Egyptian Museum Research Articles

A case study of the Sustainable management of Construction waste of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Construction and demolition waste is defined as the solid waste generated from the construction sector, including construction work, finishes, renovations, restoration and demolition

A Coptic Magical Text for Virginity in Marriage: A Witness to “Celibate Marriage” from Christian Egypt

AbstractThe Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose (CA) owns a small but important collection of unpublished Coptic papyri and parchments. One notable papyrus preserves a unique text in which the practitioner invokes an unnamed female figure to help a woman protect her “purity,” “virginity,” and “marriage.” Although the specific context behind the text is not altogether clear and the appeal for virginity in marriage is curious and without parallel in other magical texts, one possibility is to see the text in light of the Christian practice of celibate marriage whereby a male and female entered into a non-sexual marriage.

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

THE COLUMN OF CLEOPATRA III AND PTOLEMY IX FROM KOM OMBO IN THE GEM (45481)

This is the publication of a column currently in the Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza. This column is covered with scenes, hieroglyphic texts, and decorative motifs. It is one of the few depictions of a Ptolemaic queen, Cleopatra III, alone offering to deities. Its content shows a period of coregency between her and her son Ptolemy IX. Moreover, it bears new motifs, such as the frieze of Hathoric faces and the rekhyt-bird adoring the divine children of Kom Ombo. This research presents a theological, historical, and palaeographical analytical study of the scenes and texts of the column. Indeed, it also shows the two divine children of Kom Ombo receiving offerings from Ptolemy IX and his mother. A reconstruction of the column is suggested, either as a complete element or locating it on the plan of the Mammisi of Kom Ombo.

The Stela of Renefres and his Family in the Grand Egyptian Museum (CG 20322)

The Stela of Renefres and his Family in the Grand Egyptian Museum (CG 20322)

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.

Wood identification of some coffins from the Necropolis of Thebes held in the collection of the Egyptian Museum in Florence

Two groups of coffins from the Necropolis of Thebes and held in the Egyptian Museum of Florence were analysed to collect information about the woods used in their construction, possible provenance and the technological features. The two groups of coffins belong to burials during the XVIII Dynasty of the New Kingdom and the XXI Dynasty of the Third Intermediate Period. The latter group comes from the well-known tomb of Bab el-Gasus. The analysis confirms that the most frequently utilised timber for the ancient Egyptian wooden coffins was Ficus sycomorus L. (sycamore fig) that was widely available locally at the time of construction. Sycamore fig wood is light and easy to process, and is the only local tree species suitable for making boards of sufficient length for the sides of coffins. Sycamore fig is used almost exclusively in the coffins from Bab el-Gasus. Here very few other woods were detected, but were all local in origin: Acacia sp., acacia; Tamarix sp., tamarisk. In contrast, the precious softwood of Cedrus cf. libani (probably Lebanon cedar) largely appears in the coffins of the New Kingdom. The comparison of the woods from the analysis of the two groups of coffins points out important differences between them. The differences may depend on the variations over time of the workmanship skills and on the higher social status of the deceased in more ancient periods. Most likely the main difference is due to the worst socio-economic situations that drastically reduced the availability of timber during the XXI dynasty period, in that geographical area of Egypt.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC) Past and Present

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC) Past and Present

Proposal for monitoring approach and control of air mycobiota in the Grand Egyptian Museum—Conservation Center

Cultural property preserved in indoor environments is subjected to fungal deterioration which resulted from air biocontamination and can lead to a heavy cultural loss. This study aimed to monitor and assess the biodiversity and concentration of airborne fungi for all areas of the Grand Egyptian Museum—Conservation Center (GEM-CC), such as conservation laboratories, scientific laboratories, corridors, storerooms, and outside in each season during 2013 using the air sampler machine. Results of the quantitative analysis of fungal aerosol demonstrated that the air quality level in GEM-CC was generally acceptable, though some areas showed deviation from the threshold limit value of the GEM-CC (200 CFU m−3). Also, the fungal load in all storerooms was lower than inside the laboratories. Quantitative analysis revealed that 22 fungal species were isolated and identified. The genus Penicillium appeared with high relative distribution (42.6%), followed by Cladosporium and Aspergillus. In vitro study revealed the effectiveness of ethanol with 70% concentration, against the most common airborne fungus: Aspergillus flavus. However, the concentration rose to 95% when applying in vivo. Finally, we suppose that weekly spraying the GEM-CC environment with 95% ethanol is a protective measure for both our valuable artifacts and staff health.

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.

