past it was always some god or gods created the "mysterious thing we can't explain". Recently it is easy to attribute the unexplainable to be aliens (Ancient Aliens) or a lost highly advanced ancient culture (Uncharted X). I do believe the ancients were more advanced than we know, but in simple ways. They applied what they had and would find the easy solutions that took the least amount of effort. Occam's Razor, the simplest answer is usually the best one.
The microscopic evidence speaks volumes here. It also interesting that several areas look unfinished like around the feet of the bird. If only the statue could speak.
I know of a sculptor. He learned native american sculpture and re discovered some Michaelangelo techniques. They did use leather and abrasives of finer and finer grades. Cloth on a stick for the line lines. Then rubbbing by hand with abrasive til it is smooth. There was NO shortage of labour then
6:03 I'm not sure how much faith you could put in those scratch patterns. Most museums keep the real stuff in back and put out a very convincing replica.
it was polished in the same manner that Michaelangelo's statue of Adam was polished, using a technique that has been lost since the advent of sandpaper and files and polishing compounds and various new methods, simple deduction can tell us how it was done! what material has the same rate of erosion as the material you're working on? well that's simple, the very material that you're working with! with marble polishing back in the old days they took scrap from the carving process and pulverized it into a fine powder and then mixed it with an oil or water to create a slurry and impregnated a cloth with that slurry and used that to polish and finish those statues to such a fine degree. this method works for literally any material, take the same material type and turn it into a fine powder and turn it into a slurry.
Thanks for a great video! With all areas showing evidence of cross hatching scratches from a mechanical device as you present, and no evidence of a hand method mean maybe since 1860 August Mariette or maybe the early museum restorers used a mechanical sanding device to polish the stone smooth? What is your conclusion, or maybe you don't intend there be one? Thanks for being the only one to do the 500 times magnification study and reveal this to the world for the first time!
I particularly enjoyed your use of high magnification to dispel their rediculous copper, leather and stone dust polishing theories. The hubris and laziness of modern institutions is appauling. The dogma is so thick in modern universities, perhaps they should refer to themselves as religious institutions instead. It amazes me that egyptologists use hen scratch grafifiti applied by later egomaniac rulers to proove the origin of a an exquisite piece carved from lost technology. You would think their reputations were more important to them. So many of their theories crumble into dust with the sightest bit of analysis applied.
Ya I dont understand why they cant just say we dont know how these things were made, instead of coming up with dumb theories and presenting them as facts.
Too many of academics especially historically never consider asking one of those manual labourers like stonemasons on how to carve and finish stone work.
You show us a copper chisel (1:30 min.) and then say you can't chisel this stone with the tool. What did they use it as, toothpick? The copper just had to be hardened and reshaped more often than iron. There used to be a forge right on the site of every quarry with hundreds of workpieces at the same time even 100 years ago with iron tools.
Copper can't be hardened by tempering, so that's just BS, and iron wasn't around at that time. Copper tools were perfectly viable for working softer stone such as limestone, so there's your answer to that.
Now this is a honest unbias narration to a great video!! Great choice of work for the video bro,this Statue predates the ancient Egyptians. The civilisation that cut, carve and transport this magnificent statue sre actually long gone,they were completely destroyed!
We polish concrete to a glass like finish. We use diamond grit pads, from 30 grit up to 3000. Mostly floors with 1000lbs machines. Edges are done with a 9inch grinder with similar diamond pads.Even with diamond grit power tools it a slow and laborious process that requires a LOT of downward pressure. I can not fathom how this could be achieved by hand.
There are many scripts and paintings done on papyrus that show how the ancient Egyptians were building and sculpting. Even the hardest stone can be cut and polished with simple tools if known the technique and have the patience.
Very interesting, thanks. It got me thinking. I wonder if they could have crushed harder rock like sapphire, topaz, garnet etc into differing size particles and impregnate their copper tools with it. Today, diamond dust can easily be pressed into copper disks for cutting and polishing faceted stones.
I suspect they were using something more similar to long boarding, which would produce smoother surfaces than hand polishing, and this sort of scratch pattern.
These types of statues were fairly common in India too and many have been found specially statues of Gods intricately carved to perfection & with a mirror polish. Even after several thousands of years you will be amazed to see the smooth polish.
Many of the Indian temples and statues were made with soapstone. Soapstone is easy to polish, and will retain that finish for thousands of years. But you can carve it with a hard wooden stick. The truly amazing thing is that some of these temples have lasted for hundreds and in some cases over 1000 years, and vandals and tourists haven't completely destroyed them.
I have delt quite a bit with surface finishes and what methods it takes to obtain these surfaces. The science behind obtaining a particular finish is a science in and of itself. If you want to take this to the next level I suggest getting with Michigan Metrology. There is so much more that Don could tell you about these surfaces...
I am certainly no expert in anything here, but one thought as you mentioned polishing that is still practiced today from middle ages time period is samurai sword polishing, which is near the same hardness after hardening (around 50Rc). They polish in vertical lines with a special mud slurry and very hard small stones to prevent chipping.
