MINES OF CHAP. II. 



thus cleared the ores of a large portion of the 

 foreign particles. After that, the ores were 

 crushed or ground in mills preparatory to their 

 smelting. The use of mills for grinding corn 

 was known in Egypt at an early period, and the 

 adaptation of them to'the crushing of ores was 

 a natural step. Corn had been at first rubbed 

 to meal by mortars, then between stones, till 

 by the next step mills were introduced, which 

 had become common in Egypt in the time of 

 Moses 1 . When the ore had been ground to a 

 moderate degree of fineness, the metallic par- 

 ticles, being the heaviest, were separated from 

 the earthy by washing them in a current of 

 water, when the heavier would sink down and 

 the lighter be carried away by the force of the 

 stream 2 . 



After the preparation of the ores in this man- 

 ner, the metallic parts were dried and cleansed. 

 As there are no proofs that the Egyptians 

 were acquainted with the art of quickening the 

 ores, it is presumed that the smelting followed 

 immediately. That operation was performed in 

 crucibles or earthen pots, whose covers were luted 

 on with some kind of cement. These vessels were 

 then placed in the furnaces, and, probably by 

 the help of bellows, a strong fire kept up during 



1 Exodus, cap. ii. v. 5. and Deuteronomy, cap. xxiv. v. 6. 

 " Geschiclite des Bergbaues und Huttenwesens bey den alten 

 Volkern. von I. F. Reitmeir. 



