Could This Ancient Saw Explain Egypt’s Curved Stone Cuts? [5:51]

YouTube ^ | October 2, 2026 | IntoTheMap

[SunkenCiv]

The experimental pendulum saw that inspired this project is described in: 

Nicholas G. Blackwell, "Experimental stone-cutting with the Mycenaean pendulum saw," Antiquity 92, no. 361 (2018): 217 -- 232. 
doi:10.15184/aqy.2017.226 

Could This Ancient Saw Explain Egypt’s Curved Stone Cuts? | 5:51 
IntoTheMap | 24.6K subscribers | 70,980 views | October 2, 2026

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TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: egypt; flintknapping; godsgravesglyphs; lithics; megalithic; stone; stonework

[SunkenCiv]

[snip] In this video I build and test a miniature pendulum saw inspired by experimental work on Mycenaean stone cutting, then adapt the idea into something a little less historically accurate and a lot more fun: a water-powered stone saw.

The basic principle is simple. A copper blade swings back and forth from a fixed pivot while quartz sand does the actual cutting. Because the blade travels along an arc, the resulting groove in the stone can also develop a pronounced circular curvature. That makes the pendulum saw especially interesting when thinking about some of the unusual curved cuts found in ancient Egyptian stonework.

This experiment is not meant to demonstrate that the Egyptians actually used pendulum saws. At present, there is no direct archaeological evidence showing that they did. Instead, the goal is to explore the mechanics and see what kinds of marks a machine like this can actually produce using simple materials.

For my version, I built a small timber-framed saw driven by a homemade waterwheel. The rotating wheel drives a crank, which converts that rotary motion into the back-and-forth movement of the pendulum. For the first test I used a copper blade, quartz sand, water, and limestone. Even with a very crude water supply and only about ten minutes of cutting, the saw produced a clear curved groove in the stone.

One of the most interesting results is that the radius of the groove is not determined simply by the visible curve of the blade. The movement of the entire pendulum creates its own much larger arc. A relatively small cutting edge can therefore leave a surface that looks as though it was produced by a much larger circular tool.

This little machine is only the beginning. I plan to improve the water supply, add better speed and torque control, experiment with additional weight over the blade, and eventually put the saw to work on granite using copper and abrasive.

My larger goal is to build a semi-permanent collection of working models of ancient and medieval machinery, including waterwheels, windmills, saws, drills, sluices, and other mechanical systems. For me, the history of machines is one of the most interesting ways to explore the ancient world. [/snip]

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YouTube transcript reformatted at textformatter.ai *may* follow.

[SunkenCiv]

The On Deck folder's piled high and deep. You'll read this after the game I suppose. 😁

[BenLurkin]

“Experimental stone-cutting with the Mycenaean pendulum saw,”

Don’t try this at home.

[BradyLS]

Historians are amazed that the Pyramids were built with the help of this one simple trick…

[piasa]

The James Bind nut saw

[piasa]

The James Bond nut saw

[dayglored]

> Historians are amazed that the Pyramids were built with the help of this one simple trick…

Slaves. Lots and lots of slaves.

[LegendHasIt]

Cool!

Thanks for posting.

I used to be a lapidary, and am shocked at how quickly this pendulum saw cut limestone with just sand abrasive. some of my old diamond saws weren’t a whole lot faster.
👍

[LegendHasIt]

Cool!

Thanks for posting.

I used to be a lapidary, and am shocked at how quickly this pendulum saw cut limestone with just sand abrasive. some of my old diamond saws weren’t a whole lot faster.
👍

[Fresh Wind]

This changes everything!

[Doctor Congo]

Can this thing cut any deeper than the depth of the saw blade?
Am I missing something?