A Multi-Analytical Study of an Ancient Egyptian Limestone Stele for Knowledge and Conservation Purposes: Recovering Hieroglyphs and Figurative Details by Image Analysis
Tiziana Cavaleri,
Stefano Legnaioli,
Francesca Lozar,
Cesare Comina,
Federico Poole,
Claudia Pelosi,
Alessia Spoladore,
Daniele Castelli,
Vincenzo Palleschi
Affiliations
Tiziana Cavaleri
Centro Conservazione e Restauro dei Beni Culturali La Venaria Reale, Venaria Reale, 10078 Turin, Italy
Stefano Legnaioli
Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Francesca Lozar
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, 10125 Turin, Italy
Cesare Comina
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, 10125 Turin, Italy
Federico Poole
Dipartimento Collezione e Ricerca, Museo Egizio, 10123 Turin, Italy
Claudia Pelosi
Dipartimento di Economia, Ingegneria, Società e Impresa, Università degli Studi della Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Alessia Spoladore
Freelance Conservator, 10100 Turin, Italy
Daniele Castelli
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, 10125 Turin, Italy
Vincenzo Palleschi
Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 56124 Pisa, Italy
A multi-analytical study was carried out on an ancient Egyptian limestone stele with red figures and hieroglyphs (S. 6145) coming from the village of Deir el-Medina and belonging to the collection of the Museo Egizio (Turin, Italy). With the support of a multidisciplinary team, a project for the preservation and conservation of this stele provided an opportunity to carry out a very detailed study of the object. Petrographic and mineralogical analysis led to the characterization and dating of the limestone, and ultrasonic tests were of great help in shedding light on the state of preservation of the stele, as a preliminary to planning conservation treatment. The chemical nature of the red pigment was investigated by non-invasive spectroscopic analyses. Multispectral imaging and statistical image processing improved the readability of the hieroglyphs, whose preservation ranged from heavily compromised to almost completely invisible, revealing some signs that had previously not been visible.