I think it would be difficult to replicate a Diorite statue of such quality with available modern tech. If it could be done it would be very expensive.
@@jonathankidwell6889 Agreed - when you are the absolute ruler of a wealthy empire, you aren't going to skimp on producing symbols of your power! A few dozen man-years would have been neither here nor there to a Pharaoh...
Why would it be difficult today? We have diamond blades and dremel tool and polishing compounds that could give those results. You would still need a skilled sculptor, but the tools would not be a problem nor or are they very expensive.
If they used hand polishing methods you would see dips and waves as there are soft and hard spots in all stone types so it would be impossible to maintain perfectly flat surface.
As a craftsman of many decades I know this to be the case. Flat surfaces require some kind of box jig or guide at the very least. For compound curves the challenge is far greater, and so when we observe the tendons / muscles / joints / face, it becomes obvious that a different level of workmanship was required. Hand work, if done very carefully, could certainly account for a portion but IMHO, not all of this artifacts surface.
@@AncientEgyptArchitecture I used to be a stone mason. If I could go back in time I would go back far enough to see how these things were made. lol its so fascinating. They obviously had to have some sort of tools and it mustve been fairly easy for them to make this stuff. Also just moving these blocks is another amazing feat. As you know just transporting masonry blocks creates a whole problem in trying to prevent the blocks from getting chipped or dropped or damaged in any way.
. ancient craftsmen were very skilled at using sand,(silicon dioxide) as a polishing compound. Chinese jade carvers also were adept at this technique, but used a bow drill to get higher speeds for using very fine silica. Ultra fine abrasive powders can be made by pounding sand or other minerals to a powder then sifting them. As a modern lapidaryand stone carver I have studied several ancient polishing systems. These old techniques were used up until the Renaissance, when the new science of chemistry started to have an effect.
they could have just polished it by hand going back and forth in linear directions, people can polish straight, not as straight as a machine but straight enough to explain those images
Thank you for your good analysis : I like that you do your research, state facts and leave conjectures out of it. Apparently some people cannot handle that and want their own options absolutely validated or they’re disillusioned like little children.
Good details. I would really like to know how those vases were created with handles that flow into what appears to be a lathe worked container. The handles however defy explanation.
Some details, for people that are interested in the true: 1, The statue is not made of diorite but of a rock related to it. High moss hardness makes the rock brittle allowing it to be worked with a chisel and polished using sand. Please remember that one of the components of sand is quartz which has a moss hardness of 7.
@@al2207heat the pounding stones in a fire, they can then be smashed into a coarse powder. That powder mixed into a paste will polish that stone easily.
The stone is harder than steel!!!!! Holy cow!!! I had no idea it was such a hard stone. Thank goodness it was, that's why it's still here. Incredible, just Incredible. How do the stones in other civilizations rank to Egyptian in terms of hardness of stone used?
well depends , the thing about steel is depending on the alloy it can be heat treated to achieve different properties like hardness , flexibility , thougness etc so depending on the alloy and heat treat it can be harder or softer than that stone steel is amazing
Hand polishing leaves straight lines. If you are actively rubbing back and forth either with a sandstone or water and sand you'll leave tell tale vertical scratches on stone reproductions. As you go back and forth for hours. You could take this even further with sand filtered through fabric for a higher grit and remove said scratches if you wanted to.
Can you point us to any polishing technique for a non-linear surface where you just go "back and forth for hours"? We don't even do that with WOOD today!!
It is remarkable. Prisoners have been known to cut through steel bars using dental floss, spit and sand. It takes a very long time and constant replacement of floss and sand. I can't imagine this work was done in this fashion even using incredibly small hand-powered grit drills. I am very interested to see the differences in the sarcophagus external surface polishing and the patterns left in the bottom of the hieroglyphics on it. I theorize the finish on the external surfaces will be much finer and consistent than the surfaces in the etched parts. I also think these surfaces were manufactured at different times, possibly thousands of years apart...
It is possible to use weaker materials for cutting and polishing harder stones, if you add water and sonic. Maybe they managed to build such devices. Rough cutting with high presure water could be possible too. The materials you need for this already existed.
This statue of Khafre is THE greatest sculpture in all human Art! From the front (and where a viewer stands) his head is "just" a head. From the side you can see a falcon with wings spread wide, "protecting" the king's head and endowing him with the spirit of Horus. Thus, it is a physical manifestation of an abstract religious principle ... the very first such "concrete abstraction" in human history!
It was polished the same way its done today -tin oxide (which the ancient Egyptians had access to)mixed with water applied to surface,allow to dry then polish with emery stone (again the Egyptians had access to this)look at Victorian quartz granite pillers ,columns anywhere and you will see this😊
Yes indeed, and you will also see circularized/random scratch patterns under magnification from handwork, not the long parallel scratches I documented on the statue. Did you watch the entire video?
I'd guess that they used some type of cylindrical polishing method. Something like a spinning tube that had abrasive added, to achieve such straight scratch marks. This would also explain how the curved areas were achieved.
