The introduction of the lapidary engraving wheel in Mesopotamia.

The introduction of the lapidary engraving wheel in Mesopotamia. One of the most significant advances to have been made in earlylapidary lap��i��dar��y?n. pl. lap��i��dar��ies1. One who cuts, polishes, or engraves gems.2. A dealer in precious or semiprecious stones.adj.1. technology was the introduction of the bow-driven engravingwheel. The high-speed cutting action, allowed by rotary motion, madepossible substantial improvements in the efficiency of working hardstones. However, there is uncertainty concerning the date of this keyinvention and its adoption in the Near East. Early in this century, Ward(1910: 9) and Frankfort (1939: 5) proposed a date in the 2nd millenniumBC while, for the past 25 years or so, a much earlier date in the secondhalf of the 4th millennium BC has generally been assumed (for example,see Nissen 1977: 16; Gwinnett & Gorelick 1979: 25-7; Collon 1986:13-14). These views have generally been based upon the interpretation ofthe designs cut into stone cylinder seals. Cylinder seals (FIGURE 1) developed alongside the cuneiform cuneiform(kynē`ĭfôrm)[Lat.,=wedge-shaped], system of writing developed before the last centuries of the 4th millennium B.C. systemof writing, beginning sometime around 3500 BC, and they provide a moreor less continuous record of lapidary methods over three millennia.Amuletic and decorative functions were also associated with cylinderseals and they were perforated longitudinally, so that they could besuspended and worn by the owner. The principal methods used to drillthese perforations have been identified by Gwinnett & Gorelick(1987). Furthermore, the fine detail preserved in the intaglios of theseals is ideal for study of ancient lapidary technology and a systematicinvestigation by the present authors has shown that it is possible toidentify the methods used to engrave en��grave?tr.v. en��graved, en��grav��ing, en��graves1. To carve, cut, or etch into a material: engraved the champion's name on the trophy.2. the seals (Sax & Meeks 1995;Sax et al. 1998; see also Sax & Meeks 1994). The various techniques,tools and abrasive materials can usually be recognized from thecharacteristic morphology or `tool marks' of the engraved features. [Figure 1 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It emerged in our earlier investigation that simple flakingtechniques of engraving prevailed in the late 4th millennium BC andthroughout the 3rd millennium BC, with no evidence for the use ofwheel-cutting techniques. However, wheel-cutting became the dominanttechnique in the 1st millennium BC. We have therefore focused thepresent study upon the changes that occurred during the 2nd millennium,with the aim of establishing the chronology of the introduction of thewheel and the other technological changes with which it was associated. Methodology Identification of the materials of the 2500 or so seals in thecollections of the British Museum British Museum,the national repository in London for treasures in science and art. Located in the Bloomsbury section of the city, it has departments of antiquities, prints and drawings, coins and medals, and ethnography. has shown that increasing proportionsof harder stones, such as rock crystal, chalcedony chalcedony(kălsĕd`ənē)[from Chalcedon], form of quartz the crystals of which are so minute that its crystalline structure cannot be seen except with the aid of a microscope. , carnelian carnelian(kärnēl`yən)or cornelian(kôr–, kər–), variety of red chalcedony, used as a gem. , agate andother varieties of quartz, were worked with time (Sax in Collon 1982;1986; in press; Sax 1991; Sax & Middleton 1992). Quartz was thehardest material commonly worked (Mohs' hardness, H=7) and it islikely that the difficulty of working it stimulated innovations intechnique which were less advantageous to the working of seals in softermaterials. The investigation into engraving methods thereforeconcentrated upon the 400 or so quartz cylinder seals in the BritishMuseum collections. On stylistic grounds, they range from c. 3100 BC toc. 400 BC (Collon 1982; 1986; & work in progress; Matthews 1990). Following the approach of Sax & Meeks (1995: 26-7), achronological survey of the intaglios on the seals was made with alow-power binocular microscope binocular microscopen.A microscope having two eyepieces, one for each eye, so that the object can be viewed with both eyes. . Seals that were considered to representkey stages in the application of engraving techniques were selected forexamination using scanning electron microscopy electron microscopyTechnique that allows examination of samples too small to be seen with a light microscope. Electron beams have much smaller wavelengths than visible light and hence higher resolving power. (SEM). To avoid the needto apply a conductive coating to the seals, detailed impressions weremade with a silicone moulding material. As the