Egyptian Museum In Cairo Research Articles

Eco-Friendly Preservation of Pharaonic Wooden Artifacts using Natural Green Products

The biodeterioration of wooden cultural heritage is a severe problem worldwide and fungi are the main deteriorating agents. The identification of effective natural products, safer for humans and the environment, is a current challenge. Ten deteriorated archaeological objects (a wooden statue of a seated man, an anthropoid wooden coffin with a cartonnage mummy of Nespathettawi, and a wooden box of Padimen’s son), stored at the Egyptian museum in Cairo, were considered here. The wood species of the three most deteriorated objects were previously identified as Acacia nilotica, Ficus sycomorus, and Tamarix gennessarensis. Twenty-six fungal species were isolated and identified from the wooden objects and the four most frequent species belonged to the genus Aspergillus. Fourteen fungal species among those isolated showed the greatest biodeterioration activity on the experimental wood blocks of the archaeological objects. The antifungal activities of several eco-friendly plant essential oils (from cinnamon, eucalyptus, frankincense, geranium, lavender, lemongrass, menthe, rosemary, tea tree, and thyme) and plant extracts (from basil, eucalyptus, henna, melia, and teak) were tested against the fungal species with the greatest biodeterioration activity. The essential oils (Eos) were more effective than the plant extracts. Thyme EO, followed by geranium and cinnamon ones, was the most active (minimum inhibitory concentrations: 0.25–1 µL/mL). These EO; also showed inhibitory effects on the enzymatic activities (cellulase, amylase, and protease) of the four most dominant fungal species. Thymol and p-cymene were the two main components of thyme oil, while geraniol and beta-citronellol were those of geranium oil; eugenol and caryophyllene were those of the cinnamon EO. Thyme oil applied to the most deteriorated experimental aged A. nilotica wooden cubes inoculated with the four highly frequent fungal species was effective in wood preservation. Moreover, no significant interference was observed in the wood before and after thyme treatment. Thyme oil seems to be a promising eco-friendly antifungal agent for the preservation of archaeological wooden artefacts.

Enhancing visitors’ experience in historical museums through applying parametric roof designs

ABSTRACT Previous research indicated that museums have historically prioritized their formal and physical features at the expense of accommodating visitors’ needs which has negatively affected visitors’ museum experience. A shortage in interactive spatial experiences in some historical museums in Egypt led to a decrease in the rate of visits and visitor’s satisfaction. Museums’ interior design has a significant impact on people’s emotions as well as their museum experience. Furthermore, prior research has indicated that parametric design can convey emotional interactive spatial experiences when applied to different interior design elements. Such elements can include the building’s roof, floor, or walls. This research aims to create a set of guidelines for enhancing visitors’ emotional and interactive spatial experiences in historical museums using parametric interior roof design solutions. The research adopted a mixed method approach. A qualitative approach was implemented by reviewing the precedent literature. This was followed by a case study in the Egyptian context and a computer-generated model of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was developed. Two parametric roof alternatives were tested along with the existing roof of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo by using Virtual Reality on a sample of 67 participants. The quantitative approach was achieved by distributing questionnaires among participants and analyzing the acquired data. The results showed that the application of parametric designs could develop interactive relaxing or engaging museum spatial experiences. This study could benefit architects, interior designers, and relevant specialists in the design process to enhance the museums’ spatial emotional interactive experience by using parametric design.

A Museological Exercise in Modern Egypt: The Renovation Project of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo in 1975-1977

A Museological Exercise in Modern Egypt: The Renovation Project of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo in 1975-1977

Documentation, investigation and analysis of a rare archaeological cartonnage object from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, using non-invasive methods

