Lost Wax Process

Context The Egyptian Museum of Bonn University (Germany) houses a unique collection of remains of an ancient Egyptian casting workshop. They were discovered in 1969 by Bonn Egyptologists in rock-cut tomb QH 207 at the Qubbet el-Hawa necropolis opposite of Aswan (Egypt). Tomb QH 207 dates back to the end of the Old Kingdom. Its cult chamber was reused for burials of members of the local Elephantine priesthood in the Late Period, around 500 BC. The bronze casting workshop artefacts were found in the context of the latest burial of the Late Period occupation. Those artefacts were subject of a first extensive research project at Bonn in 2014-2016. In 2017-2019, thanks to the Fondation Roi Baudoin-Fonds Comhaire, the study of these artefacts continues in order to gather the maximum amount of technological data. The current team is composed of Egyptologists (Egyptian Museum Bonn and EACOM), experimental archaeologists specialised in archaeometallurgy (EACOM), archaeometry (KU Leuven) and natural scientists (KU Leuven and UGent) to further our understanding of the bronze casting technology through experimental archaeology. Micro-CT imaging and thin section petrography help to elucidate the technology and material composition of the casting moulds. These data support the recreation of the whole casting process through experimental archaeology. The artefacts from Qubbet el-Hawa reveal the complete bronze casting process, starting with the preparation of wax models to the finished bronze. The group consists of some failed castings of bronze, parts of bronze votive statuettes with wax additions for 'reconstruction' casts, moulds partly filled with cast bronze, and empty moulds for statuettes and amulets that were never used for casting. Additionally, there are negative forms for wax models, the wax models themselves and pieces of wax as raw material as well as some other wooden pieces which attest to the origin of the objects from a workshop specialised in manufacturing statuettes and amulets.

The Qubbet el-Hawa moulds
The Egyptian Museum of Bonn University (Germany) holds a unique collection of
casting moulds, discovered in tomb 207 of the Qubbet el-Hawa necropolis (Egypt) in
1969. Despite questions about their deposition and function in a funerary context,
they allow a detailed study of Late Period bronze casting technology. The moulds
elucidate all steps of the lost wax casting process, as well as failed casting
attempts. Employing a range of archaeometric methods, an initial research project
(Bonn) provided insight into their material technology and revealed remarkable cases
for the mending of bronze Osirises. A collaborative follow-up project with EACOM,
supported by the Fonds Comhaire, is presented here. This ongoing research is
dedicated to developing an integrated experimental and archaeometric methodology
to better understand the functionality of these casting moulds.