One thing is for sure, those ancient people knew how to work with stone. And the quality of what they did,with us today knowing hardly anything about the tools and processes,is what makes this great mystery so interesting. Great video !!
They don't call it the stone age for nothing!
Those people are Africans.
The way the hawk tail hangs down the back is such a nice touch.
imagine this statue brand new and glistening after polishing.
quite astonishing to experience for the locals back in the day.
I’ve always been amazed by the diorite vases in the museum ,,How material as hard as this was removed from inside a tall vase is just amazing
Yes - leaving fine spiral groves inside.
They are the top of the stonework art ... and so mysterious
Because it's laser work! Oops, did I just state that we had more advance technology before our time? >_
@@crafty3329 It seems obvious they had some high tech kit but the tools dont get found as far as I know
ya those diorite vases are the clincher for me that it cant be copper tools alone. They were using power tools, Power doesnt have to be electricity. Living on the great river I can imagine water wheels and belt driven machines as one possibility.
Thank you!
Very interesting clues, I am realy happy that I can see those artifacts presented and examined this way.
Please next time make longer videos.
We will
They flattened those surfaces so they had other flat surfaces to work with(lapping) they had different types of saps or pitch they could have used to inbed diorite powder(different grades) to get the smooth finish with but they must have used some type of clear polish as well to get the glasy look. Good video my freind😊
finding the statue ' upside down ' .... any conjecture on how the object was moved or its weight ( looting or techtonic. ) Might there have been a thyrsus as part of its original design
I could look at that sculpture all day. Absolutely fascinating.
What a beautiful and timeless peace of sculpture..you have to see it in the flesh to really appreciate it...
I quite agree. In fact that is my position re. most of the ruins and artifacts of ancient Egypt...they cannot be fully appreciated by reading books or watching videos, you have to go see them in person to take in the full effect.
Outstanding work! Wonderfully clear presentation.
We had the great fortune to see that statue in 2023
Some ancient Egyptian artifacts are amazingly well crafted, others seem casually or even done without skill...with the most impressive examples being dated from the earliest dynasties. This does not follow the logic of a technology evolving from low to high over time, and therefore does not make a lot of sense. Nonetheless it is what we are expected to believe.
Never ceases to amaze me. Incredible
Its almost like they chose the hardest stone just to tell us how legendary capable they were
Yup...
Exactly right. Most statues displaying what they would consider a "god-king" are like that in degrees. A proclamation of richness, skill and ability to their gods and people. "The Leader" is great because he commands such displays of his great Empire's wealth and talents.
They knew it would last for thousands of years most certainly
Powers to turn human to stone
They have that
Very interesting analysis of this statue. I've hunted Native American Artifacts for over 50 years. I've found quartz, granite, gneiss and hematite relics with drilled holes and polished so well you can see your reflection in them. Banner stones, gorgets, pipes, discoudals and others. Many of these are 5-10 thousand years old. It never ceases to amaze me how much time and effort it would take to drill a perfect hole in a quartz banner stone. Also drilling high quality hematite must have been extremely difficult. You got a sub from me.👍♋
thank you
I found the same anomalies in the British Museum. Diorite carved stone with perfect symmetry and craftsmanship but the hieroglyphs were chiseled very crudely. Clearly a different artists and highly likely some time after. They'll never admit it though. Keep up the good work.
Yup. Re-purposing/hi-jacking earlier work was a long-cherished tradition in Ancient Egypt and other cultures around the globe as well, although it does not get the attention it deserves.
Yep but the polishing is one type of process, and inscribing quite another.
Eagle?? What eagle?
@@AncientEgyptArchitecture The one on the statues back . It's right there . He talks about the wings no ?
@@petem7118 you meant the falcon.
Sand (=quartz) has been a very good polishing tool for eons..
From Flanders Petrie, more than 120 years ago:
"And when we find on the surfaces of the saw-cuts in diorite, grooves as deep as 1/100 inch, it appears far more likely that such were produced by fixed jewel points in the saw, than by any fortuitous rubbing about of a loose powder. And when, further, it is seen that these deep grooves are almost always regular and uniform in depth, and equidistant, their production by the successive cuts of the jewel teeth of a saw appears to be beyond question..."
"That the blades of the saw were of bronze, we know from the green staining on the sides of the saw cuts, and on grains of sand left in a saw cut.
The forms of the tools were straight saws, circular saws, tubular drills, and lathes.
The straight saws varied from .03 to .2 inch thick, according to the work; the largest were 8 feet or more in length..." "...No. 6, a slice of diorite bearing equidistant and regular grooves of circular arcs, parallel to one another; these grooves have been nearly polished out by cross grinding, but are still visible. The only feasible explanation of this piece is that it was produced by a circular saw."
"...the lathe appears to have been as familiar an instrument in the fourth dynasty, as it is in the modern workshops. The diorite bowls and vases of the Old Kingdom are frequently met with, and show great technical skill."
Blades of Bronze - leaving green staining - fascinating. Its truly a stunning achievement.