Technical and analytical investigations were carried out on an overhead mask of woman cartonnage from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (catalogue 33279), which dated back to the Greco-Roman Period. Various non-invasive techniques were used in this study such as: AutoCAD program, multispectral imaging with Ultraviolet and Infrared Rays, optical microscope, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The structure of the cartonnage was unique and consisted of three distinctive layers, from the bottom to the top; a double layer from linen, a calcite-based plaster layer, and finally a polychrome paint layer. The study of the paint layer revealed the presence of blue, red, white, yellow, orange, brown and black pigments. Yellow color was identified as orpiment (As2S3) and yellow ochre (goethite α-FeO.OH + clay minerals) and blue as Egyptian blue (CaCuSi4O10). Two red shades were also detected of which the lighter is red lead (Pb3O4) and the darker is a mixture hematite (α-Fe2O3), red lead (Pb₃O₄) and calcite (CaCO3). Orange was identified as a mixture of orpiment (As2S3) and red lead (Pb3O4), white as white lead (PbCO3)2•Pb(OH)2,and black as magnetite (Fe3O4). The brown pigment, made up of red hematite, red lead, and black manganese, was detected for the first time in the pigment palette of ancient Egyptian cartonnage. The binding medium in linen layer was identified as Arabic gum. The study showed that cartonnage dated back to the Graeco-Roman Period because of the appearance of red lead, orpiment, and Egyptian blue. Moreover, the presence of lead in the components of Egyptian blue is considered evidence that ovens contain lead resulting in changing the manufacturing techniques of Egyptian blue.

The Ancient Near East: History, Texts, etc

The Ancient Near East:History, Texts, etc Christopher T. Begg and Isaac M. Alderman 31. [The Stela of Lady T-rp(yt)] Abdelrahman Ali Abdelrahman, "The Stela of Lady T-rp(yt) in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo," AO 39 (2, 2021) 161-66. This article studies the stela of a woman named Ta-repit, which is now housed in the basement of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. I provide a brief description of the scene depicted on the upper part of the stela and then present a transliteration and translation of the hieroglyphic inscriptions on its lower part. I conclude with some philological comments, including a proposed emendation of the name of the mother of the owner of the stela. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 32. [A "Literary" Fragment from the Istanbul Sippar Archive] Selim Ferruh Adali and Eckart Frahm, "The Slave-Girl's Child: A 'Literary' Fragment from the Istanbul Sippar Archive," AO 39 (1, 2021) 5-17. In this article, we publish a fragmentary clay tablet from the Sippar Collection in the Cuneiform Tablets Archive of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, inventoried under the museum number Si 735. The tablet seems to record, in literary language, the ruminations of a man about a female slave who had given birth to his son. Due, however, to the tablet's poor state of preservation, many aspects of this unusual text remain unclear. After introductory remarks on the nature of the tablet and a brief discussion of the above-cited "Sippar Collection," we provide an edition of the text, together with notes on its orthography, language, structure, and genre, as well as a philological commentary. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 33. [Charles Clermont-Ganneau and the Mesha Stela] Isabel Bonora Andijar, "Charles Clermont-Ganneau et la redécouverte de la stèle de Mésha," Stèle de Mésha/Mescha-Stele, 97-138 [see #922]. A.'s historical study complements that of S. Willert (see #93) concerning the tangled story of how the Mesha Stela made its way from Dibon in ancient Moab, where it had stood for some two and a half-millennia, to its current resting place in the Louvre during the years 1868–1873. Basing herself on the archives of several Parisian institutions, A. highlights the involvement of the French consular official and epigraphist Charles Clermont-Ganneau (1846–1923) in this process, first in acquiring the pieces of the stone which had been smashed by Bedouins shortly after its discovery in situ by A. F. Klein and selling these to the Louvre and then working himself at the Louvre on the reconstruction of the stela (a project he brought to successful completion in 1875) on the basis of drawings and a tracing of the still intact artifact which he had commissioned several Arab workers to carry out prior to its destruction.—C.T.B. 34. [Babylonian Bird Omen Collections, Astral Observations and the Manzāzu] Netanel Anor and Yoram Cohen, "Bird in the Sky—Babylonian Bird Omen Collections, Astral Observations, and the Manzāzu," Revue d'assyriologie et de'archéologie orientale 115 (2021) 51-80. The purpose of our paper is to discuss Babylonian bird omen collections in order to determine how a sacrificial bird's outer physical organs might have been interpreted by the diviner as signs of potential celestial events. On this basis, we argue that the well-known term manzāzu refers to the concrete appearance of a deity as an astral body during the [End Page 10] course of an extispicy ritual. Our discussion concludes with a full edition of a bird omen compendium (YOS 10.51, YOS 10.52, and J. Nougayrol, 1967). [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 35. [The Late Babylonian Medical Compendium Tablet, BM 32277+] András Bácskay, "Medical Treatments against Respiratory Diseases, Ear Complaints and Migraine: An Edition of a Late Babylonian Medical Compendium Tablet, BM 32277+," Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale 115 (2021) 159-74. My paper presents an edition and analysis of a previously unpublished Late Babylonian medical tablet from...

