tool

A tiny copper-alloy object excavated about a century ago in Upper Egypt has just been re-identified as something far bigger than it looks: the earliest known metal rotary drill from ancient Egypt, dating to the late 4th millennium BC - around 5,300 years ago. The tool, complete with delicate remnants of a leather thong, suggests Predynastic craftspeople had already mastered fast, controlled rotary drilling long before many later examples appear in the record. This discovery, reported in a study undertaken by Newcastle University researchers, is gamechanger, because “everyday” workshop technology - drills, cords, wear patterns - rarely survives, yet it underpins everything from bead-making to fine woodworking and early furniture. This little bit of metal is now giving that practical