In 1936, during the excavation of Mastaba Sabu (grave 3111, c. 3100-3000 BC) in Saqqara, a disc was discovered by the Egyptologist Walter Brian Emeray, divided into three parts. Sabu was the son of Pharaoh Anedjib (the fifth ruler of the first dynasty of ancient Egypt)
This mysterious disc was found among pottery, bones, and several other stone objects that Sabu wished to take with him to the afterlife.
The device is approximately 23.5 inches in diameter and slightly over 4 inches in height. Although it was originally thought to have been carved from slate, the disc turned out to be made of metasilta stone, a material frequently used by Egyptian carvers for its ability to withstand delicate, detailed work without breaking. Other vessels found in this grave are also carved from this dense stone.
As a wide flat ball with three slender, raised petals, the shape of the object, which resembles a propeller with three blades and a center hole, suggests that it was mounted on an axle. Even for a metasylt stone, the details of the disc (especially the three petals and the center cylinder) are incredibly thin. While the disc does not maintain perfect symmetry, all of its petals are approximately equal in size and oriented 120 degrees from the center. But regarding the object's real function, researchers are still unsure.
While they may not be able to determine what it was, many agree that the artifact was not a wheel, as the wheel did not appear in Egypt until 1500 BC, during the 18th Dynasty, with the invasion of Hyksos. However, some engravings, from where the wheels are painted, go back to the fifth dynasty, about a millennium before that period. The Sabu disk is, however, an even greater challenge to Egyptologists because it dates the knowledge of the wheel to around 3000 BC. during the time of the first dynasty.
Another even more incredible version suggests that this stone disc served as a kind of propeller with hydraulic fins, which would imply that the Egyptians already had the technology to build electric motors. Since stone cannot be the material for such a device, renowned Egyptologist Cyril Aldred views the disc as simply a copy of a metal object much older than this one.
Of course, some believe that this item served a different purpose, the disk could simply be the stem of an oil lamp. However, critics of this theory argue that a three-bladed ritual lamp is hardly possible, due to the shape and curvature of its petals, which seem to suggest function rather than mere decoration.
Promotional video:
Reconstruction on a computer.
So why such a complex shape? If it was not a vehicle propeller, then the strange disc could still be part of some ancient component of the mechanism - perhaps for handling grains or fruits. Some have even suggested that it was part of a generator or battery to generate electricity.
The skill required to craft such an object is also important. If someone wants to make such an object today, it will require something like a modern computerized 3D milling machine. Because the technology has to form such thin, proportional shapes out of hard rock.
So this exhibit indicates a significant remnant (or reproduction) of ancient technology, or is it just a decorative specimen demonstrating the talent of a skilled stone cutter?
In any case, the three-piece disc is now on the ground floor of the Cairo Museum, where everyone can appreciate the exhibit and wonder what technology the Egyptians were able to create in their history.