A Letter from the Museum Reviews Editor

A Letter from the Museum Reviews Editor

The Book of the Dead Manuscripts of the Lady Hatnefer in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo: Two Hieratic Papyri and One Leather Roll (TR-No. 25–1–55–6)

Generally, the Book of the Dead in the New Kingdom was inscribed in hieroglyphic and cursive hieroglyphic scripts. However, a few examples were inscribed in hieratic handwriting at the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty. This paper will present interesting examples of these early sources. Three hieratic manuscripts from the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty belong to the lady Hatnefer, the mother of the renowned Senenmut. This group of hieratic manuscripts consists of two papyri and one leather roll. This paper will also shed light on the handwriting of the manuscripts and try to figure out the number of scribes who were involved in writing these manuscripts based on palaeographical analysis.

The Shabtis of Tjuyu (CG 51037–51040)

This paper investigates the shabtis of Tjuyu (CG 51037–51040), the wife of the ‘god’s father’, Yuya, and mother of Queen Tiye, the wife of the famous King Amenhotep III. In my previous article in JEA 107, I investigated the shabtis of her husband Yuya which are kept at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (CG 51024–34, CG 51036) and the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art in New York (MMA 30.8.56–30.8.58). In this paper, I explore the state of preservation of Tjuyu’s shabtis, as they have not been studied since the discovery of the tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu (KV46) in 1905, as well as their inscriptions which were not copied, and their form, decoration, and manufacture. A comparison with the shabtis of Yuya will further highlight the differences regarding the materials, methods of manufacture, and the style of inscriptions. [Formula: see text]

The manufacture and origin of the Tutankhamen meteoritic iron dagger

AbstractThe Iron Age was the time when people acquired iron processing technology and is generally thought to have begun after 1200 B.C. Some prehistoric iron artifacts made of iron meteorites are dated from the Bronze Age. A nicely preserved meteoritic iron dagger was found in the tomb of King Tutankhamen (1361–1352 B.C.) of ancient Egypt. Yet, its manufacturing method and origin remain unclear. Here, we report nondestructive two‐dimensional chemical analyses of the Tutankhamen iron dagger, conducted at the Egyptian Museum of Cairo. Elemental mapping of Ni on the dagger blade surface shows discontinuous banded arrangements in places with “cubic” symmetry and a bandwidth of about 1 mm, suggesting a Widmanstätten pattern. The intermediate Ni content (11.8 ± 0.5 wt%) with the presence of the Widmanstätten pattern implies the source meteorite of the dagger blade to be octahedrite. The randomly distributed sulfur‐rich black spots are likely remnants of troilite (FeS) inclusions in iron meteorite. The preserved Widmanstätten pattern and remnant troilite inclusion show that the iron dagger was manufactured by low‐temperature (<950 °C) forging. The gold hilt with a few percent of calcium lacking sulfur suggests the use of lime plaster instead of gypsum plaster as an adhesive material for decorations on the hilt. Since the use of lime plaster in Egypt started during the Ptolemaic period (305–30 B.C.), the Ca‐bearing gold hilt hints at its foreign origin, possibly from Mitanni, Anatolia, as suggested by one of the Amarna letters saying that an iron dagger with gold hilt was gifted from the king of Mitanni to Amenhotep III, the grandfather of Tutankhamen.

A New Family to the ANOC Groups: A Study of Stelae CG 20077 and CG 20098

Abstract The Middle Kingdom stelae found at Abydos are some of the most important sources of information to analyze and reconstruct Egyptian society. This article aims at providing a study and translation of two Middle Kingdom stelae that are preserved in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza and in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. They are stela CG 20077, which belongs to an individual called Nemtu, and stela CG 20098, which belongs to a man called Nemtyemmer. The family relations attested in both stelae suggest that they could be part of the same family group and consequently constitute a new Abydos North Offering Chapel (ANOC). This paper also offers an analysis of the ANOC and proposes that these stelae should be added to the ANOC groups. Lastly, we attempt to identify the social identities represented in both stelae and the possible social and geographical origin of this family.

