1

Italian - Egyptian Workshop on Sciences and Technologies applied to Cultural Heritage I

(STACH 1)

Cairo, Flamenco Hotel December 11th – 13th, 2016

Chairpersons

Giuseppina Capriotti Vittozzi Italian Archaeological Centre – IIC, Cairo

Marina Baldi Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche – IBIMET, Roma

2

Italian - Egyptian Workshop on Sciences and Technologies applied to Cultural Heritage I

(STACH 1)

Background and objectives The workshop would open a wide and integrated view on sciences and technologies applied to Cultural Heritage, in particular to Egyptian Archaeology. The event main aim is to strengthen the collaborations between Italian and Egyptian research teams, continuing the road open by the Italian-Egyptian Workshop “Archaeology and Environment” (Aswan, November 2013) and the very important meeting of 100 Italian and Egyptian researchers hold in Turin (June 2015), strongly sustained by the former President of the National Research Council of Italy and the Egyptian Ministry of Scientific Research. The workshop will also display some features of the Italian archaeological work in Egypt following the path of the conference "Italian Research on Egyptology: from Ippolito Rosellini to current archeological projects" (Cairo, October 2014), organized by the Director of the Italian Cultural institute. Moreover, the workshop aspires to meet the demand for training by the Ministry of Antiquities, opening the doors to a wide number of young functionaries. The program starts presenting results from some joint research projects already in existence. The lectures range from archaeology, to environment, to observation technologies as satellite remote sensing, and analysis of materials with conservation techniques. In particular, the session on archaeology will illustrate research results on the important area of the Suez Canal, focused by the Ministry of Antiquities through the Suez Project. The workshop includes laboratories to enhance the participation of young scholars, who will be able to display and discuss their experiences. Topics: Archaeology, Meteorology, Spectroscopy, Biology, Chemistry, Satellite Remote Sensing, Photogrammetry, Geophysical survey, IT/ICT

3

Program Sunday, December 11th 9.00 Registration of participants

Morning 9:30 – 10:00 Opening Session Welcome speeches - Italian and Egyptian Authorities

Paolo Sabbatini, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Cairo Samia El Marghany, Director of Research and Conservation Centre, Ministry of Antiquities Mohamed Ismail, Supervisor of the Permanent Committees and Foreign Missions, Ministry of Antiquities Giuseppina Capriotti Vittozzi, Manager of the Italian Archaeological Centre – IIC, Cairo

10.00 – 10.30 Claudio Margottini, Italian Scientific Attaché, Cairo

Reducing UNESCO Heritage losses through proactive geosciences

10.30 - 11.00 Christian Greco, Museo Egizio, Turin Dialogue between Egyptology and Sciences: Archaeometry as a

tool, Research as an end 11.00 – 11.30 Randa Abdel-Karim, Engineering Center for Archeology Faculty

of Engineering, Cairo University Application of Nanotechnology in the Field of Conservation of

Cultural Heritage 11:30 – 12:00 Coffee Break 12.00 – 12.30 Venice Gouda, National Research Centre, Cairo Strategies for the conservation of metallic cultural heritage in

the frame of Italy-Egypt cooperation 12.30 – 13.00 Emma Angelini – S. Grassini, Polytechnic of Turin, Tailored cleaning procedures for metallic cultural heritage

artefacts 13.00 -13.30 Donatella Cavezzali, ISCR- Istituto Superiore Conservazione

Restauro, Rome Sharing Knowledge through training ISCR training activities to the conservation of Egyptian cultural properties

4

13.30 - 14.00 Taha Mattar, Central Metallurgical Research & Development Institute

Egyptian-Roman heritage: a concrete relationship 14.00 - 14.30 Daniele Malfitana together with Antonino Mazzaglia, National

Research Council of Italy - IBAM Producing knowledge in Archaeological practice and Cultural Heritage Research

14.30 - 15.30 Lunch Afternoon Session I – Archaeology, Chair Giuseppina Capriotti Vittozzi 15.30-15.50 Mohamed Abdel Maksoud, Egyptian mission in Tell Hebua Tell Heboua, the Eastern gate of Egypt 15.50-16.10 Giuseppe Squillace, Calabria University

The area of the modern Suez Canal in the Graeco-Roman sources 16.10-16.30 Annalinda Iacoviello, Tor Vergata University of Rome