No doubt they used saws like that for the strait cuts, but it still leaves the question how did they make the vases and statues with very intricate radiuses, convex and concave surfaces? It would be fairly easy to power a large saw with animal power, man power, water power, etc. But the small size the tools needed for these objects, idk what power source could have been used, as it would have to be very mobile (hand held). Something similar to a dremel tool or small electric drill. What I DO know is they sure as hell didnt do it with copper tools or by bashing it with rocks like many “experts” claim.
All of the great cathedrals were built with technology we would never use today. Yet there they are standing witness to the abilities of our recent ancestors.
Most builders like Asam..... used straight cut blocks of concrete, clay bricks, limestone other sedimentary bricks and mortar. It is the work of a mason. This is the work of a stonemason who had the right tools and measuring instruments.
The first pyramid has 100ton stones. And is built hundreds of times more proficiently then all othered outside of the first three. Not built by the same people. The second set improved. But never even came close. They copied it and pretended their own made up story of what it ment. That’s why the druids were exterminated by Rome. Then there story’s made into lore by the church. Aliens aren’t real. Only the timeline of the bible is. Wrong
Not inexplicably, though. The end result will always be close to something we still do today. We don’t work hard stone like this and honestly, never have. Explaining how they did something with this precision thousands of years ago, that we never did again, is the conundrum.
no technology just lots of patience and lots of time to do the work…
Our "recent" ancestors..... I could not agree more... I believe this planet has had civilizations far more advanced than present day. Millions of years. Building up of civilizations, and Earth wide catastrophe
It is astonishing just how impressive much of ancient Egypts output was. One needs only to wander through the museum to appreciate the craftsmanship and skill of these ancient people.
Corundum is a 9 on the Mohs scale and has been found in tube drill cuts. Progressing through finer grits would not leave telltale signs since the goal is to polish until the surface is smooth to the eye and hand.
Under magnification all polishing methods can be detected that we use today..
Hoy, con los dispositivos que hay disponibles, SE VE TODO
Si sé pulió con disco, con brazo, con enrutador, con torno, con lo que fuere ...
Y esas estatuas no presentan ninguno de los rastros de las herramientas de HOY ...
Been there and stood by it,its so lifelike,its unbelieveable,with finger and toe nails a marvel to behold,you feel like saying come on stand up.i asked a guy there how long it might have taken to create,and he said roughly about 25 years..they didnt recognise timescales like we do.its fantastic.
Vibrating sanders do NOT leave strait lines, they leave very small circular patterns. Because it vibrates back and forth, and it is impossible to keep it moving completely forward or backward. I have done a lot of sanding, as a stone mason, and a car restoring enthusiast.
If you dont believe me, use a vibrating sander, and then look at the pattern left behind.
A sanding block on the other hand, leaves long strait lines, just like those in your video.
Amazing video. I visited the Cairo Museum about 20 years ago. It changed the way I looked at ancient history. Thank you for these points. Keep them coming. 🏆😁👍
The minerals in diorite (most of them) are either calcium-rich feldspar or pyroxenes. Pyroxenes have a Mohs hardness value between 5 and 6. Feldspars have a Mohs hardness value between 6 and 6.5. It would be better to say the hardness of diorite is between 5 and 6.5. Quartz and other hardstones can cut it and its variable nature allows for many effective techniques to be used.
Diorite has a hardness of approximately 6 to 7 on the Mohs scale. The exact hardness can vary slightly depending on the mineral composition of the specific diorite sample. Diorite is composed primarily of plagioclase feldspar, along with minerals like hornblende and biotite, which contribute to its durability and toughness.
Wow thank you so much for answering some of the detail that has long been missing on these artifacts and statues. There is still so much to learn.
The Egyptian’s found the statue and carved hieroglyphs to try and claim credit for the statue at 1:40 That’s why the carvings are so rough compared to the rest of the work.
Excellent! Please continue your work!
With everything you see from ancient Egypt once you get you head around what you are looking at, your mind begins to repeatedly alternate between 'how did they do it', then 'what did they use to do it'?
Fascinating! Praise TH-cam for bringing me here! Subscribed. ✌🏼
Welcome aboard!
In Karnak, there is a large green diorite doorway, perfectly cut from a single block 8 ft tall and about 6 feet wide and over 2 feet deep to walk through. It has been polished to a glass finish. It is absolute perfection, flat with polished inside angles, similar to the boxes in the Ramasseum. Marvels we could not produce even today.
Yes, I noticed that too, also that the surrounding masonry does not seem to be of the same period or quality, as if it was built around the doorway at a much later date. (Not an unusual thing in Egypt's ancient sites)
@@AncientEgyptArchitecture That was restoration work. The whole structure is cast stone concrete. Don't look to the restorers for announcements of all the things that aren't original.
Very interesting, this is the kind of investigation needed, if we are ever going to have any idea how they did amazing things like this, great video.