The Characterization of Some Ancient Egyptian Funerary Linens from the Twenty-First Dynasty Discovered in the Bab El-Gasus Excavation

The ancient Egyptians had a distinct and flourishing textile industry with diverse characteristics. The developments in archaeological textile studies over the last few decades have assisted in identifying the techniques used in the manufacture of fabrics and demonstrated the complexity of this ancient industry. The ancient Egyptians are well-known for the production of linen fabrics of varying structures and purposes for everyday use by different social classes. The Bab El-Gasus tomb at Deir El-Bahari, the tomb of the priests and priestesses of Amun, is one of the most important excavations for this subject as within the tomb several types of funerary linen textiles from the Twenty-First Dynasty (1070–945 BC) were discovered. This paper aims to characterize some of these linen pieces that were preserved and displayed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The pieces are of high-quality linen, were decorated, and retain their original colours. Investigations were carried out to study their main textile characteristics such as thread diameter, twist direction, thread count and weave type, in addition to characterizing the diagnostic features of the textiles such as fringes, selvedges, self-bands, hues, decoration and their state of deterioration. A Dino-Lite portable digital microscope was used to examine the linen textiles. There were various significant findings and the study revealed some of the distinctive characteristics and versatility of ancient Egyptian textiles, offering new insights for the textile production techniques used at that time.

Revealing researcher engagement in museum-related research: a reflective account

The absence of extended discussions about the feasibility of carrying out qualitative research within the ‘research methods’ sections of most heritage and mainstream museum studies articles means there is not much direction provided to novice heritage and museum researchers as well as aspiring PhD candidates to augment their own methodological practices. Literature related to unexpected circumstances during fieldwork, the importance of human interactions in data collection and the self-reflection of researchers in heritage and museum-related research remains limited. This paper reflectively explores aspects of the author’s journey as a PhD researcher at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, and the challenges encountered during fieldwork. The paper concludes that recognizing and encouraging reflexivity and interpersonal engagement and reflecting on challenging moments during the research process in museums and heritage sites brings insight to the study, and brings the researcher/researchee closer to the reader.

Review of] José M. Galán & Gema Menéndez, Deir el-Medina Stelae and other Inscribed Objects, Catalogue General of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo Nos. 35001–35066, Cairo: The Supreme Council of Antiquities Press 2018

Review of] José M. Galán & Gema Menéndez, Deir el-Medina Stelae and other Inscribed Objects, Catalogue General of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo Nos. 35001–35066, Cairo: The Supreme Council of Antiquities Press 2018

A CORPUS OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN EMBALMING PLATES

The ‘embalming plate’ is a type of artefact that is mentioned quite frequently in the literature on ancient Egyptian mortuary practices. However, it has not been well studied so far. This paper is a preliminary corpus that can serve as a basis for further studies of this kind of objects, as an open list that can be expanded in the future. This corpus is divided into four lists: A) pieces removed from the mummies with which they were associated; B) doubtful examples; C) items discovered by the x-raying or scanning of mummies; D) embalming plates currently in two display cases in Room 22 at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Unpublished False Door of Kaipwptah kA=I pw PtH and Nykawre N(y) kAw Ra during the Fifth Dynasty in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo: Some New Interpretations

According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, the false door is a part of funerary furniture. It is served as an offering’s stela; it is placed on the west wall in the tomb, which netherworlds exist. The author will introduce new interpretations for two unpublished false doors in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo according to epithets and titles of deceased, also through architectural and decoration features. A descriptive approach will be used to explain the scenes on two false doors and then picture analyses, finally, the philology approach also is used to linguistic study, and texts are translated. This paper aims to republish and shed light on two limestones false doors discovered at the north of Saqqara that dated back to the Fifth Dynasty, the paper aims to narrow down the dating of these doors and explore new interpretations and what the doors might say about the social standing of their deceased. It can be concluded that the two false doors which are dated back to Fifth Dynasty, but not for the same period; kA=I pw PtH false door dated back to the beginning of fifth Dynasty and Nykawre’s false door dated back to end of fifth Dynasty; the authors set this date based on their architectural and textual features reflected social and religious aspects to non-royal Egyptian elite during the Old Kingdom.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC) Past and Present

