Cupellation

Cupellation is like magic for determining the amount of gold or silver in other things. First, people take a small bit of the thing they want to test, and put it in a tiny furnace with lead. Then, they heat it up until the lead melts and makes a little pool.

The heat makes any gold or silver in the thing join the pool of lead so they can be easily separated from the rest of the stuff. After the pool cools down, the metal from the thing is gone; only the lead with the gold or silver stays behind!

Next, the lead is heated up even more, and it starts to burn with small flames. The fire burns up the lead and leaves only the gold or silver behind.

Now, people can weigh how much gold or silver is left over and know how much was originally in the thing they tested. Cupellation is like cooking with fire, but instead of making food, it helps figure out the treasure hiding in other things!