ANALYTICAL STUDY OF TWO WALL PAINTINGS FROM KOM OSHIEM EXCAVATION (EL-FAYOUM- EGYPT).

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Department of Conservation, Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, Egypt

Abstract

This paper presents an analytical study of two wall paintings dating back to the 3rd Century A.D.
Both wall paintings were discovered at kom Oshiem (El Fayoum, Egypt) in 1975 by the Faculty of
Archaeology excavation mission, Cairo University. The study involved identification of the pigments,
plaster layers and binding media. Several analytical methods were employed for the identification
process such as light optical microscopy (LOM), Scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy
dispersive X-ray analyzer (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared
spectroscopy (FTIR). The obtained data will be used to evaluate the deterioration status of the wall
paintings and define suitable treatment methods.

Keywords