designs on the seals wereworked in intaglio intaglio(ĭntăl`yō, –täl`–), design cut into stone or other material or etched or engraved in a metal plate, producing a concave, instead of a convex, effect. It is the reverse of a relief or cameo. , the engraved features appear on moulded impressionsas positive features. Hence, SEM images of the impressions (FIGURES 2-3& 5) show the intaglios `in reverse' with protrusions on theimage representing depressions in the original seal. An advantage ofthis approach is the ability to examine details of the deeper parts ofengraved features. [Figure 2-3, 5 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As noted above, the present study was focused upon seals dated tothe 2nd millennium BC. These comprised: 54 of the Old Babylonian Old Babylonian may refer to: the period of the First Babylonian Dynasty (20th to 16th centuries BC) the historical stage of the Akkadian language of that time See alsoOld Assyrian period(c. 2004--1595), 35 of Kassite style (predominantly 14th century), 16 ofMitannian style (c. 1500-1330) and 22 of the Middle Assyrian Middle Assyrian refers to the Middle Assyrian period of the Ancient Near East, ca. 16th to 10th centuries BC (the Late Bronze Age) the Middle Assyrian Empire, see Assyrian Empire the Middle Assyrian language, see Akkadian language period(13th century). In addition, because a very high proportion of the 650Old Babylonian seals in the collections are hematite hematite(hĕm`ətīt), mineral, an oxide of iron, Fe2O3, containing about 70% metal, occurring in nature in red to reddish-brown earthy masses and in steel-gray to black crystalline forms. , a mineral that issofter than quartz but still relatively hard (H=5-6), about 60 of theseseals were examined. Our initial interpretation of working methods was based onobservation of seal intaglios and engraved features producedexperimentally, using a range of tools and abrasive materials (Sax &Meeks 1995; Sax et al. 1998). The results indicated that the intaglioswere engraved by one or more of four principal techniques: micro-flaking(termed micro-chipping in our earlier papers), involving the use of asharply pointed tool; filing, involving the use of an elongate e��lon��gate?tr. & intr.v. e��lon��gat��ed, e��lon��gat��ing, e��lon��gatesTo make or grow longer.adj. or elongated1. Made longer; extended.2. Having more length than width; slender. tool,which was either straight or, occasionally, like a modern riffler Rif´flern. 1. A curved file used in carving wool and marble. ,curved, in a backwards and forwards sawing motion; drilling, involvingthe use of a tool-head rotating about an axis that was essentiallyperpendicular to the surface being engraved and wheel-cutting, involvingthe use of a fiat, disc-like tool-head rotating about an axis that wasessentially parallel to the surface being engraved. The tools used forthese four techniques did not usually possess working surfacesthemselves Engraving methods in the 2nd millennium BC Tools and abrasives The engraving experiments indicated that the tools used during the2nd millennium BC were metal. Indeed, Frankfort (1939: 5) described whatappeared to be the stock-in-trade of a lapidary: it contained`copper' gravers, chisels and a drill packed in a small pottogether with cylinder seals and beads. The hoard was excavated at TellAsmar to the east of Baghdad and dated to the Akkadian period, c.2334-2193 BC. Although the composition of the excavated chisels etc. wasnot confirmed by analysis, both copper and its alloys provide reasonablyrigid tools. Copper-based tools are rarely useful for engraving hard stonesunless they are suitably charged with abrasive. Emery has the advantageof being considerably harder (H=9) than quartz (H=7) and our experimentsshowed that relatively continuous and parallel grooving, similar to thaton the skirt of the goddess in FIGURE 2b, is produced by emery abrasivemixes but that grooving of this type is not produced by softer abrasivessuch as quartz (Sax et al. 1998: figure 4). The results of the presentinvestigation suggest that emery was employed for working the intagliosof quartz seals throughout the 2nd millennium and are in agreement withthose of Gwinnett & Gorelick (1987; 1989) who found evidence for theits use by c. 2000 BC in the drilling of the central perforation per��fo��ra��tionn.1. The act of perforating or the state of being perforated.2. An abnormal opening in a hollow organ or viscus, as one made by rupture or injury.PerforationA hole. ofseals. Techniques The characteristics of the four techniques that we have been ableto identify, micro-flaking, filing, drilling and wheel-cutting, arediscussed briefly below and illustrated in FIGURES 2 & 3. The impression of the king in FIGURE 2a exemplifies micro-flaking.Almost all of the surface of the intaglio is finely pitted with angularcavities. The king was probably microflaked using bronze chisels whoseworking edges were charged with