ANALYTICAL STUDY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTTERY SARCOPHAGUS,GRECO ROMAN PERIOD, FROM SAQQARA, EGYPT

Abstract

The current study describes the Archaeological pottery shreds which were found in theexcavation made by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) in Saqqara regions in thewestern side of the pyramid of Djoser. To perform this study, several analyticalinstruments were used; including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS)., Physical and mineralogical analyses weremade by using the thermal behavior (thermo gravimetric analysis (TG) and differential thermalanalysis (DTG). The results of these analyses allow the establishment of conclusions aboutseveral aspects of their manufacture, It was found out that the discovered shreds comprise agroup of the pottery sarcophagus that belong to the Greco Roman period (570-525B.C). Itwas, also, found that the texture of the pottery was made using a large quantity of medium tocoarse plant residues which is one of the most characteristic features of Nile fabrics. Thecolor of the pottery fracture is reddish on the outer part of the wall of the Serco but is black inthe middle. The firing temperature was uneven and the hardness of the pottery was medium.The sarcophagus was handmade shaping. All these characteristics belong to the Nile C group.The sarcophagus was fully restored, including cleaning, constructing, completing and coloring.