Analytical Study of the Archaeological Leather Document Preserved in Egyptian Museum and New Proposal for Museum Exhibition

This study was done on a piece of archaeological leather document preserved in Egyptian museum storeroom under No.JE90809 SR 5/13677, excavated 1966. The leather document showed different aspects of deterioration types. Different analytical methods were used for identifying the components of the leather document to explain its mechanism of deterioration process. Analytical methods were used: visual assessment, documentation process by high resolution camera and scanner in multispectral imaging (MSI), diagnostic examinations using Multi Spectral Imaging (VIS-UV-IR), isolation and identification of different types of fungi, investigation of the surface morphology and animal type using digital light microscope (Dino light), stereo microscope (S.M.) and polarizing microscope (P.M.), identification of ink binder, amino acids degradation and tanning materials by Fourier transformation infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR) it is a qualitative analysis to give general information concerning collagen, identification of inks by X-ray diffraction (XRD), measuring the thickness by micro meter. In addition to suggest a new method for Museum show for the archaeological leather document as the preparation of a new method of exhibition is considered one of the most important goal of this study, because the current method of exhibition is considered one of the most important reason for the deterioration of the studied document. The results revealed thatthe microscopic examinations of samples clarify that the type of skin used was sheep in comparison with the standard samples. Also it explained the deformation of the appearance, contaminations from stains and dusts, and damages caused by physical factors. X-ray diffraction results showed that the ink used was made of carbon black ink. In addition the results showed that thickness measurement numbers were different which give indicate to somehow the manufacturing process was not so perfect. Also the results of FTIR proved the degradation of the collagen in the archaeological leather document, the binding agent was Arabic gum and the leather was tanned with vegetable tanning. Isolation and identification of micro-organisms clarified the most dominant fungi isolated from the archaeological leather document were: Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus sulphureus, Aspergillus versicolor, Aspergillus sydowii, Penicillium chrysogenum, Penicillium islandicum, Alternaria alternate, Aspergillus flavus,Aspergillus terreus. Finally, the storage of the leather document was very poor which led to different aspects of deterioration. That prompted the author to suggest a new method for exhibition for the archaeological leather document. ملخص البحث باللغة العربية قطعة من الجلد الأثري محفوظة في مخزن المتحف المصري برقم JE90809 5/13677 ، تم اکتشافها عام 1966 ، وتعانى الوثيقة الجلدية مظاهر التلف المختلفة. ترکز هذه الدراسة على استخدام التقنيات التحليلية الحديثة لتحديد مکونات المخطوطة لشرح عمليات التلف. استخدمت فى الدراسة التقييم البصري ، وعملية التوثيق بواسطة کاميرا عالية الدقة والماسح الضوئي في التصوير متعدد الأطياف (MSI) ، والفحوص التشخيصية باستخدام التصوير متعدد الأطياف (VIS-UV-IR) ، وعزل وتحديد الفطريات ، والتحقيق في الشکل السطحي و نوع الحيوان باستخدام أنواع مختلفة من المجاهر: المجهر الضوئي الرقمي، المجهر الاستريو (SM) ، المجهر الاستقطابي (PM) ، ايضا تم تحديد نوع الحبر ، ومواد الدباغة بواسطة التحليل الطيفي بالأشعة تحت الحمراء (FTIR) ، وتم تحديدنوع الحبر بواسطة حيود الأشعة السينية (XRD) ، وتم قياس السمک للقطعة. بالإضافة إلى اقتراح طريقة جديدة للعرض المتحفى للوثيقة حيث أن طريقة العرض الحالية هي إلى حد ما السبب الذي تسبب في تلف القطعة. وقد أوضحت نتائج الفحوصات للعينات أن نوع الجلد المستخدم هو الأغنام مقارنة بالعينات القياسية. کما أظهرت نتائج حيود الأشعة السينية أن الحبر الأسود المستخدم هو الحبر الکربونى. بالإضافة إلى ذلک ، أظهرت النتائج اختلافا في أرقام نتائج قياس السمک للقطعة مما يدل بطريقة أو بأخرى على أن عملية التصنيع لم تکن مثالية. کما أثبتت نتائج FTIR تلف وتدهور الکولاجين في الوثيقة الجلدية ، وکان الوسيط الصمغ العربي والجلد المدبوغ تم دباغته بالتانين (الدباغة النباتية). أوضح عزل الکائنات الحية الدقيقة أن الفطريات المعزولة من هي: Aspergillus niger و Aspergillus sulphureus و Aspergillus versicolor و Aspergillus sydowii و Penicillium chrysogenum و Penicillium islandicum و Alternaria Alternus و Aspergillgillus flavus. وأخيرا ، کان تخزين المخطوطة رديئا للغاية مما أدى إلى جوانب مختلفة من التدهور. ودفع ذلک المؤلفين إلى اقتراح طريقة جديدة للعرض المتحفى للوثيقة الجلدية الأثرية.

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”.

STONE Pietre Egizie: a Free Mobile Application for Promoting the Scientific Research on Ornamental Stones of Museo Egizio of Torino, Italy

A free mobile application was realized to offer to a wide audience an alternative key to unravel the collection displayed at the Egyptian Museum of Torino, strengthening the link between classical and scientific knowledge. Many of the exhibits are carved in various types of stones, exploited at different locations. Indeed, Egypt is an extremely rich country in terms of ornamental stones, which are very durable and widely used by ancient Egyptians to represent their aspiration to eternity. STONE Pietre Egizie is an application focusing on 50 exhibits arranged in 11 halls, chosen depending on their historical and artistic importance but, importantly, also selected on the basis of the stone material adopted for their workmanship. Within STONE Pietre Egizie, the selected finds are part of thematic itineraries through which the user can discover the museum from the cultural and archaeological point of view and, at the same time, learn geological details about the used stone materials. The visitor will be driven through twenty-one different types of rocks, each of them characterized by the petrographic macro- and microscopic description, the picture, the quarrying district of the material, and the geology of the source area. The application is free and accessible to everyone from the App Store and Google Play for Apple and Android devices, respectively.