New archaeological Excavations in Tell el-Maskhuta 16.30 -17.00 Coffee break 17.00-17.20 Sayd Abdel-Alim, Ministry of Antiqities

New excavations in Tell Dafnah 17.20-17.40 Mahmoud Ragab, Ministry of Antiqities The Disappeared Blocks from Tjeky Temple. 18.00 – 18.30 Discussion 18.30 Inauguration of the exhibition The Pharaonic Egypt of Alberto

Carlo Carpiceci

Monday, 12 December Morning Session I – Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage

Chair Donatella Cavezzali 9.15 – 9.35 Badawi Ismail, South Valley University Conservation management and technology in museum storage

5

9.35 – 9.55 Giuseppe Fanfoni, Centro Italo-Egiziano per il Restauro e l'Archeologia

Technologies and techniques applied to the restoration, in the CIERA work-site school

9.55 – 10.15 Moamen Othman, Ministry of Antiquities From scattered to integrated: using virtual Restoration for reassembling papyrus the book of the dead of Mnw Hr –xt from 18th Dynasty

10.15 – 10.35 Cristina Vazio, Conservator Conservation of wall paintings in Khonsu Temple, Karnak 10.35 – 10.50 Discussion 10.50 – 11.20 Coffee Break Session II – Observation technologies environment Chair Mohamed Hamdan 11:20 – 11:40 Marina Baldi, National Research Council of Italy - IBIMET

Climate change and cultural heritage: knowing the impacts for conservation measures identification

11:40 – 12:00 Magdy Kamal Badir Beshayb, Egyptian Meteorological Authority, Cairo Extreme climate events over Egypt, a case study in Alexandria

12:00 – 12:20 Hanan Elhaes, Medhat Ibrahim, National Research Centre & Ain Shams University, Cairo Cost Effective Natural Materials for Remediation of Heavy Metals from Wastewater

12.20 – 12.40 Paola Grenni, together with - Martina Cardoni - Martina Di Lenola - Anna Barra Caracciolo, National Research Council of Italy - IRSA

Fluorescence in situ hybridization technique as useful tool for detecting biodeteriogens of Cultural Heritage

12.40 – 12.55 Discussion Session III – Observation technologies, environment

Chair Medhat Ibrahim 12.55 – 13.15 Mohamed Hamdan, Cairo University

Geoarchaeology and Nile floodplain evolution of Saqqara-Memphis area

13.15 – 13.35 Marilena Cozzolino, Molise University Geophysics for archaeology: methodologies and case histories

6

13.35 – 13.55 Magdy Ahmed Atya, National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics Initiating an Interactive Geo-informative Map for the Valley of the Golden Mummies (VGM), Bahariya Oases, Giza, Egypt. Particular results of STDF 4168 Basic and Applied Sciences

13.55 – 14.10 Discussion 14.10 -15.10 Lunch Break Afternoon 15.10 – 16.10 Laboratories:

Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage Analysis of Materials in Archeology

Observation technologies Session IV – Analysis of Materials in Archeology – Chair Taha Mattar 16.10 – 16.30 Marco Ferretti, National Research Council of Italy - ITABC, Rome

First outcomes of the NRC-CNR bilateral project “Joint instrumental investigation of museum collections as a means of enhancing Cultural Heritage and strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration

16.30 – 16.50 Hamed Abdel-Aleem, Central Metallurgical Research & Development Institute

Identification, analysis and repair of failures in metallic artecrafts by advanced non-destructive testing

16.50 – 17.20 Coffee break 17.20 – 17.40 Islam Mohamed Ezzat, Ministry of Antiquities Gamma Radiation Technology in Producing Co-polymers for

Specific Applications on Ancient Textiles Islam 17.40 – 18.00 Rafaat Ahmed, Central Metallurgical Research & Development

Institute Investment casting/ lost wax technology for production of replicas

18.00 – 18.20 Khaled Sadek - Ahmed Abdel-Azim, Central Metallurgical Research & Development Institute

Advanced physico-chemical and mechanical techniques for characterization of artecrafts

