Orichalcum – Atlantean Red Metal (Hypothetical Metallurgy)
ὀρείχαλκος · Aurichalcum · Mountain Copper · Oreichalkos
Plato 360 BCE description; metal 8th–5th c. BCE brass production·Greek (Platonic) + Sicilian Greek brass workers·🇬🇷 Gela, Sicily – 6th c. BCE shipwreck orichalcum ingot findspot (real reference), Greece
About
About Orichalcum – Atlantean Red Metal (Hypothetical Metallurgy)
Plato Critias 116 describes Atlantis 'mountain-copper' second only to gold, gleaming red, mined from earth. 2015 Sebastiano Tusa discovery: Gela wreck (5th c. BCE off Gela, Sicily) yielded 40 ingots of brass alloy 75–80% Cu, 15–20% Zn, plus Pb – identified as orichalcum (brass). Proved 'mythic metal' was high-zinc brass, locally made, not Atlantean super-metal with cold fusion. Fringe claimed superconductive, energy storage; real metallurgy 500 BCE mastered cementation brass. Yet mystery: Zn volatilization difficult – suggests lost technique. Included as hypothesized ancient high-tech metallurgy bridged.
Why it mattersBridges Atlantic myth metallurgy with real archaeometallurgy – shows Plato described known luxury brass, not sci-fi superconductor.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why Zn 15% high – cementation at >900°C difficult without Zn trapping
Theories
- 01Cementation brass secret held by Phocaean Greeks explaining Atlantis red gleam as temple brass cladding
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Ingot cast 600–500 BCE
- Period
- Plato 360 BCE description; metal 8th–5th c. BCE brass production
- Culture
- Greek (Platonic) + Sicilian Greek brass workers
- Purpose
- Coinage substitute? decorative sheathing for temples (Philochorus notes)
- Abandoned
- Wrecked en route Phocaeans?
- Rediscovered
- 2015 Tusa marine superintendency Gela 500 BCE wreck ingots analyzed XRF
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
360 BCE
Plato Critias describes orichalcum flashing red in Poseidon temple walls
500 BCE
Gela ship loads 40 orichalcum ingots off Sicily
2015
Tusa recovers ingots; XRF confirms high-zinc brass – orichalcum found
2017
Follow-up ingots 47 total reinforces brass not mystery metal
On the ground
Structures & features
37.0720° N · 14.1840° E · -12 m · 3 mapped features
Gela Orichalcum Ingot Mound (-12 m)
ingot mound40-47 brass bars 500 BCE wreck off Gela
37.0720° N · 14.1840° EGela Museum (Museo Gela – new ingots)
museumConservation lab displaying ingots 37.059N 14.25E
37.0590° N · 14.2500° EPlato's Critias locus (philosophical)
text116c orichalcum description at Athens Academy
37.9870° N · 23.7160° E