Non-invasive MA-XRPD and MA-XRF analysis of Egyptian wooden funerary stelae from the Hellenic National Archaeological Museum

NON-INVASIVE MA-XRPD AND MA-XRF ANALYSIS OF EGYPTIAN
WOODEN FUNERARY STELAE FROM THE HELLENIC NATIONAL
ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

Francesca Falcone,1,2 Nikoletta Kanella Kladouri,4,5 Michela Botticelli,1,2 Kalliopi Tsampa,4 Eva
Luna Ravan,1,3 Gianluca Santagati,1,2 Argyro Grigoraki,5 Panagiotis Lazaris,5 Ioannis Panagakos,5
Kalliopi Tsakri,5 Francesco Paolo Romano,1,2 Costanza Miliani,1 Andreas Germanos Karydas,4
Claudia Caliri1,2

1Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio Culturale, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISPC-CNR), Italy
2Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (INFN-LNS), Italy
3Department of Science of Antiquities, University of Rome ‘Sapienza’, Italy
4Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics, NCSR ‘Demokritos’, Greece
5Hellenic National Archaeological Museum, Greeece

Egyptian wooden funerary stelae were used from the Old Kingdom to the Third Intermediate
Period, covering a period of about 1500 years, with their highest prevalence during the New
Kingdom.[1] The stelae in the Egyptian Antiquities Collection of the Hellenic National
Archaeological Museum (HNAM) in Athens, Greece, are part of a donation from Alexandros
Rostovits, a Greek expatriate and antiquities collector from Cairo who donated his collection to the
museum in 1904. Likely from the 25th Dynasty (712-664 BC), these funerary objects preserved the
deceased's name and ensured divine protection through symbolic imagery and hieroglyphic
inscriptions.
Advanced analytical techniques on artwork paint layers reveal production processes, evolution of
colour palettes over time, and degradation patterns of these wooden artifacts. In this study, through
non-invasive X-ray-based techniques available at the XRAYLab laboratory of ISPCCNR in
Catania and INPP-NCSR “Demokritos” in Athens, seven Egyptian stelae from the collection of the
HNAM were analyzed. The investigation, including MA-XRD and MA-XRF mapping, enabled
the identification of chemical elements and mineralogical phases in the pigments and preparation
materials. Results revealed significant Ca content, in some cases associated with sulfur, indicating
variations in support preparation.[2] In red pigments two distinct types of compounds were
identified, Fe and As based, while in the yellows there is only arsenic. Only one stela presents a
different type of red, with a mixture of minium and hematite, and ochre for the yellow pigments;
of this minimum is mostly associated with the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.[3] Traces of Pb and
Sn were identified in Cu-based pigments, indicating that some samples may have been produced
using an alternative method, where leaded bronze scraps were reused as copper source for the
synthesis of Egyptian blue.[4] The data obtained suggests that pigment use may define different
production classes, correlated with stylistic variations in the decorative representations of the
artifacts, in line with the production period. The results of this study, integrated with archaeological
research, significantly enhance the understanding of materials, sources, and production techniques
of Egyptian funerary stelae, placing them within more defined historical periods.

Acknowledgements: PNRR projects: 1) CHANGES, “Science and Technologies for Sustainable Diagnostics of
Cultural Heritage”, PE0000020, CUP B53C22003890006; 2) H2IOSC “Humanities and Cultural Heritage Italian Open Science
Cloud”, IR0000029, CUP B63C22000730005; 2; E-RIHS European Infrastructure of Heritage Science (E-RIHS).

[1] M. Abdelrahiem. Studien Zur Altägyptischen Kultur 2011, 40, 1–8.
[2] M. F. Ali et al., Egyptian Journal of Archaeological and Restoration Studies 2022, 12, 187-196.
[3] D. A. Scott., Stud. Conserv. 2016, 61, 185–202.
[4] S. Schiegl, A .E. Goresy, Archaeometry 2006, 48, 707-709.