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In 1996, this tube-drilled piece of granite was on display in the Cairo Museum without any associated identifying information. The photo (click to see full size) clearly shows spiral grooves on the visible portions. The grooves can be seen to be of regular depth and spacing, and occur in all of the holes in this piece. As the holes overlap, were these grooves caused by abrasive slurry, they would not be expected to be so consistent. These grooves seem to support Petrie's conclusion of "jewelled points" set into bronze tube drills.
4th dynasty drill-marks (UC 16036), . Petrie museum.
The ancient builders used a tube drill to hollow out the sarcophagus in the King's chamber of the Great Pyramid - they drilled off course and left a tube drill mark on the top inside of the box on the east side. Although the masons tried to disguise the marks, they can still be seen today.
Unfinished travertine stone vessel split longitudinally to reveal remaining drill core fragments partially attached, possibly 4th Dynasty (height. 6.9 cm, The Petrie Museum (UC44993), Photograph by Jon Bodsworth The Egypt Archive) (Other Examples of Extreme Egyptian Masonry)
Les Pierres Plates, Lohmariaquer, France.
The Cap-stones of the Pierres Plates tumulus have what appear to be drill-marks on the top-sides.
The 'Drill-marks' on some stones match those on others, suggesting they were split in half. (More about Pierres Plates, France)
Other Examples:
Hundreds of drilled holes on the stones at Mnajdra, Malta.
It has been suggested that there is evidence of machining at
Puma-punka, as the following photo
demonstrates:
A close inspection of the stone
above reveals that there are regularly spaced drill marks along the length
of the
precision-cut 6mm groove
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Trepanation:
Skulls with signs of trepanning were found practically in all
parts of the world where man has lived. Trepanning is probably
the oldest surgical operation known to man: evidence for it
goes back as far as in 40,000 year-old Cro-Magnon sites. The
Egyptians invented the circular trephine, made by a tube with
serrated borders, which cuts much easier by means of rotation,
and which was then extensively used in Greece and Rome, and
gave origin to the "crown" trephine, used in Europe from the
first to the 19th century.
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The 'Rough Guide' to ancient sites from around the world. References:
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