Archaeometric Analysis of Pigments from the Tomb of Nakht-Djehuty (TT189), El-Qurna Necropolis, Upper Egypt

Abstract

The main objective of the present work is to characterize some pigments from the tomb of Nakht-Djehuty (TT189), time of Ramesses II (c. 1279-1212 BC), El-Assasif district, El-Qurna necropolis, Luxor (ancient Thebes), Upper Egypt. The characterization of the examined wall paintings was carried out by means of optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and visible reflectance spectroscopy. The results revealed the characterization of the stratigraphic structure of wall decorations of the tomb and their chemical composition. The analysis of the examined samples indicated that the blue pigment was identified as Egyptian blue (Cuprorivaite), the green pigment as Egyptian green, the red pigment as red ochre, the yellow pigment as yellow ochre and the white pigment as a mixture of gypsum and calcite. The obtained results helped in identifying the chromatic palette used in one of the tombs dating back to the Ramesside period in Ancient Egypt.