So much to still explain about many things of ancient Egypt 👍🏻
This was good brother. I'll keep watching your channel. Keep up the great work
i dont know how this ended up on my recommended but I'm happy it was, good stuff 😁 Makes me wonder just how much manual work went into all of these incredible artifacts!? But at the same time, what work ethic were they approaching this with? Maybe they were truly thinking "well, this *is* going to last *forever*" and given the subject matter of the artwork, that gives it a whole new context to view it from the perspective of a worker/artist in ancient Egypt. What i'd give to be a fly on the wall in those times, even just for a fleeting moment
Great comment. Yeah, I'm sure they had some idea of the longevity of what they were creating, and clearly went to great pains to make it immaculate. I love the details on the bird, and how the tail overlaps the back of the chair. And cuticles on the toes! Stunning. I think that desire, like you said, to be a "fly on the wall" is what gets so many people into Egyptology in the first place.
absolutely outstanding work! Thank you.
is it possible that some of those scratches are the result of modern restoration/cleaning efforts?
The hieroglyphs were likely done at a later date as well. They are crude compared to the finish.
+1
I saw these Egyptian artificats in the museum. It’s absolutely amazing the artistry and imagination the Egyptians had thousands of years ago.
i saw them too. the polished granite was amazing
I love this video. this is true science!! imagine trying to carve metal into a statue and this stone is harder!!! Thank you for dealing in real analysis and science. Great video!
What s great face he had and a beautiful work of art.
Absolutely
Thank you, this was very helpful and informative and on a carving of great importance.
Thanks for watching! The statue really is a marvel of ancient craftsmanship.
One of the simplest ways of separating by particle size with abrasives is decanting in oil. The longer you wait the finer the particles are left in suspension. It's not outside the realm of possibility they knew and used this method.
Interesting snippet on surely one of the most beautiful statues every made....👍
We were just there- stunning in person. The wings also act to protect the neck- which is typically weak, and easily damaged.
Incredible that we're led to believe that such beautiful and precise carvings in such a hard rock were made by chisels and hammers. Science.
Great video can you do more about the rose granite vases and artefacts. It’s time for mainstream to move over and allow true open investigation..fully funded too.
Very fascinating objects. Cheers!
Great video very well put and displayed!! the average joe does not realize the man hours involved in that level of polish and/or the way you get there. i polished a lot of "draw dies" made of carbide for forming stainless steel. i would magnify the surface 800 times and had to have the "scratches" out at that level. ive done a lot of polishing, 8+ hours on an interior rectangle 5/8 x 1/2
Totally , the time , dedication and manpower is the real magic involved in all of those ancient works
I work as a blacksmith making knives so i sand and polish a lot ,
and when i see that level of craftmanship in old artifacts/buildings/things
I can't stop thinking about all the hours and people behind
Manual hard stone polishing techniques are still used today, though electrical machining has take over almost exclusively. For polishing very hard surfaces, shark skin, ray skin and wet leather, covered in various sizes of sad grains are used. The sand becomes imbedded into the wet leather and is similar to sanding disc today. Final polishing is done with hard leathers, leaving NO scratching, as leather is able to even sharpen modern steels, as seen in barber shops, with a blade sharpening leather strap, which hones the edge of the blade, while not leavening a jagged cutting edge as using a F-Dick or similar sharpening steel tend to. Similarly, wet wood most commonly used, also copper and brass, were also used in this way, as the grains would embed into the soft metals, forming a matrix, like the hole saws and stone cutting saws seen today. Large surface polishing, was not done in a random circular motion, it was done in a straight forward and backward motion, like scrubbing the deck of a ship with sand stone. Ancient people were just as intelligent and resourceful as people today, more so in fact, as people today in the west, have become lazy and had everything made for them.
Mystery solved. Ancient man simply was better than our best stonemasons. Again and again and again. With thousands of artifacts. Probably every ancient egyptian did it. When not building megablocks. How I love easy reductionist answers.
Yah...it was easy! Any idiot with some sand, flint, and sharkskin could do it!!! We're just TOO STUPID to comprehend how easy it really was!
Although...you'll notice that none of these know-it-alls has managed to produce so much as a perfect stone bowling pin with their sand and sharkskin, much less a life size diorite statue of a human being, complete with precise anatomical detail and a brilliant polished surface right down to the edges of the cuticles on the nails.
Maybe that's because their lifespans aren't long enough to accomplish the task with the methods they propose?
Ah. Easily explainable. The principle has been shown over and over again, be it sawing 4mm of granite in one hour or making tube drill cores that almost but not quite look like Petrie's. How to make these (alabaster...?) vases is shown on a relief, as is towing a statue of unknown material by a bunch of buttflaps. See, it is all there for those who want to see.
There is no need for further research, let alone testing, as the easiest answer to the question, nay, the answer to the easiest question has already been found. The rest is just a matter of belief in your pharao, elbow-grease, and, possibly, the whip. Now there, was that so hard to explain? This is how you have to make use of parsimonity. Why, of course we could do it. No need to spend millions on millions if not billions (with the slight chance of a colossal embarassement) in a real experiment on scale if continuously parading the aforesaid arguments on all mainstream channels - as almost sole competitor (at least with the necessary academic credentials) - will do the trick to convince the necessary majority to steer away from this nonsense. Oh - and pointing to rows and rows of books, papers and articles written on the topic py people building on the established paradigm also helps.
