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The production of gold wire in antiquity

Hand-making methods before the introduction of the draw-plate

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Abstract

Many centuries before the invention of wire-drawing the early Greeks and Romans were making beautiful articles of jewellery from gold wire. After an account of the history of wire production, the hand-making methods that were available in antiquity are reviewed and the successful simulation of their techniques is described.

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Oddy, A. The production of gold wire in antiquity. Gold Bull 10, 79–87 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03215438

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