7

18.20 – 18.35 Discussion

Tuesday, 13 December Morning Session I – Observation technologies, environment – Chair Marina Baldi 9.30 – 10.00 Fathi Saleh, CULTNAT, Cairo The Suez Canal from the time of the pharaohs up till today 10.00 – 10.20 Bruno Marcolongo, National Research Council of Italy - IRPI Nile & Red Sea 10.20 – 10.40 Chris Stewart, Tor Vergata University of Rome

Presentation on the application of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for archaeological research in Egypt

10.40 – 11.10 Coffee Break 11.10 - 11.30 Rosa Maria Salvatori, National Research Council of Italy - IIA,

Rome Multispectral remote sensing as a tool for enviromental and archeological studies

11.30 – 11.50 El-Sayed Abbas Zaghloul, National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS), Cairo The Origin of the Archaeological Sites On the Nile Delta Region , Egypt

11.50 – 12.10 Discussion Session II – Observation technologies – Chair Bruno Marcolongo 12.10 – 12.30 Marco Carpiceci, Sapienza University of Rome

Digital model, acquisition and processing: the new technologies for architectural survey

12.30 – 12.50 Francis Amin, Luxor University, Photography for Archaeology 12.50 – 13.10 Andrea Angelini, National Research Council of Italy - ITABC,

Rome The study of hieroglyphics trough image-based system. A

methodological approach for the representation of the numerical models

13.10 - 13.30 Costantino Campisi, National Research Council of Italy - IBB, Rome

3D modeling and printing for anatomical specimens of archaeological interest

8

13.30 – 13.45 Discussion 13.45 - 14.45 Lunch Break Afternoon 14.45 – 15.45 Laboratory: Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage

Analysis of Materials in Archeology Observation technologies

Session IV – Information Technologies – Chair Mohamed Farouk 15.45 – 16.05 Barbara Maurina together with Franco Finotti , Fondazione

Museo Civico di Rovereto Science and new technologies applied to archaeology in a modern museum: the case of the Foundation of the Rovereto Civic Museum

16.05 – 16.25 Mohamed Farouk, CULTNAT, Cairo 3D, VR, and AR for Culture Heritage 16.25 –16.55 Coffee break 16.55 – 17.15 Khaled Abdel Ghani, Central Metallurgical Research &

Development Institute Application of three dimensional (3D) simulation methods for

monuments restoration 17.15 - 17.35 Assayed el-Banna, Ministry of Antiquities

Using 3D applications in archaeological awareness programs for school children

17.35 – 17.55 Discussion 17.55 – 18.05 Piero Donato, President of the Italian Hospital in Cairo -

Costantino Campisi, National Research Council of Italy - IBB Award ceremony 18.05 – 18.30 Closing Session: Conclusion and recommendations 18.30 END of CONFERENCE

9

THE STUDY OF HIEROGLYPHICS TROUGH IMAGE-BASED SYSTEM. A METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH FOR THE REPRESENTATION

OF THE NUMERICAL MODELS

A. Angelini National Research Council of Italy - ITABC

The purpose of the experimentation was to check if image-based system can be considered an effective method of study and analysis in the epigraphic field. The study of epigraphic texts is usually conducted through contact examination. The physical contact might be invasive and it is sometimes impossible due to the dimension of the object examined. The research started from the chemical and physical characteristics of the Egyptian stones. Indeed the complex and discontinuous pattern of the stones allows to have a better answer from the photogrammetric algorithms. The experimentation was carried out with the photogrammetric system, well known as SFM (Structure From Motion). This technique allows to make free shots without any constrain and with a reflex camera. The generation of 3D point clouds of the epigraphs would assure an accurate base model for metric analysis of the object in a virtual space. With the integration of other applications it is possible to make different elaborations for a better representation of the data.

TAILORED CLEANING PROCEDURES FOR METALLIC CULTURAL HERITAGE ARTEFACTS

E. Angelini1, E. Di Francia1, S. Grassini1, M. Parvis2

1Politecnico di Torino, Dipartimento di Scienza Applicata e Tecnologia, Torino 2 Politecnico di Torino, Dipartimento di Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni, Torino