@@AncientEgyptArchitecture No one said it was easy, at all, but compared to the morons today, present company included, are not a patch on those of the past. The dedication & mastery of their crafts took their entire lives, their children's lives, unto generations to finish major projects. Today, everything is pumped out to make as much cash as fast as possible & as easy as possible. If you want to find quality artwork made the tradition way, but sadly, most are not willing to look, but would rather attempt to mock & make fun of those who have!Did you know, to cut diamond, you need diamond? Or is that beyond you? To work dolerite, you use dolerite, amazing thought!
Btw, I have been using the leather strop razor blade for my whole facial hair growing life. Yep, the leather works quite nicely. The blade is kept nicely sharp and keen and in the 25 years of weekly sharpening has not lost more than a mm (that would be what, a 25th of an inch?) max of material along the edge. The leather is for the last, final touch. For a blunt blade (i.e. sharpness of a paper cutter) you need the other side of the strop with the 1600 polishing paste. Only for the sake of giving all the facts - the steel used for razor blades is one of the softest, to especcially allow for the ways of sharpening mentioned. It is possible with any other steel as well, but takes much more time.
At 6:17, you can observe, with some difficulty, that there are another set of scratch marks underneath the clearly visible 'top' layer of scrath marks. The lower layer set are at more of a 45% angle.
It's possible they used a very large sanding surface, perhaps powered by a person on each side, much like the old-timey saws that frontiers men would saw down huge trees with.
Nice video!
This is perfect for falling sleep to. Keep them coming love it!
Speculation about the method used to smooth the surface? This is fascinating to me as I regularly polish things and just bought a special kit of progressively finer diamond powder polish compounds. You microphotographs are very interesting.
Seems like the Ancient's sought to demonstrate to future civilization a confidence in their fearless choice of stone and their unmatched skill. They expected to impress. They expected that we would celebrate their mastery. They set a high bar in discipline, in difficult material, and in precision. Generations after them had a lower standard and skill set. It doesn't even exist today. Amazing.
Time and pressure, time and pressure that’s all it takes to shape stone with like stone, if I rub butter with butter it will create a smooth and precise feature.
I love that there are mysteries like this. Of course many people will look for the quick answer. In the past it was always some god or gods created the "mysterious thing we can't explain". Recently it is easy to attribute the unexplainable to be aliens (Ancient Aliens) or a lost highly advanced ancient culture (Uncharted X). I do believe the ancients were more advanced than we know, but in simple ways. They applied what they had and would find the easy solutions that took the least amount of effort. Occam's Razor, the simplest answer is usually the best one.
NO
The microscopic evidence speaks volumes here. It also interesting that several areas look unfinished like around the feet of the bird. If only the statue could speak.
Looking forward to more and longer videos🤓👍
Working on it!
Thanks!
Welcome!
it would be interesting to compare the marks on the material to those left by a belt sander
Excellent form to only enlighten us with the observed facts and leave the speculation to our own particular belief patterns.
Absolutely amazing
I know of a sculptor. He learned native american sculpture and re discovered some Michaelangelo techniques. They did use leather and abrasives of finer and finer grades. Cloth on a stick for the line lines. Then rubbbing by hand with abrasive til it is smooth. There was NO shortage of labour then
6:03
I'm not sure how much faith you could put in those scratch patterns. Most museums keep the real stuff in back and put out a very convincing replica.
the actual pyramid is a replica.
your sleeping. we cant even replicate this stuff TODAY
Dude, it's not just clueless people that get to go to museums.....
@@sa.8208 yes, we can.
@@sa.8208 LOL
it was polished in the same manner that Michaelangelo's statue of Adam was polished, using a technique that has been lost since the advent of sandpaper and files and polishing compounds and various new methods, simple deduction can tell us how it was done! what material has the same rate of erosion as the material you're working on? well that's simple, the very material that you're working with! with marble polishing back in the old days they took scrap from the carving process and pulverized it into a fine powder and then mixed it with an oil or water to create a slurry and impregnated a cloth with that slurry and used that to polish and finish those statues to such a fine degree. this method works for literally any material, take the same material type and turn it into a fine powder and turn it into a slurry.
A paste with quartz powder could be used to polish it.
Thanks for a great video! With all areas showing evidence of cross hatching scratches from a mechanical device as you present, and no evidence of a hand method mean maybe since 1860 August Mariette or maybe the early museum restorers used a mechanical sanding device to polish the stone smooth? What is your conclusion, or maybe you don't intend there be one? Thanks for being the only one to do the 500 times magnification study and reveal this to the world for the first time!
I particularly enjoyed your use of high magnification to dispel their rediculous copper, leather and stone dust polishing theories. The hubris and laziness of modern institutions is appauling. The dogma is so thick in modern universities, perhaps they should refer to themselves as religious institutions instead. It amazes me that egyptologists use hen scratch grafifiti applied by later egomaniac rulers to proove the origin of a an exquisite piece carved from lost technology. You would think their reputations were more important to them. So many of their theories crumble into dust with the sightest bit of analysis applied.
