A TECHNICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ROMAN PLASTERS, LUXOR TEMPLE, UPPER EGYPT

Authors

  • Hussein Marey Mahmoud Department of Conservation, Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.
  • Nikolaos Kantiranis Department of Mineralogy-Petrology-Economic Geology, Aristotle University, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
  • John Stratis Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Aristotle University, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

Keywords:

Roman plasters, Luxor temple, XRPD, SEM−EDS, µ-Raman, FT–IR

Abstract

The present paper aims to characterize some Roman plasters from the reign of the Emperor Diocletian in the late 3rd century AD. These plasters were applied over Pharaonic walls from the reign of Amenhotep III (c.1402–1364 BC) at Luxor temple, Upper Egypt. For the characterization of theses plasters, several analytical techniques were applied such as optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron mi-croscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDS), X-ray powder diffffraction analysis (XRPD), micro Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies (µ-Raman and FT–IR). Based on the results of these analyses, the stratigraphic structure of the plaster layers was identifified as fifine coat ‘intonaco’ which is based mainly on lime and coarse coat ‘arriccio’ which consists of silica sand, phases of calcium carbonates and difffferent pozzolanic additives. Moreover, the results revealed the green pigment as green earth (celadonite), the red pigment as red ochre, the yellow pigment as yellow ochre and the white pigment as calcium carbonate. The obtained data helped in improving our knowledge of some materials used during the Roman age in Egypt.

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Published

2023-07-27

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2012)

Section

Articles