}
Metalworker
Metalworkers in ancient Egypt worked copper, silver and gold from at least 5,500 years ago. Copper was mined in the eastern desert and in Sinai. Gold was mined in northern Nubia, silver was imported from Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean. The Egyptians did not work with iron until it was introduced about 3,000 years ago.
About 3,500 years ago, the coppersmiths started adding tin to the copper making bronze, an alloy that is harder than pure copper. The tin may have been imported from Cornwall via the Mediterranean.