AN INVESTIGATION OF POLYCHROME RELIEFS FROM PTOLEMAIC RUINS IN UPPER EGYPT

Multiple analytical techniques were applied to testing inorganic pigments and renders on the surviving ruins of the temple of Ptolemy XII (117‒51 BC) at Tell Atrib, Upper Egypt. The samples were analyzed by handheld digital microscope, the visible reflectance spectroscopy (VRS), the environmental scanning electron together with the energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis unit (ESEM-EDXMA), and the attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR). The results showed that the blue pigment is a kind of Egyptian blue characterized with its semi-fined texture, while the green tonalities were produced using green earth pigments “dioctahedral mica group”. The residues of the dark reddish-brown pigment were identified as red ochre. The underlying smoothed render layer consists mainly of gypsum and calcite. The detection of calcium oxalate films on the painted reliefs was also reported.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC

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