Ya I dont understand why they cant just say we dont know how these things were made, instead of coming up with dumb theories and presenting them as facts.
Too many of academics especially historically never consider asking one of those manual labourers like stonemasons on how to carve and finish stone work.
“Hubris and laziness”
You give them too much credit. They’re lying. They’re hiding truths. I refuse to believe otherwise.
You show us a copper chisel (1:30 min.) and then say you can't chisel this stone with the tool. What did they use it as, toothpick? The copper just had to be hardened and reshaped more often than iron. There used to be a forge right on the site of every quarry with hundreds of workpieces at the same time even 100 years ago with iron tools.
Copper can't be hardened by tempering, so that's just BS, and iron wasn't around at that time. Copper tools were perfectly viable for working softer stone such as limestone, so there's your answer to that.
Now this is a honest unbias narration to a great video!! Great choice of work for the video bro,this Statue predates the ancient Egyptians. The civilisation that cut, carve and transport this magnificent statue sre actually long gone,they were completely destroyed!
We polish concrete to a glass like finish. We use diamond grit pads, from 30 grit up to 3000. Mostly floors with 1000lbs machines. Edges are done with a 9inch grinder with similar diamond pads.Even with diamond grit power tools it a slow and laborious process that requires a LOT of downward pressure. I can not fathom how this could be achieved by hand.
It can't. The thought that it was shows zero knowledge of stonework.
We know somebody vitrified the forts in Scotland and elsewhere
Thank you for this video. Maybe the next one can be a bit longer 😁
I will try!
There are many scripts and paintings done on papyrus that show how the ancient Egyptians were building and sculpting. Even the hardest stone can be cut and polished with simple tools if known the technique and have the patience.
What Tools did they use
Could they have used another piece of the same material they were sculpting ? 🤔
😂😂. Ok bro
Very interesting, thanks. It got me thinking. I wonder if they could have crushed harder rock like sapphire, topaz, garnet etc into differing size particles and impregnate their copper tools with it. Today, diamond dust can easily be pressed into copper disks for cutting and polishing faceted stones.
Entirely possible.
I suspect they were using something more similar to long boarding, which would produce smoother surfaces than hand polishing, and this sort of scratch pattern.
How was it polished? Slowly
I'm guessing different Diamond bits in CNC Machining. Or a 3D printed
Very interesting. Well worth a subscription. 👍
Welcome aboard!
These types of statues were fairly common in India too and many have been found specially statues of Gods intricately carved to perfection & with a mirror polish. Even after several thousands of years you will be amazed to see the smooth polish.
Many of the Indian temples and statues were made with soapstone. Soapstone is easy to polish, and will retain that finish for thousands of years. But you can carve it with a hard wooden stick.
The truly amazing thing is that some of these temples have lasted for hundreds and in some cases over 1000 years, and vandals and tourists haven't completely destroyed them.
I have delt quite a bit with surface finishes and what methods it takes to obtain these surfaces. The science behind obtaining a particular finish is a science in and of itself. If you want to take this to the next level I suggest getting with Michigan Metrology. There is so much more that Don could tell you about these surfaces...
I am certainly no expert in anything here, but one thought as you mentioned polishing that is still practiced today from middle ages time period is samurai sword polishing, which is near the same hardness after hardening (around 50Rc). They polish in vertical lines with a special mud slurry and very hard small stones to prevent chipping.
Wow amazing. I wonder how they did it and that bilateral symetry. Great video thankyou. Absolutely subbed :)
Thanks for the sub!
I think it would be difficult to replicate a Diorite statue of such quality with available modern tech. If it could be done it would be very expensive.
I'm sure it was very expensive back then too.
@@jonathankidwell6889 Agreed - when you are the absolute ruler of a wealthy empire, you aren't going to skimp on producing symbols of your power! A few dozen man-years would have been neither here nor there to a Pharaoh...
what about a big ol animal hyde buffing wheel powered by slaves? some unknown powder as a buffing compound. just sayin
Why would it be difficult today? We have diamond blades and dremel tool and polishing compounds that could give those results. You would still need a skilled sculptor, but the tools would not be a problem nor or are they very expensive.
It was commissioned by the god emperor of the oldest and richest state that had ever existed. It was probably the most expensive.
Awesome video. Thank you so much.
If they used hand polishing methods you would see dips and waves as there are soft and hard spots in all stone types so it would be impossible to maintain perfectly flat surface.
As a craftsman of many decades I know this to be the case. Flat surfaces require some kind of box jig or guide at the very least. For compound curves the challenge is far greater, and so when we observe the tendons / muscles / joints / face, it becomes obvious that a different level of workmanship was required. Hand work, if done very carefully, could certainly account for a portion but IMHO, not all of this artifacts surface.
@@AncientEgyptArchitecture I used to be a stone mason. If I could go back in time I would go back far enough to see how these things were made. lol its so fascinating. They obviously had to have some sort of tools and it mustve been fairly easy for them to make this stuff. Also just moving these blocks is another amazing feat. As you know just transporting masonry blocks creates a whole problem in trying to prevent the blocks from getting chipped or dropped or damaged in any way.
