Oxhide Ingot - Egyptian Connections

Egyptian Connections

While only one oxhide ingot fragment has been recovered from Egypt (in the context of a LBA smelting workshop), there is a wide array of painted scenes in Egypt that show oxhide ingots. The earliest scene dates to the 15th century BC and the latest scene to the 12th century BC. The ingots display their typical four protrusions, and red paint (which suggests they are copper) is preserved on them. The captions accompanying the scenes explain that the men who bring the ingots come from the north, specifically Retnu (Syria) and Keftiu (unidentified). They are shown being carried on the shoulders of men, sitting with other goods in storage, or as part of scenes in smelting workshops. In a relief from Karnak, the pharaoh Amenhotep II is seen riding a chariot and spearing an oxhide ingot with five arrows. A laudatory caption emphasizing the pharaoh’s strength accompanies the scene.

Several of the “Amarna letters” dating to the mid-14th century BC refer to hundreds of copper talents—in addition to goods such as elephant tusks and glass ingots—sent from the kingdom of Alashiya to Egypt. Some scholars identify Cyprus with Alashiya. In particular, the Uluburun cargo is similar to the goods that, according to the letters, Alashiya sent to Egypt.