od, which was
afterwards polished by a smooth body, probably also of stone); and
these, with the ruler, plummet, and right angle, a leather bag
containing nails, the hone, and the horn of oil, constituted the
principal, and perhaps the only, implements he used.

Many adzes, saws and chisels, have been found at Thebes. The blades
are all of bronze, the handles of the acacia or the tamarisk; and the
general mode of fastening the blade to the handle appears to have been
by thongs of hide. It is probable that some of those discovered in the
tombs are only models, or unfinished specimens, and it may have been
thought sufficient to show their external appearance, without the
necessity of nailing them, beneath the thongs, for those they worked
with were bound in the same manner, though we believe them to have
been also secured with nails. Some, however, evidently belonged to the
individuals in whose tombs they were buried, and appear to have been
used; and the chisels often bear signs of having been beaten with the
mallet.

The drill is frequently represented in the sculptures. Like all the
other tools, it was of the earliest date, and precisely similar to
that of modern Egypt, even to the nut of the _dom_ in which it turned,
and the form of its bow with a leathern thong.

The chisel was employed for the same purposes, and in the same manner,
as at the present day, and was struck with a wooden mallet, sometimes
flat at the two ends, sometimes of circular or oval form; several of
which last have been found at Thebes, and are in European museums. The
handles of the chisel were of acacia, tamarisk, or other compact wood,
the blades of bronze, and the form of the points varied in breadth,
according to the work for which they were intended.

The hatchet was principally used by boat-builders, and those who made
large pieces of frame-work; and trees were felled with the same
instrument.

With the carpenters may be mentioned the wheelwrights, the makers of
coffins, and the coopers, and this sub-division of one class of
artisans shows that they had systematically adopted the partition of
labor.

The makers of chariots and traveling carriages were of the same class;
but both carpenters and workers of leather were employed in their
manufacture; and chariots either passed through the hands of both, or,
which is more probable, chariot makers constituted a distinct trade.

The tanning and preparation of leather was also a branch of