A small metal object discovered more than a century ago is changing what scientists know about ancient Egyptian technology.
Researchers from Newcastle University and the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna have reexamined a tiny copper-alloy tool found in a burial site in Upper Egypt and concluded that it is the earliest known rotary metal drill from ancient Egypt.
The tool dates back about 5,300 years to the Predynastic period, before the first pharaohs ruled.
The artifact was originally excavated in the 1920s from a cemetery at Badari and stored in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge.
At the time, it was briefly described as a small copper awl with leather wrapped around it and then largely forgotten. Measuring just 63 millimeters long and weighing about 1.5 grams, it did not seem remarkable.
Modern researchers took a closer look using magnification and advanced analysis. They discovered tiny marks on the metal surface that revealed how the tool had been used.
Fine scratches, rounded edges, and a slightly curved tip showed signs of repeated spinning rather than simple poking. These clues indicated that the tool was designed for drilling holes using rotary motion.
The researchers also identified fragile coils of leather still wrapped around the object. They believe this leather was part of a bowstring from a bow drill, a device that spins a drill bit by moving a bow back and forth.
This technique allows for faster and more controlled drilling than pushing or twisting by hand. Bow drills are known from later periods in Egyptian history, but this discovery suggests the technology existed more than two thousand years earlier than previously proven.
Drills were essential tools in ancient Egypt, used to make furniture, jewelry, beads, and wooden objects. Although the pyramids and temples often capture attention, everyday tools like drills made those achievements possible. Because tools made from organic materials such as wood and leather rarely survive, direct evidence of early drilling technology is uncommon.
Chemical testing showed that the tool was made from an unusual copper alloy containing arsenic, nickel, lead, and silver. This combination would have made the metal harder and more durable than pure copper. The presence of these elements also suggests that ancient Egyptians may have had access to advanced metalworking knowledge and possibly trade networks across the eastern Mediterranean.
The discovery highlights how museum collections can still hold important secrets. An object once described in a single sentence has turned out to reveal both early metal technology and rare traces of how the tool was used in everyday life.
By pushing back the timeline for rotary drilling, this tiny artifact shows that Egyptian craftspeople were experimenting with sophisticated mechanical tools long before the rise of the famous dynasties. It offers a glimpse into the practical innovations that supported one of the world’s earliest great civilizations.
