International Journal of Conservation Science (Sep 2011)

Characterization of Ancient Egyptian Wall Paintings, the Excavations of Cairo University at Saqqara

  • Hussein MAREY MAHMOUD,
  • Nikolaos KANTIRANIS,
  • Mona ALI,
  • John STRATIS

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2, no. 3
pp. 145 – 154

Abstract

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The present study aims at characterizing some Egyptian wall paintings discovered during the excavations of Cairo University (since 1988 and recently in 2005) at Saqqara area in the south of Cairo. There, a number of tombs dating back to the 19th dynasty (c.1293–1185 BC) were discovered. The walls of these tombs are carved with bass and raised reliefs and painted with different colours. The characterization of the wall paintings was done by means of optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (backscattered electron mode, BSE) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDS), micro XRF spectrometry (µ-XRF), and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The analysis of the examined samples indicated that the blue pigment is Egyptian blue (Cuprorivaite), the green pigment is Egyptian green, the red pigment is red ochre, and the yellow pigment is a blended layer of yellow ochre and orpiment (As2S3). The results will help in providing an image concerning some painting materials used during the new Kingdom in ancient Egypt

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