emery (Sax et al. 1998: 4-5, 14-17,figure 2). The experiments showed that conchoidal cavities are producedperpendicular to the direction of force applied to the chisel, creatingcross-sectional cavities, the size of which depends upon the magnitudeof the applied force. The minute size of the cavities on this sealsuggests that it was engraved by pressure flaking, perhaps with haftedchisels, rather than by indirect percussion using a hammer. The goddess in FIGURE 2b illustrates not only filing but also thelimitations of this technique. Engraved features with a horizontal ordiagonal orientation on the seal, such as the layers of the skirt, havesurfaces that are grooved longitudinally. The features are straight inplan and, furthermore, their longitudinal profiles of depth arestraight. These characteristics are consistent with filing (Sax et al.1998: 6, 18, figures 3-4). They were replicated by applying a simplehand-held copper rod, c. 70 mm long and charged with emery, in abackwards and forwards sawing motion. The experiments demonstrated thatthe production of simple filed features was straightforward acrosscurved surfaces, i.e. in horizontal and diagonal orientations oncylinder seals (FIGURE 1), but it was not possible to engrave smallfeatures along flat surfaces, i.e. in a vertical orientation Vertical orientation is a 3:4 aspect ratio, rotated 90 degrees from a NTSC television's standard 4:3 aspect ratio. It has been used primarily for arcade games (especially during the early 1980s) and for art projects, including a music video by The Shamen. on seals,with a straight file. Thus, the vertical features of the goddess inFIGURE 2b, such as the sides of the skirt, have a pitted textureindicating that they were micro-flaked. In FIGURE 2c, the circular tool marks of the unfinished design cutinto a hematite seal indicate that the main elements of the figure wereblocked out by drilling. The faint circular grooving present on them, aswell as similar features observed on contemporary quartz seals isconsistent with the use of copper or bronze drills charged with emery(Sax et al. 1998: 7, 18-19, figure 5). The seated king in FIGURE 3 exemplifies wheel-cutting. The surfacesof almost all the deeply engraved features are characterized by faint,parallel and more or less continuous longitudinal grooving. The designis curved to linear in plan (FIGURE 3a) and the features are alsocurvilinear curvilineara line appearing as a curve; nonlinear.curvilinear regressionsee curvilinear regression. in depth (see oblique view of king's head in FIGURE3b). Furthermore, the engraved features occur in all orientations on theseal. These four characteristics are typical of wheel-cutting (Sax etal. 1998: 7-8, 19, figure 6). Chronology of engraving techniques The main chronological changes in engraving practice which occurredin Mesopotamia and the surrounding areas of the Near East between c.3100 BC and c. 400 BC are summarized in FIGURE 4. There appears to be noevidence for the use of the engraving wheel prior to the mid 18thcentury in the Old Babylonian period. Instead, the intaglios of quartzseals were typically worked by micro-flaking; filing and drillingtechniques were used for minor parts of the intaglios. However,wheel-cutting was definitely practised in some Babylonian workshops onseals engraved in the Kassite style of the 14th century (it was alsoused in Assyria during the 13th century). The intervening phase betweenthe mid 18th and 14th centuries is complex. It was a time of technicalchange during which several new approaches to engraving were developed,including an increase in the use of filing and drilling. In addition, wefound tentative evidence for the first use of the engraving wheel. [Figure 4 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A factor that is likely to have contributed to the concept of theengraving wheel was the increased use of drilling. The distinctionbetween the two rotary tools, drills and wheels, can be blurred and thisis occasionally apparent in the intermediate phase between the 18th and14th centuries. For example, while the unfinished design in FIGURE 2cshows some typical circular features characteristic of the drill, someof the features in the lower part of the figure are elliptical el��lip��tic? or el��lip��ti��caladj.1. Of, relating to, or having the shape of an ellipse.2. Containing or characterized by ellipsis.3. a. in shapeand grooved longitudinally. These elliptical features appear to havebeen cut using the sides rather than the end of a drill. The`drill' was probably roughly spherical in shape so that, when theseal surface being engraved was held obliquely or parallel to itsrotating shaft Noun 1. rotating shaft - a revolving rod that transmits power or motionshaftcamshaft - has cams attached to itcrankshaft - a rotating shaft driven by (or driving) a crank , the tool-head acted as a type of `wheel'. It wouldnot have been practicable to use a drill which