Thanks for the observed polishing anomalies, always makes for interesting conjecture .
. ancient craftsmen were very skilled at using sand,(silicon dioxide) as a polishing compound. Chinese jade carvers also were adept at this technique, but used a bow drill to get higher speeds for using very fine silica. Ultra fine abrasive powders can be made by pounding sand or other minerals to a powder then sifting them. As a modern lapidaryand stone carver I have studied several ancient polishing systems. These old techniques were used up until the Renaissance, when the new science of chemistry started to have an effect.
As an addendum, the crystal skulls from South America are thought to have taken several generations to make and polish.
@@charlesbduke7947 those skulls are "fakes "sir , probably made at the end of the 19th century to scam museums and collectors
the feather gap was a nice touch, would have been an interesting moment to find that in a endless pile of rocks sand and debris.
they could have just polished it by hand going back and forth in linear directions, people can polish straight, not as straight as a machine but straight enough to explain those images
Thank you for your good analysis : I like that you do your research, state facts and leave conjectures out of it. Apparently some people cannot handle that and want their own options absolutely validated or they’re disillusioned like little children.
You noticed that as well? LOL!
@ I did.
Good details. I would really like to know how those vases were created with handles that flow into what appears to be a lathe worked container. The handles however defy explanation.
Coming soon!
This statue is on par with that skill set
Can you discount modern restorative methods from this analysis?
Yes.
I've stood in front of this, it's absolutely remarkable. It's so life like ,you half expect it to stand up and greet you.amazing.
after this go through the meteor stream I wonder what it is that we have made that distant future civilizations will awe at
Some details, for people that are interested in the true: 1, The statue is not made of diorite but of a rock related to it. High moss hardness makes the rock brittle allowing it to be worked with a chisel and polished using sand. Please remember that one of the components of sand is quartz which has a moss hardness of 7.
It's not just about hardness when it comes to the different types of stone. Look at the relevant papers.
rock type is granodiorite , sand in Egypt cannot polish as it is way too fine and mostly made from limestone dust
@@al2207heat the pounding stones in a fire, they can then be smashed into a coarse powder. That powder mixed into a paste will polish that stone easily.
Thank you. The Mohs scale of hardness is what you're referring to. 🎉
The stone is harder than steel!!!!! Holy cow!!! I had no idea it was such a hard stone. Thank goodness it was, that's why it's still here. Incredible, just Incredible. How do the stones in other civilizations rank to Egyptian in terms of hardness of stone used?
Granite is similar
well depends , the thing about steel is depending on the alloy it can be heat treated to achieve different properties like hardness , flexibility , thougness etc
so depending on the alloy and heat treat it can be harder or softer than that stone
steel is amazing
Hand polishing leaves straight lines. If you are actively rubbing back and forth either with a sandstone or water and sand you'll leave tell tale vertical scratches on stone reproductions. As you go back and forth for hours. You could take this even further with sand filtered through fabric for a higher grit and remove said scratches if you wanted to.
Can you point us to any polishing technique for a non-linear surface where you just go "back and forth for hours"? We don't even do that with WOOD today!!
Look at their goldwork and jewelry. They obviously knew of diamond and its ability.
The hieroglyphs are "tags" that were added later. The statue is much older than can be accredited.
It is remarkable. Prisoners have been known to cut through steel bars using dental floss, spit and sand. It takes a very long time and constant replacement of floss and sand. I can't imagine this work was done in this fashion even using incredibly small hand-powered grit drills. I am very interested to see the differences in the sarcophagus external surface polishing and the patterns left in the bottom of the hieroglyphics on it. I theorize the finish on the external surfaces will be much finer and consistent than the surfaces in the etched parts. I also think these surfaces were manufactured at different times, possibly thousands of years apart...
I think the dental floss thing is a myth though....it's plausible but very unlikely.
It is possible to use weaker materials for cutting and polishing harder stones, if you add water and sonic. Maybe they managed to build such devices. Rough cutting with high presure water could be possible too. The materials you need for this already existed.
This statue of Khafre is THE greatest sculpture in all human Art!
From the front (and where a viewer stands) his head is "just" a head.
From the side you can see a falcon with wings spread wide, "protecting" the king's head and endowing him with the spirit of Horus.
Thus, it is a physical manifestation of an abstract religious principle ... the very first such "concrete abstraction" in human history!
it’s cool but i find works located in modern day India even more astonishing
It was polished the same way its done today -tin oxide (which the ancient Egyptians had access to)mixed with water applied to surface,allow to dry then polish with emery stone (again the Egyptians had access to this)look at Victorian quartz granite pillers ,columns anywhere and you will see this😊
Yes indeed, and you will also see circularized/random scratch patterns under magnification from handwork, not the long parallel scratches I documented on the statue. Did you watch the entire video?
Excellent video 👍Thank you
Thank you too
I'd guess that they used some type of cylindrical polishing method. Something like a spinning tube that had abrasive added, to achieve such straight scratch marks. This would also explain how the curved areas were achieved.