that bronze was produced by knowingly adding tin to the metal.
Copper was largely used by the Romans, who obtained it from Cyprus; it was known to them as œs Cyprium, and eventually Cuprum, whence we obtain the chemical symbol Cu. What the Romans called œs was found also at Chalkis, in Eubœa, whence χαλκός, the Greek word for copper.
Aurichalcum, or golden copper—that is, brass—was well known to the early workers in copper, and was made in Pliny’s time by heating together copper, cadmia (calamine), and charcoal.
Bell metal was employed by the Assyrians, and bronze was cast by the Egyptians for the manufacture of mirrors, vases, shields, etc., as far back as 2000 B.C. Statuary bronze, largely used by the Romans, usually contained more or less lead.
Tin, which was also known to the early Egyptians, would appear to have been first obtained from the East Indies, and to have been known under the Sanscrit name of Kasiîra (Kâs, to shine), whence we have the Arabic word for tin, Kàsdir, and the Greek κασσίτερος, used by Homer and Hesiod. Tin ores are found in Britain (Cornwall), and were brought thence by the Phœnicians. The group of islands, including the Scilly Islands and