Conservation is the action of preserving artifacts, which are the irreplaceable remains of the past. Their preservation is essential from a historical, social and cultural point of view and it should ensure that the cultural heritage assets are available for examination today and in the future. Conservation of metallic artefacts is a process that includes a range of different treatments. Cleaning is one of the critical steps of the conservation procedures and involves the stabilization of the material and the exposure of hidden details on the surface of the metallic artifact. As the artifacts are often fragile and it is mandatory to choose tailored techniques and methods to avoid any damage. The removal of contaminants from a metallic artifact removes potential sources of deterioration too. Furthermore, cleaning is a preparatory process for successive treatments such as the surface coating or the joining of broken parts. In recent years advances in technology have developed tools that are revolutionizing conservation techniques, as the use of high-intensity light (lasers) for surface cleaning of artifacts. As a matter of facts, the cleaning of metallic artifacts was usually accomplished using mechanical or chemical methods chosen by taking into account the kind of material involved and the condition of the artifact. Mechanical cleaning techniques involve a wide range of tools. Chemical cleaning is accomplished by dissolving the contaminant or by causing something to react with it. Both the methods require skill and + operator experience since damage of the artifact due to over cleaning can easily occur. Lasers are supposed to remove/clean undesirable contaminants as well as old and decayed conservation materials meanwhile preserving the original material. The technology is based on the selective vaporisation of an optically absorbing substance such as a contaminant from the reflective underlying surface. Cleaning of different materials using laser radiation has been studied and compared with the other methods and allowed to obtain good results. This study is devoted to the optimisation of tailored laser cleaning procedures for archaeological bronze artefacts to selectively remove dangerous corrosion products, without affecting the

10

protective patina and the metallic surface. Even if laser cleaning is still used in the cultural heritage field, it is necessary to better understand the effect of the experimental parameters and of the laser-material interactions in order to optimise the methodology and assess its real feasibility as a conservation procedure for metallic works of art. A set of artificially-aged Cu-based reference samples and some ancient coins were treated using a Q-switched Yb:YAG fiber laser. Several laser parameters, such as irradiance, scanning speed and repetition rate were considered. An evaluation of both the substrate and the corrosion products ablation thresholds was done in order to perform a focused analysis as a function of the chemical composition of the corrosion products detected by XRD and SEM-EDS analyses. The experimental findings show that, in dependence of the number of passes and the irradiance values used, chlorides and other surface contaminants were removed, while the protective patina was not damaged. In conclusion, laser cleaning confirms to be an effective technique, able to remove selectively and precisely corrosion products that hide the real surface of ancient objects. Further studies are running in order to increase the typologies of substrates and artefacts, that can be cleaned by laser treatment.

STRATEGIES FOR PROTECTION OF METALLIC CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE FRAME OF ITALY-EGYPT COOPERATION

E. Angelini1, V. Gouda2, S. Grassini1, M. Parvis3

1Dipartimento di Scienza Applicata e Technologia, Politecnico di Torino, Italy emma.angelini@polito.it

2National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt 3Dipartimento di Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni, Politecnico di Torino, Italy

In the frame of a long-lasting cooperation between Italy and Egypt in the field of Cultural Heritage, established through common European INCO-Med projects, a new project, financially supported by the Egyptian Ministry of Scientific Research and the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, will be illustrated. The project is devoted to the development of proper safeguard and valorisation strategies for the metallic artefacts stored in the basement of the Egyptian Museum of Cairo, Egypt. As a matter of facts, the artefacts on display in museums, galleries, storage rooms, etc., are affected by environmental physical and chemical factors that can constitute a threat for their conservation. Continuous control and monitoring are needed to contrast the artefacts degradation, accelerated by adverse environmental conditions as pollution or poor conservation practices. The majority of the artefacts stored in the basement have neither been catalogued, nor submitted to any chemical-physical analysis, and left for tenths of years in an uncontrolled storage environment. This huge collection of Egyptian antiquities, more than 140.000 artefacts produced in 5000 years, includes objects belonging to the royal dynasties and to every-day life (statues, stele, coffins, stones, etc.); the metallic artefacts include more than 100.000 coins, bronze statues, iron and copper tools, funerary objects. For planning proper safeguard and valorisation strategies of this important heritage, it is mandatory to catalogue them recording their conservation state, production technologies and degradation causes in order to propose tailored restoration and conservation materials and methods. A survey of the metallic artefacts, which are in serious dangerous conditions, has been just started with the final goal of correlating the corrosion products with the object nature and the environmental parameter it is exposed to. For this reason, a monitoring system suitable for assessing the environmental conditions in the basement and inside the boxes used for storing the different heritage findings, has been designed and developed. The monitoring system is composed

