A brick mould is a tool for giving material a repeatable form. The Met’s wooden example, object 25.3.108, also has a recorded archaeological setting: a foundation deposit in the forecourt of Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el-Bahri.
The museum record dates it broadly to about 1550–1300 BCE and lists a length of 32.7 centimetres. Its find context gives the object a question beyond everyday production: why was this form of tool placed there?
Keep function and deposition separate
The name identifies a kind of implement. The recorded deposit describes where this example was found. Neither alone tells us how often it was used before deposition.
For a reading exercise, draw two boxes headed “making” and “placing.” Under the first, record the mould’s material and dimensions. Under the second, copy the documented site and deposit designation. Put unanswered questions between them.
Do not calculate a finished brick’s exact dimensions from the external measurements alone. The thickness of the wooden frame and changes in material would matter.
This modest separation helps retain the object’s interest. It can be read as a form connected with building technology and as material found in a particular ritual setting, without inventing a complete working biography.
Editorial illustration from this site’s image library; not documentary evidence of the example or object discussed.