Lectures
Making and using copper alloys in ancient Egypt – Frederik Rademakers
info@museitorino.it
011 44 06 903
Dal lunedì al sabato dalle ore 9:00 alle 18:30
On Tuesday 15th April 2025, at 6.30 pm, in collaboration with ACME (Amici e Collaboratori del Museo Egizio) we will host the lecture held by Frederik Rademakers: "Making and using copper alloys in ancient Egypt ".
Copper alloys constitute the most widely used metals in ancient Egypt. Their importance for decorative as well as functional purposes cannot be underestimated, yet underlying production and provisioning networks remain largely obscure. In this lecture, an overview of current archaeological research into the manufacture of copper alloys is presented, with a particular focus on interdisciplinary approaches. The combination of field excavation, materials analysis and experimental archaeology has yielded more refined understanding of several important processes in recent years. Nonetheless, many aspects of this major industry remain enigmatic, and far more research across pharaonic history is needed to reveal the history of metallurgical technologies. This presentation will illustrate the state of research across different periods, with special focus on the New Kingdom, where ongoing research is illuminating the complex nature of metal production and its importance for other ancient crafts.
Frederik Rademakers is an expert in ancient material technologies and provenance. He obtained his PhD at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, in 2015 and subsequently held post-doc positions at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven. In 2021, he joined the Department of Scientific Research at the British Museum as an inorganic materials scientist. He has studied metals from prehistoric times up to the 19th century and across Europe to Central Africa, yet much of his work has focused on ancient metallurgy in Egypt and Sudan. He has worked on field missions at Amarna, Ayn Soukhna, Kerma, Pi-Ramesse, and Ouadi el-Jarf, and collaborated with various European museum collections. He is currently PI of a 3-year AHRC/DFG-funded project assessing the interactions between high temperature crafts during the New Kingdom, jointly awarded with co-PI Anna Hodgkinson at the Freie Universität Berlin.
The lecture will take place at Palazzo d'Azeglio (via Principe Amedeo 34 – Turin) and it will be held in English. Admission is free with a reservation on Eventbrite. Click HERE to book your place.
The lecture will be broadcast via streaming on the Museum's Facebook page and Youtube channel
Copper alloys constitute the most widely used metals in ancient Egypt. Their importance for decorative as well as functional purposes cannot be underestimated, yet underlying production and provisioning networks remain largely obscure. In this lecture, an overview of current archaeological research into the manufacture of copper alloys is presented, with a particular focus on interdisciplinary approaches. The combination of field excavation, materials analysis and experimental archaeology has yielded more refined understanding of several important processes in recent years. Nonetheless, many aspects of this major industry remain enigmatic, and far more research across pharaonic history is needed to reveal the history of metallurgical technologies. This presentation will illustrate the state of research across different periods, with special focus on the New Kingdom, where ongoing research is illuminating the complex nature of metal production and its importance for other ancient crafts.
Frederik Rademakers is an expert in ancient material technologies and provenance. He obtained his PhD at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, in 2015 and subsequently held post-doc positions at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven. In 2021, he joined the Department of Scientific Research at the British Museum as an inorganic materials scientist. He has studied metals from prehistoric times up to the 19th century and across Europe to Central Africa, yet much of his work has focused on ancient metallurgy in Egypt and Sudan. He has worked on field missions at Amarna, Ayn Soukhna, Kerma, Pi-Ramesse, and Ouadi el-Jarf, and collaborated with various European museum collections. He is currently PI of a 3-year AHRC/DFG-funded project assessing the interactions between high temperature crafts during the New Kingdom, jointly awarded with co-PI Anna Hodgkinson at the Freie Universität Berlin.
The lecture will take place at Palazzo d'Azeglio (via Principe Amedeo 34 – Turin) and it will be held in English. Admission is free with a reservation on Eventbrite. Click HERE to book your place.
The lecture will be broadcast via streaming on the Museum's Facebook page and Youtube channel
info@museitorino.it
011 44 06 903
Dal lunedì al sabato dalle ore 9:00 alle 18:30