was held vertically by acapstone in this `wheel' mode. Rather, it would have been necessaryto construct the tool with the shaft mounted in fixed bearings. Itappears that this necessary precursor to the use of the bow-driven wheelwas in use by c. 1750-1595 BC. The use of the `drill' in this`wheel' mode would, presumably pre��sum��a��ble?adj.That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. have led to an appreciation of theprinciple that cutting with the side or `rim' of a rotary tool A Rotary tool is a handheld power tool with a variety of rotating accessory bits and attachments that can be used for cutting, carving, sanding, polishing and many other applications. Popular brands include Dremel and Foredom. canbe faster and more efficient than with the centre of the tool. Inparticular, the linear speed at the rim (sometimes referred to asperipheral speed) is proportional to the diameter of the tool, so thatthe greater the diameter, the faster is the rim speed for a given ofrotational speed Rotational speed (sometimes called speed of revolution) indicates, for example, how fast a motor is running. Rotational speed is equivalent to angular speed, but with different units. Rotational speed tells how many complete rotations (i.e. of the shaft. A disc-shaped tool upholds this principleand a high-speed cutting action can be produced at the rim of abow-driven wheel. Furthermore, the convex rim of a thin disc can be usedto engrave features in any orientation on a seal. In the intermediate period between the 18th and 14th centuriesthere is some evidence that the new technique of wheel-cutting was usedalong with filing and/or drilling and occasionally micro-flaking.Interpretation of the intaglios in this phase can be difficult. Anexample of the characteristics observed in this phase is given in FIGURE5, showing the upper body of a king in an oblique view. It seems likelythat the feature between two arrows and the almost vertical arm,immediately to the left, were wheel-cut. These features arecharacterized by longitudinal grooving. They are curved in depth andhave a vertical orientation on the seal. In contrast, the sub-horizontalfeature which forms the shoulders was worked by a straight file. It hasa straight longitudinal profile of depth and is characterized bylongitudinal grooving which is more pronounced than that of the verticalfeatures. Our examination of the intaglio on this seal suggested that,while the larger features were worked with files, many of the smallerfeatures exhibit characteristics which can be explained bywheel-cutting; some of them may have been partly micro-flaked and/orfiled. The technical changes that occurred in the late Old Babylonianperiod, c. 1750-1595 BC, resulted in a cursory style of engraving withvery little detail (FIGURES 2b & 5). Buchanan (1970) saw theintroduction of this style as an artistic revolution. Our evidencesuggests that its adoption proceeded alongside a technical evolutionthat culminated in the invention of the engraving wheel as it isunderstood today. Unfortunately, a lack of detailed chronological evidence followingthe fall of the First Babylonian dynasty The chronology of the first dynasty of Babylonia is debated, because there is a Babylonian King List A and a Babylonian King List B. Hereby we follow temporarily the regal years of List A, because those are widely used. The reigns in List B are longer, in general. in c. 1595 BC, precludes aprecise estimate for the timing of the first use of the lapidary wheel.The period intermediate between the two dynasties in Babylonia isconventionally regarded as a Dark Age. However, Collon (1987: 58) andMatthews (1990: 55-7) have noted a continuity in style between OldBabylonian and Kassite glyptics. The results of the presentinvestigation provide parallel evidence for continuity in the practiceof engraving techniques. Wheel-cutting, probably conceived in the lateOld Babylonian period, appears to have been progressively developed forthe engraving of hard stone seals so that efficient methods ofwheel-cutting were established sometime between c. 1400 BC and the endof the reign of Kurigalzu II in 1308 BC. Discussion and conclusion The chronological development of engraving practices is comparedwith the percentage of hard quartz stones in the total cylinder seal cylinder sealSmall stone cylinder engraved in intaglio on its surface to leave impressions when rolled on wet clay. It first appeared c. 3400–2900 BC and is considered to be one of the finest artistic achievements of Mesopotamia. assemblage in FIGURE 6. It is apparent that a marked increase in quartzuse occurs with or immediately after the transition to a predominantlywheel-based engraving technology. The introduction of rotary cuttingseems to have allowed the working of harder stones on a more routinebasis. The introduction of emery abrasive by about 2000 BC is likely tohave contributed to these changes; just as the new abrasive