CHARACTERIZING THE PAINTED WALL RELIEFS FROM THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ROCK TOMBS OF MEIR AT ASSIUT, EGYPT

Abstract

The present research was designed to characterize the main components of ancient Egyptian wall reliefs of Meir rock tombs at Assiut of Egypt using severalµ-destructive analytical methods. The microscopic characterization included optical examination on painted surfaces and petrographic examination on thin sections of rock fractions. The morphology of pigments and their chemical structure were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used for the investigation of the molecular composition of the render layer and the blue pigment. The mineralogical composition by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) helped to study the stone, underlying preparation layer, and some pigments. The results showed that the petrographic features of the rock samples are based mainly on fine calcite grains. The identified pigments were Egyptian blue (synthetic cuprorivaite), red ochre (iron oxides and clay minerals), and carbon black. While for the green colour, a mixture of Egyptian blue and yellow ochre was created. Since the materials used in the abovementioned tombs were never been previously analyzed, this research will be a valuable start for a future complex study related to painting materials used in the Meir necropolis of ancient Egypt