Quarrying Tools

• Egyptian quarrying tools included drills, saws, mallets and chisels. Artifacts from the Giza pyramid show drill marks apparently from quarrying, and the granite sarcophagus of Hordjedef shows saw marks from quarrying. Copper and iron tools would not have penetrated granite, but metal blades may have been jeweled with precious stones, or a sandy quartz liquid may have been dribbled on during the process of cutting. A combination of copper coring drills and bow drills may have been used.
  
  

Smoothing Techniques

• It is likely that large, flat stones were used as grinding tools with sand pressed in between the layers. Finer sand would have been used in successive stages until a final hand polishing with a pad and a very fine grit would create a mirror-like finish. This sand would have been of a harder consistency than granite, such as emery, dolerite, quartz or diamond. Emery is not indigenous to Egypt but is mentioned in ancient Egyptian writings, while quartz is common in Egypt.
  
  

Engraving Tools

• Many historians believed that small, manually turned drill bits and chisels were used to engrave the text. Some archaeologists, such as W.M.F. Petrie, believed diamond-mounted bronze engraving instruments were used. Petrie made his conclusion based on hyroglyph samples at Giza, which showed clear and deep cuts in diorite and granite. The samples indicated the incisions were ploughed out, rather than scraped or ground out.
  
  

Painting Instruments

• After the Rosetta Stone was cleaned in 1999, the engraved lettering was painted white to stand out. Likewise, ancient Egyptian culture favored painted sculpture and hieroglyphs. Paintbrushes at the time were made from reeds that were smashed and feathered at one end or from animal hair. Paints were made from crushed plants and berries and from the powders of ground-up minerals. A simple mortar and pestle was used for this process.