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC) Past and Present

AN UNUSUAL CORROSION PRODUCT, KOBYASHEVITE, FROM ANCIENT EGYPTIAN COPPER ARTIFACTS: A TECHNICAL NOTE

Kobyashevite is one of copper sulfate hydroxide hydrate minerals “devilline group”. It forms as a thin coating crust in calcite and gypsum veins and it takes flower-like morphology and its color varies between the bluish-green to turquoise-blue. In the laboratory studies, it has been synthesized in humid atmospheric air containing sub-ppm of SO2. In the corrosion studies of archeological metals, it has not been identified before. Fortunately, the case study objects have never been undergone any conservation processes before, which gives originality of the analyzed samples and more accurate results. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and Raman spectroscopy have been carried out in order to identify the corrosion samples. The present study identified a kobyashviete corrosion product for the first time in the archaeological studies on some archeological copper artifacts from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The study has been suggested that the formation of the unusual corrosion product kobyashviete is due to exposure the case study to uncontrolled long–term humid storage environment which has been contaminated with a high percentage of sulfur gases.

Four Greek Ostraca from Cairo Museum

The paper is an editing four Greek documentary ostraca preserved in Cairo Museum preserved among a large collection, that has been divided into two group ostraca in the third floor of Cairo Museum (D3East). The ostraca have been brought to the museum on January 25th, 1955 from the region of Thebes (specifically from either Elephantine or Syene, as it is sometimes mentioned in some ostraca and as it is mentioned in this paper in O. No. 20b). These four ostraca have been published for the first time. The four ostraca have the same inventory number (S.R.18953). The editor has numbered the two collections into a separate serial number to each group. They date back to: 1- The 23rd year, 21st of Pachon (19 June 158 BCE), 2- the 30th year, the 22nd of Pharmouthi of the reign of Ptolemy IX Soter II (May 3rd 87 BCE), 3- Beginning of 2nd century CE and 4- 2nd century CE in sequence. The first document is O. No. 6b and measures 11.9 cm in width x 12.9 cm in length. It is bilingual and consists of five complete lines (four Greek and one Demotic) that have been written on the recto (convex), while the verso (concave) is blank. It is a Granary Receipt in which two tax-payer acknowledge that they have paid five and one-six artabas of wheat to a sitologos (whose name is illegible). The document has some problematical reading in the proper name in the beginning of line 2 and the proper name in line 4. The second document is O. No. 20b and measures 5.1 cm in width x 8.7 cm in length. It has preserved complete seven lines and the verso is blank. This document mentions clearly in line two that the place to which it belongs (i.e. Syene, modern Aswan). It is uncertain Treasury receipt? Where almost all the parallels with the same or close formula are Treasury receipts. The hand is well-trained and the text is almost legible and clear except for the last word in line 6. In the text, Patapes declares that he paid an amount of money to an official whose name or title is not clear in the text, yet it mostly the banker of the village. The third is O. No. 6a and measures 13 cm in width x 12 cm in length. This potsherd has preserved four complete lines on the recto, while the verso is blank. It is a short Decania List “groups of camel-drivers” which has the number “25” that probably was given to each group of the Decania. The fourth ostracon is O. No. 20a and measures 9.2 cm in width x 6.5 cm in length. It has preserved three complete lines that have been written on the recto and the verso is blank. It is “A person Name!” it is unusual one person's name has been written in ostracon. There are couple of suggestions of the existence of this name: either because of the importance of this person, where he, his patronymic and grandfather’s name were mentioned, or he was a chief of decania “decanos”.

Bound Within a Box: Examination of Execration Figurines of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo

Rituals against enemies, including the execration rituals and texts, have been studied at some length. However, the gaps in knowledge about the rituals, and the potential sources that must remain unexcavated in the field or unrecognized in museum storerooms have been lamented by scholars. Often overlooked in storage or even on display, many execration figures lack the definitive provenance that might make them more appealing to researchers. The Egyptian Museum in Cairo holds a significant collection of execration figurines. The present contribution is the result of research undertaken at the EMC concerning three groups of execration figurines and associated objects. The three groups feature one or more figurines contained inside a distinctively shaped Egyptian alabaster container, thus making them unique among execration deposits. This paper aims to place the material studied within the larger scope of the study of execration figurines through a detailed examination of possible find spots, dating, and parallels for the figurines and associated objects.

The False Door of Shepsi at the Egyptian Museum of Cairo

The False Door of Shepsi at the Egyptian Museum of Cairo