Khafre's Diorite Statue

We examine the famous diorite statue of Khafre/Chephren with microscopy to try and determine how it was polished

[crap_fisherman]

imagine this statue brand new and glistening after polishing.
quite astonishing to experience for the locals back in the day.

[MEKKERB]

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 !!

[jherbranson]

The way the hawk tail hangs down the back is such a nice touch.

[monicapushkin]

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.

[jaimeduncan]

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.

[tmplblck]

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.

[Alanoffer]

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

[thisoldsaw]

Outstanding work! Wonderfully clear presentation.

We had the great fortune to see that statue in 2023

[klubstompers]

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.

[semir_ramic]

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.

[nightstorm]

What a beautiful and timeless peace of sculpture..you have to see it in the flesh to really appreciate it...

[dvrmte]

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."

[GolfTesla]

Sand (=quartz) has been a very good polishing tool for eons..

[Adam-tnyk]

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.

[stillwaterrocks]

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.

[InspiredFortunes]

Its almost like they chose the hardest stone just to tell us how legendary capable they were

[KurtBoulter]

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.

[michaelholt]

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.

[storiesinstone]

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.👍♋

[djowen]

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.