Anatomical invesigation of 4,000-years old cedrus libani wood remains from Egypt

Abstract

The anatomical composition of the 4,000-years old Cedrus libaniremains from an archeological excavation is the same as the anatomical composition of xylem of recent Cedrus libani. The width of growth rings in the remains is narrow. The mean values are 0.82-1.78 mm. Within the growth ring, the early wood is wide and the late wood is fairly narrow. According to the growth ring widht series, as nowadays, too, unfavourable years alternated with more favourable ones. Length of tracheids were formed in the wider growth rings, and longer ones in the narrower. Within the length of tracheids increases from growth ring boundary to growth ring boundary.Frequencies of the length of tracheids within a growth ring show the Gaussian distribution. The tracheid cells end in normal tip. The cell wall thickness is thin (3.1 µm) in the early wood, and thick (9.6 µm) in the late wood. The cell lumen is wide in the early wood (44.3µm), and narrow in the late wood (23.8 µm).