allowed thereplacement of stone drills in the production of the centralperforations of seals by copper drills (see above), it would appear fromthe present study that it led ultimately to a wider adoption of rotarytechniques for working hard stones. Thus the introduction of theengraving wheel was not an isolated discovery but part of a complexframework of technological invention involving the adoption of a newabrasive, a range of new working techniques and, presumably, a matchingconsumer desire for more hard stone seals. Neither was the adoption ofthe engravers' wheel sudden: it seems to have been a gradualprocess, lasting perhaps 200 years, following its inception, probably inthe late Old Babylonian period, c. 1750-1595 BC, to its establishment asa principal technique of engraving in Babylonian workshops, c. 1400-1308BC on seals of Kassite style. Our interpretation of the `toolmarks' on the seal intaglios corresponds with the views of Ward(1910) and, particularly, Frankfort (1939) who proposed that `smallcutting disks of various sizes' were used `from Kassite timesonwards' but `a few instances of the First Babylonian Dynasty areknown where the rotating disk' was used. [Figure 6 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Thus, the results of our study revise the view tacitly accepted inthe literature since the mid1970s, that the engraving wheel wasintroduced about 1500 years earlier, in the second half of the 4thmillennium BC. We believe that uncertainty over the date of theinnovation of the lapidary wheel arose because the traditionalmicro-flaking technique of engraving was mistaken for wheel-cutting andthat this confusion was compounded by the failure to recognise filing asa distinct technique. The earlier, 4th millennium date for theintroduction of the bow-driven lapidary wheel would have placed thisinnovation alongside the first use of the potters' wheel andsolid-wheeled vehicles (Childe 1954). Instead, the later date proposedhere correlates more closely with subsequent developments in Mesopotamiaof these wheel-based technologies. For example, Collon (1987: 15861) hasreferred to the replacement of solid chariot wheels by spoked wheelswhile Courty & Roux Roux, Pierre Paul ��mile 1853-1933.French bacteriologist. His work with the diphtheria bacillus led to the development of antitoxins to neutralize pathogenic toxins. (1995; 1998) have focussed on the inception ofwheel-throwing from methods of wheel-shaping. The developments inlapidary technology, which led to the invention of a bow-driven wheeland were to establish a range of working methods that remainedessentially unchanged until the last century, appear to have been partof a much broader period of technological change. Acknowledgements. Margaret Sax is immensely grateful to the BritishMuseum Society, especially the Townley Group, for their financialsupport of the present investigation. The project has benefitted fromthe guidance of many of our colleagues in the British Museum,particularly from the advice of Ian McIntyre, Department ofConservation, on the practicalities of engraving. We would like to thankTony Milton and Tony Simpson Anthony (Tony) James Simpson (born July 15, 1965) is an Australian politician. He has been an Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly since February 2005, representing the electorate of Serpentine-Jarrahdale. for their photograghic and graphic workrespectively and, also, Sheridan Bowman, Ian Freestone free��stone?n.1. A stone, such as limestone, that is soft enough to be cut easily without shattering or splitting.2. A fruit, especially a peach, that has a stone that does not adhere to the pulp. See Regional Note at andiron. and AndrewMiddleton for their constructive comments on the presentation of thispaper. References BUCHANAN, B. 1970. Cylinder seal impressions in the Yale Babyloniancollection Comprising some 45,000 items, the Yale Babylonian Collection is an independent branch of the Yale University Library housed on the Yale University campus in Sterling Memorial Library at New Haven, Connecticut, United States. illustrating a revolution in art circa 1700 BC, YaleUniversity Library Yale University Library is the library system of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. It is the second-largest university collection in the world with over 12 million volumes housed in more than 26 individual libraries. Gazette October: 53-65. CHILDE, V.G. 1954. Rotary motion, in C. Singer, E.J. Holmyard &A.R. Hall (ed.), A history of technology I: 187-215. Oxford: ClarendonPress. COLLON, D. 1982. Catalogue of the Western Asiatic seals in theBritish Museum. 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MEEKS & DOMINIQUE COLLON(*) (*) Sax & Meeks, Department of Scientific Research and Collon,Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities, British Museum, London WC1B3DG, England. Received 25 May 1999, accepted 14 July 1999, revised 4 February2000.