It was a great day for the human race when our ancient ancestors discovered bronze.
You can’t just dig up bronze; it has to be made by mixing several metals like tin and copper, melting them down, and mixing them. If they had any, a nice drop of arsenic was also added to make it even stronger. The metal that comes out is a much stronger material than single metals.
Our ancestors had discovered how to make an alloy. We’re still determining why they decided this was a good idea, but they did an excellent job. It opened a whole new world of possibilities regarding what they could make for building materials, eating utensils, weapons, armour, jewellery, and art. I’m sure when they were making and moulding these items by hand; they would have wanted something to make this job easier, like the Bending Machines we have today for making light work of bending metals. For Bending Machines, visit Cotswold Machinery.
We still use bronze today for artistic reasons and you can see some beautiful modern examples. Bronze is so hard-wearing and easy to clean that it makes an excellent addition to the home.
Bronze, when melted, can be poured into the mould and then cooled in water. The first people to work with bronze would have made large moulds of stone or clay to pour the bronze into. This must have been an exciting time for their warriors as until this time, rock was still being used for weapons such as clubs and axe heads. This new metal meant no more tin swords that bent and armour that might start to defect blows rather than get bent under a good hit. The real advantage was the arrowhead. They could be lighter and get more speed and penetration than a stone head. This meant that hunting for meat was more accessible, so there was an upturn in the consumption of this food.
It was in art that the material came into its own. Artists found that the metal was much easier to work than stone and more durable than other metals. Bronze did not tarnish like other metals. It could be polished, with the ancient equivalent of Brasso, so that it gleamed in the sun and gave off a hot glow. An iconic example of brass from the ancient world is the Colossus of Rhodes but we still see today in products like musical instruments, industrial bearings and medals, for example.