Low Cost Handheld 3D Scanning for Egyptian Architectural Artifacts Acquisition

Surface reconstruction of objects using photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning systems (TLS) has been a topic for research for many decades, especially for culture heritage data recording. Recently, many advances into these systems are now available in the market, which give the availability of collecting a huge number of geo-referenced 3-D points covering any object surface. Due to speed and efficiency of data acquisition by means of terrestrial laser scanners, researchers and designers can select the reliable technique, depending on their application, that can be complete to give good results for the complex surfaces such as heritage objects. As Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), located nearby the Giza Pyramids, is set to open by 2020, which considered as the largest museum from its type all over the world, with a huge area covered about a half million m2. GEM is proposed to be a unique museum all over the world for presenting a huge number from old history Egyptian artifacts. Consequently, there is a vital need for building a huge digital database containing complete information for this large number of artifacts. Mobile applications are presently at the primacy of documenting historical and archaeological sites. The current paper examine the methodological framework adopted for one high copy of Pharaonic artifacts, namely Offering Carrier, using hand held laser scanning and convert the results to a mobile application.

Factors affecting pre-visit destination image: application on the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM)

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate through an empirical research the factors that would attract visitors to heritage and cultural sites as museums applied on the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). The paper aims to study the impact of the proposed attraction features learning/knowledge, museum facilities, fun/entertainment and socializing and accessibility/location on pre-visit destination image. Design/methodology/approach The author started by a thorough literature review to arrive to the suggested conceptual model, which is tested by adopting a quantitative approach where data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire from a convenient sample of 300 respondents with 90% response rate and used partial least squares – structure equation modelling using Smart PLS v.3.2.8. Findings The results show that three of the tested factors were accepted and one was rejected. Practical implications Management of GEM, which will be one of the biggest museums world-wide, can make use of the empirical results of this research to enhance their understanding of the factors that impact pre-visit destination image, and thus, most attract visitors to justify the budget set in this huge project and achieve highest visitation and revenue Originality/value This research deals with a new museum that has not opened its doors yet and will start functioning in late 2020, and thus, the pre-visit image of the museum is not based on previous experience of visitors but rather on secondary sources as messages sent to visitors based on attraction features, while most previous studies dealt with post-visit image of museums

Publishing a funerary Stela in the Egyptian Museum in Tokyo

The paper publishes of a funerary stela which is now exhibited in the Shibuya Egyptian Museum at Tokyo and registered with the inv. no. AEM1043. It is made of limestone and measure about H. 28.4 cm W. 18.0 cm H. Its provenance is the Serapium of Saqqara with unknown dating. It is a flat top stela and divided into two registers. It shows the Apis bull in the recess at the top standing in a small naos. The first register shows a kingly figure presents offerings before the enthroned Osiris, and Isis stands behind, while the second one portrays an interesting depiction of a female maid is taking care of the dead's feet. Unfortunately, the stela lacks an inscription text to facilitate recognizing for the identity, character and give a precise dating. The paper investigates its funerary scenes and figure out a precise dating through its funeral art. The paper concludes that the stela is most often relates to the deceased woman, as one of the Greek elites in Memphis during the 4th century BC.

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.

A Group of Unpublished Objects from a Foundation Deposit for King Thutmose III from the Temple of Amun, Djeserakhet, at Deir el-Bahari

This paper explores 32 inscribed objects from foundation deposits of the Temple of Thutmose III, Djeserakhet, at Deir el-Bahari. They contain ointment jars, chisels, saws, axes, surveyor’s stakes, ‘Opening of the Mouth’ adzes, a grinder, and a model of a rocker. They are kept at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the museum database records that they were found at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna; however, the method of acquisition is unknown. This paper evaluates these pieces of information in light of the inscriptions on these objects and other objects from foundation deposits for the same king from the same site, Djeserakhet (which are scattered in different museums around the world), to reconstruct their archaeological context. This paper also notes the current museum inventory numbers of these objects to create a network of the entire group. It closely scrutinizes these objects, their inscriptions, the techniques used for engraving them, and the addressed deity.

DOCUMENTATION HISTORY IN THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM CAIRO AND ITS IMPACT ON COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT

Egyptian Museum Cairo is considered one of the largest museums all over the world, containing ancient Egyptian antiquities telling the history of ancient Egyptians' lives; more one hundred sixty thousand objects are on display and the thousands else are in the basement and upper floor magazines. Those objects are representing different ancient periods from the lithic periods to Greco-Roman via Pharaonic periods.