11

of sensing nodes for temperature and humidity; the nodes have been designed to work in the absence of wiring both for energy and for signal transmission and with the capability of transmitting data without opening the boxes to avoid hazards to the heritage objects. Some concentrators have been designed and deployed in the basement to receive measuring points measurements, with the capability of sending data through a wired or wireless. The proposed system belongs to the smart and low-cost methodologies that are designed to facilitate widespread monitoring and to prevent damaging effects on the artefacts on display. The preliminary results obtained are a promising starting point for the development for a correct conservation policy, that will evaluate the impact of the whole environment on the artefacts.

EGYPTIAN-ROMAN HERITAGES, CONCRETE RELATIONSHIP

A.K. Ismail

Central Metallurgical Research & Development Institute, Helwan akismail_11041@yahoo.com

The Greek, Roman and Egyptian heritages have been interacted since 300 years B.C till 300 years A.C. in one country, Egypt, which is a unique case in history. Alexandria was the center of this interaction, although numerous monuments were found in other places. The presentation focuses on monuments of this period already exist in Alexandria.

Pompey Pillar after the name of the Roman leader Pompey is a relic of the Serapium temple built by the people of Alexandria as a symbol of their gratitude to the Empiror of Rom for his gifts. The pillar is one piece of red granite 30 m height, 3 m diameter and 300 tons weight. Ancient Egyptian obelisks have similar functions.

Roman Amphitheater, a Polish discovery on 1960, is the only monument of its kind in Egypt and was used for musical and cultural events during the Roman period. It is made of 16 marble stairs in the form of hemicricle with a diameter ranging from 30 – 40 m. In certain point in the middle of the countryard, echo is heard all over the place.

Catacomb cemetry is burial construction carved in the rock having pharaonic, Greek and Roman influences. The statues in the trombs are of Egyptian style bearing Roman clothes and hairstyle. The cemetery is a three levels construction with spiral staircase 99 stairs, a hall for visitors and a floor of burial chamber. The Caracalla Hall contains human and animal bones massacred by one of the rulers.

Greco-Roman Museum built on 1890 housing in 27 halls treasures of Greek and Roman monuments influenced by the pharaonic arts from the 3rd Century B.C. Among the statues in that of the sacred bull Apis made from black granite, sarcophagus, mummies, metallic objects, coins and jewelry.

In Marsa Matrouh, some 300 Km west of Alexandria, the Cleopatra Bath naturally carved in massive rock is a famous monument from the Roman period. Rumors claim that Queen Cleopatra 7th met the Roman Leader Marc Antonio in this point. Sea water strikes the bath through an inlet and outlet and the bath is naturally sun heated through apertures in the rock.

The Central Metallurgical R&D Institute of Egypt, CMRDI in collaboration with Italian RTO's would be ready to investigate the relics of the Roman period in Egypt using its advanced facilities in the fields of material characterization, metal failure and nondestructive testing, 3 dimensional simulation, lost wax technology for replica production and metal coating.

12

USING 3D VIEW IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL AWARENESS PROGRAMS FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN

Assayed M. Elbanna, Muhammed A. Beltagy

Ministry of Antiquities

This paper will present the important role of 3D models in archaeological awareness programs applied to Egyptian cultural heritage that contributes to increase historical knowledge. Some educational programs for Egyptian students have been experimented by the Ministry of Antiquities, both traditional and technological. The results show a great interest in the latter during recent years. The paper focuses on: Introduction about archaeological awareness programs (objectives & methods) used

by the Ministry of Antiquities. The programs highlight the importance of 3D technologies in the

archaeological awareness process and how they facilitate the knowledge.

The experimental process was applied to three different schools representing urban

and rural contexts in Kafer Ash-Sheikh governorate areas as study case. The results show the

differences between using the current methods and using 3D technologies in the process.

Difficult & solutions for using 3D applications in the process.

