Scientific Techniques for Analysis and Diagnosis of Painting Materials: Case Studies of Ancient Egyptian Wall Paintings

The wall paintings inside the ancient Egyptian tombs and temples are decorated with a chromatic palette contains pigments of a wide range of sources. The analytical investigations of the ancient painting materials bring us much information on developments in technologies of ancient cultures. For the conservation and restoration of wall paintings, it is indispensable to determine the structure, chemical composition and chromatic characteristics of the studied materials. The present analytical approach was devoted to investigate some Egyptian wall paintings belong to different chronological times and to diagnose the main weathering forms. Therefore, investigations were undertaken to gather mineralogical, spectroscopic, chemical and chromatic characteristics of the studied wall paintings. These measurements can therefore contribute to the answering of technical art historical questions, such as the deduction of the original appearance of the object, painting techniques, authenticity and the establishment of the chemical and physical conditions before conservation and restoration.