DOI issue:
Egypt
DOI article:Godziejewski, Zbigniew: Saqqara 2007: Conservation work
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42093#0230
SAQQARA
EGYPT
SAQQARA 2007: CONSERVATION WORK
Zbigniew Godziejewski
Conservation work in the present season
covered the full range of activities, from
ongoing monitoring and treatment of the
salt-concentrations problem in the Old
Kingdom chapels through preservation of
newly-excavated structures and burials to
treatment of wooden objects uncovered in
the course of the excavations.
A. CONSERVATION IN THE OLD KINGDOM
FUNERARY CHAPELS
Salt concentrations on the walls of Chapel
15 (tomb of Nyankhnefertem), first
observed in the 2005 season, continued to
pose a serious problem for the conservation
team. The reason lies surely in the heavy
rainfall noted in Saqqara in the winter of
2005 when the underlying rock, in which
the chapel is cut, absorbed an excess of
water. The nearby Chapel of the Vizier
Merefnebef, protected by the shelter built
by the mission over it, did not absorb as
much water and consequently was hardly
affected by this problem.
Considering that there were no new
concentrations after the chapel walls were
cleaned at the beginning of the season (in
2006, the entire two months of the field
campaign were devoted to treating a
recurring problem), the quantity of salt
concentrations in this chapel can be said to
be gradually diminishing.
Salt concentrations observed in Chapel
15 were of two kinds. Those in the upper
part of the walls (up from c. 1.10 m above
the floor) took on the form of extremely
thin needles hanging in clusters. These
appeared on all walls inside the chapel as
well as on the facade and the lateral walls of
the facade. The surface of the inscribed
“lintel” was most affected, especially in the
most destroyed part. It is likely that the poor
preservation of this part is actually due to
repeated salt attacks in the past, which can
now be attributed to the specific internal
stratification of the rock in this place. This
kind of salt concentrations was removed
mechanically, using bristle brushes of
varying hardness.
In the lower parts of the walls, the salt
concentrations came in the form of a hard
crust characterized by sharp and coarse
surfaces. This crust is very difficult to
remove as its state of petrification does not
permit easy dissolution in water. It has
caused peeling and crumbling of a thin
superficial rock layer in places. Mechanical
cleaning with scalpels and hard brushes is of
limited usefulness. A chemical analysis of
224
Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007
EGYPT
SAQQARA 2007: CONSERVATION WORK
Zbigniew Godziejewski
Conservation work in the present season
covered the full range of activities, from
ongoing monitoring and treatment of the
salt-concentrations problem in the Old
Kingdom chapels through preservation of
newly-excavated structures and burials to
treatment of wooden objects uncovered in
the course of the excavations.
A. CONSERVATION IN THE OLD KINGDOM
FUNERARY CHAPELS
Salt concentrations on the walls of Chapel
15 (tomb of Nyankhnefertem), first
observed in the 2005 season, continued to
pose a serious problem for the conservation
team. The reason lies surely in the heavy
rainfall noted in Saqqara in the winter of
2005 when the underlying rock, in which
the chapel is cut, absorbed an excess of
water. The nearby Chapel of the Vizier
Merefnebef, protected by the shelter built
by the mission over it, did not absorb as
much water and consequently was hardly
affected by this problem.
Considering that there were no new
concentrations after the chapel walls were
cleaned at the beginning of the season (in
2006, the entire two months of the field
campaign were devoted to treating a
recurring problem), the quantity of salt
concentrations in this chapel can be said to
be gradually diminishing.
Salt concentrations observed in Chapel
15 were of two kinds. Those in the upper
part of the walls (up from c. 1.10 m above
the floor) took on the form of extremely
thin needles hanging in clusters. These
appeared on all walls inside the chapel as
well as on the facade and the lateral walls of
the facade. The surface of the inscribed
“lintel” was most affected, especially in the
most destroyed part. It is likely that the poor
preservation of this part is actually due to
repeated salt attacks in the past, which can
now be attributed to the specific internal
stratification of the rock in this place. This
kind of salt concentrations was removed
mechanically, using bristle brushes of
varying hardness.
In the lower parts of the walls, the salt
concentrations came in the form of a hard
crust characterized by sharp and coarse
surfaces. This crust is very difficult to
remove as its state of petrification does not
permit easy dissolution in water. It has
caused peeling and crumbling of a thin
superficial rock layer in places. Mechanical
cleaning with scalpels and hard brushes is of
limited usefulness. A chemical analysis of
224
Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007