Insights into Wood Species and Woodworking Techniques in Corn Mummy Coffins from the Ptolemaic Period, Ancient Egypt

What is it about?

This study aims to obtain more information about wood species and woodworking techniques in the Ptolemaic period and the timber trade between Egypt and neighboring countries. Fifteen wooden coffins and wooden coffins' fragments of Osirian pseudo-mummies dating back to the Ptolemaic period (332–30 BCE) discovered by the excavations of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) south of Abusir and north of Saqqara in 2018 have been selected for this study. Optical and spectroscopic investigation techniques, including the USB Digital Microscope, Optical Microscopy (OM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (ESEM-EDS), and Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), were used to identify wood species and study the technology of woodworking. The results obtained in this work demonstrate that Lebanese cedar, juniper, and Mediterranean cypress were selected for making panels for the coffins' sides and bases. The dowels and tenons are made of Christ’s thorn, acacia-umbrella thorn, tamarisk, and the small pieces of softwood species that dropped during woodworking. In addition to repairs of wood defects and improperly fitting joints by traditional methods, this study identified a Ptolemaic-developed technique for repairing wood defects caused by insect attacks by the application of a mixture of softwood sawdust and white paste (CaCO3). Date palm branches were selected for the handle of the brush used to apply the black resin to the Osiris mummies.

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