June 3, 2023
WoEgypt

The top bracelet is the original; the one on the bottom is an electrotype reproduction of the original. (Image credit: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

Recent archeological studies revealed information about the trade networks between the Old Egyptian Kingdom and Greece. The subject of the research was the bracelets found in the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, one of the most influential queens of ancient Egypt; wife of King Sneferu, the first pharaoh of the fourth dynasty (circa 2575 B.C. to 2465 B.C.) and mother of King Khufu, the pharaoh who commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Her tomb, discovered at Giza in 1925, held many treasures, such as gilded furniture, gold vessels and jewelry, including 20 bracelets, the researchers wrote in the study.

The analysis of samples taken from the jewelry showed that the bracelets contained copper, gold and lead. The inlays were made of semiprecious gemstones such as turquoise, lapis lazuli and carnelian, which were common features in ancient Egyptian jewelry.

The bracelets, including the one with the butterfly also contained silver, a precious metal that didn’t exist in ancient Egypt in 2600 B.C., when the bracelets were crafted.

According to the study, published in the June issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science, the silver used to make the queen’s bracelets came from Greece.

It’s believed that the silver came via the port of Byblos in what is now Lebanon, which witnessed heavy trade with Egypt at the time.

Some of the bracelets are currently part of the collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.