TECHNICAL EXAMINATION AND STATE OF CONSERVATION OF WALL PAINTING AT THE THEBAN TOMB TT15 AT DRA' ABU EL-NAGA NECROPOLIS, WESTERN THEBES, LUXOR, EGYPT

Faculty Archaeology Year: 2021
Type of Publication: ZU Hosted Pages: 1391-1406
Authors:
Journal: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSERVATION SCIENCE Romanian Inventors Forum Volume: 12
Keywords : TECHNICAL EXAMINATION , STATE , CONSERVATION , WALL PAINTING    
Abstract:
The Theban Tomb TT15 is located in Dra' Abu El-Naga', part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor, just by the entrance of the dry bay that leads up to Deir El-Bahri. The tomb was discovered in 1908 by Howard Carter and Lord Carnevon. Its walls were made of mud bricks and decorated with paintings dated from 18th dynasty Pharaoh. The tomb and its paintings are in a critical condition of deterioration due to surrounding damage factors, as well as the weakness of the building materials used in its construction. No publications are available on materials and techniques used in this tomb. To protect these paintings and to provide more conclusive information regarding the date of the painting scenes, painting materials and techniques have been studied. This study aimed at using different analytical techniques to characterize original and decayed materials from the mural paintings of TeTiky tomb and define the degradation pathways threatening their conservation. The analytical data obtained by Raman spectroscopy, X-Ray florescence (XRF), Light Optical microscopy (LOM), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) attached with X-ray Microanalysis (SEM–EDS), FTIR and X-ray diffraction. The results indicated that, the wall painting technique is typical of 18th dynasty Pharaoh paintings and includes multiple layers of gypsum mixed with calcite. Analytical results demonstrate also, the Egyptian painter used locally sourced materials for pigments as Egyptian blue and its various color tones, red and yellow ochre, etc... The binding media is a kind of animal glue (tempera technique). The results obtained for this case of study also highlight the important inference to consider in future conservation project.
   
     
 
       

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