INVESTIGATION OF ENVIRONMENTALLY DRIVEN DETERIORATION OF DIORITE STATUES IN MUT TEMPLE, EGYPT AND CONCEPTS FOR CONSERVATION

Abstract

Mut temple is located at the south of the great temple of Karnak. Most of parts at this temple be- longed to the king Amenhotep III, who furnished it with hundreds of statues of the goddess Mut in her leonine shape of Sekhmet. Amenhotep set up these statues in diorite which had been used in many important ancient Egyptian monuments during the heights of ancient Egyptian civilization. These diorite statues were subjected to different kinds of physical, chemical and biological altera- tion as a consequence of their exposure to the direct action of aggressive atmospheric agents (tem- perature, humidity, wind, chemical weathering and salts pressure) so, They suffer from different deterioration phenomena such as missing parts, erosion of stone, presence of cracks and micro cracks, disintegration of some parts, crystallization of salts and dirt. A correct evaluation of degra- dation processes is needed in order to find the appropriate conservation and restoration treat- ments. For this purpose, an integrated study of the diorite samples in the Mut temple and the evaluation of their conservation conditions were carried out. Little systematic investigation has been done as polarizing microscope (PM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) attached with en- ergy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), light optical microscope (LOM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and chemical analysis of water to identify their components. Finally, discussed the important recom- mendations for the restoration, treatment and conservation of diorite statues were carried out.