Silicate clasts inside the analysed sample makes it probable to exclude
Silicate clasts in the analysed sample tends to make it achievable to exclude with good approximation that the material utilized comes from this sector of Egypt and, in specific, from the delta region of your Nile. In the southern sector of Egypt, on the other hand, sedimentary rocks from the Cretaceous age referred towards the Nubian Sandstone Formation take place [39]. Even the outcrop location of these sandstones could be excluded as the area of origin on the raw material, because the Nubian sandstones are really pure and almost exclusively made up of quartz clasts. AS-0141 Inhibitor Finally, the eastern sector of Egypt is characterized by the presence of very ancient crystalline rocks (pre-Cambrian in age, corresponding over to 500 million years), that are named Arab-Nubian shield. To this geological unit belongs both the well-known Aswan granites and metamorphic units of continental crust [40]. Granites pretty hardly ever contain white mica and therefore it can be excluded that the material comes in the Aswan region. Alternatively, the diverse metamorphic units out cropping within the Tianeptine sodium salt Epigenetic Reader Domain Egyptian Eastern Desert are characterized by metamorphic conditions favourable for the stability of phengitic mica. In specific, the eastern desert is crossed by the Wadi Hammamat, an ancient road link involving the Nile and also the Red Sea, frequented by the Ancient Egyptians since the fourth dynasty and especially in the Ramesseid era, a period to which the production of your Papyrus of your Mines also dates back [41]. As a result, depending on the mineralogical information collected utilizing the SEM evaluation, it’s doable to infer that the raw material for the covering layer of the sculpture is compatible with Egyptian territory. Almost certainly it comes from areas of the eastern desert and was transported along the Wadi Hammamat, though other sources like the Nile delta and also the Aswan location are to be excluded. three.1.three. Other Pigments The red pigment within the sample A (taken in the wig) was attributed to red ochre because from SEM-EDX analysis it turns out to become wealthy in iron with minor contents of other components like silicon, aluminium, magnesium and potassium (Figure S1). The outcome was confirmed also by implies of micro-PIXE measurements. Red ochre was an incredibly frequent pigment utilised beginning from the fourth millennium BCE by way of the Roman period [23]. All of the white layers employed as preparation, both in sample A and sample B, are made of calcite, yet another very popular material employed in Ancient Egypt starting in the Predynastic Period [23]. No presence of sulphur as primary element was observed, excluding the usage of gypsum or anhydrite. Furthermore, from preliminary micro-PIXE (Figure S4) analysis no specific differences have been observed in minor and trace elements (Si, S, Cl, Fe and Cu) inside the intermediate and very first layers, although the result is just not adequate to hypothesize a contemporaneity from the two layers. For what issues the decorative components, FT-IR analysis (Figure S5) carried out on a sample from the white belt have shown the presence of huntite, Mg3 Ca(CO3 )4 , a carbonate mineral which delivers a brighter white than calcite. Its use in Ancient Egypt is documented starting from third millennium BCE [23]. No analyses have been considered necessary to understand the artwork for conservation purposes on black and yellow decorations. The black pigment is produced probably of charcoal or carbon also considering their robust absorption in IR pictures, and also the yellow pigment was attributed to yellow ochre, in consideration of literature, its hue and mor.