Recommendations.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE KNOWING THE IMPACTS FOR CONSERVATION MEASURES IDENTIFICATION

Marina Baldi

National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Biometeorology, Roma m.baldi@ibimet.cnr.it

Physical and chemical weathering represent a major treat for ancient archaeological sites in Egypt and require a detailed knowledge of present and future deterioration factors of environmental origin in order to identify the more suitable and effective conservation and management strategies of the sites. Heavy rainfall, pressure, winds blowing constantly, extremely high (low) temperatures, as well as sand storms, air pollution, and, along the Nile river, humidity evaporated from the surface of the water body, certainly represent a hazard for fragile monuments and for unique archaeological areas. Mechanical or physical weathering involves the breakdown of rocks and soils through direct contact with atmospheric elements, such as heat, water, pressure and it is accentuated in extreme conditions, like, for example, in very dry environments, and the damages produced by natural phenomena on buildings, monuments and, at larger extent, on archaeological sites can be severe and permanent, irreparable in most of the cases. In order to identify and implement conservation measures, it is therefore needed a detailed study of the atmospheric factors affecting the sites, and, in particular, a study of the climate of the region, and of its past and future evolution at different scales, from regional to local, in the more general frame of climate change, and of its extremes. In Egypt, torrential rainfall and flash flood, although occurring very seldom, can be very destructive, especially in desert and arid landscapes. In recent past heavy thunderstorms and rain swept major cities in Egypt in several occasions, and forgotten wadis have been converted into fierce streams. Cairo, Luxor, Aswan streets have been flooded (2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016 heavy rain episodes) and severe thunderstorms caused power cut off, a complete halt of traffic, large economic losses and death toll. In addition, the frequency and intensity of these extreme episodes is rapidly changing in the last decades due to climate change.

13

Results from a study on the current weather regimes inducing severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall is presented, which permits to identify the large scale atmospheric dynamics driving the episodes and how they can affect the region and its archeological heritage. In addition, a description of climate change signals in the Country will be presented. Finally, as an example, results from a study conducted at local scale, on the west bank of Aswan, in the archaeological site of Qubbet el-Hawa are presented. The Tombs of the Nobles, carved in sandstone are continuously under the influence of environmental factors including atmospheric conditions and air pollution, are facing major damages and deterioration. A specifically designed experiment conducted in 2013, permitted to define the microclimate of the area, and to determine the possible risks of deterioration of the inscriptions carved on the façade of a tomb. Future studies will be necessary to better understand how the current climate conditions will evolve in the future and if the extreme conditions will change in their intensity and frequency due to climate change. A better knowledge of the present and future climate change in the region, a desert landscape, will permit to understand the impacts of natural hazards on monuments and buildings with more accuracy, and to identify the necessary conservation measures to be adopted and the new and more sophisticated tools and methodologies to be employed.

3D MODELING AND PRINTING FOR ANATOMICAL SPECIMENS

OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTEREST

C. Campisi, A. D’Elia National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Biostructure and Bioimaging, Roma

Over the past two decades Computed Tomography (CT) has become one of the most significant imaging modalities in clinical medicine. The hardware and software innovations responsible for the advances in imaging have also resulted in the desire to incorporate CT scans into research of archaeological interest and specifically for mummies. Mummies have been considered as “biologic museums”, being able to show clear clues about the life and death of regal ancient Egyptian population who lived thousands of years ago. A detailed investigation of mummies is able to provide deep evidences about daily life style (e.g the diet), physiologic details and pathological processes as well as medical practices and mummification techniques. Adoption of CT scan to examine mummies is not new in itself – it’s been largely done for the past 20 years – but the last technological evolutions permit us to better manipulate scans and extract details not discernible just a few years ago. We are getting as close as possible to seeing what’s underneath and inside the mummies, without unwrapping them. Particularly, specific advanced computer graphics tools have been implemented starting from CT data to obtain three dimensional (3D) models of partial anatomical specimens or whole mummies in their proper anatomical position. Images are normally visualized into two dimensions, nevertheless the adoption of post-processing tools and dedicated algorithms produce now multiplanar figures and three-dimensional views of mummies specimens. From the technical point of view three steps are typically necessary to produce a three-dimensional rapid prototype model starting from CT data: (1) the mage acquisition; (2) the image post-processing; (3) the 3D printing. The raw data acquired by CT scan are transferred to a dedicated image post-processing workstation. On the workstation, the segmentation and 3D visualization are produced and a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model of the segmented structures can be generated. At last such data can be captured by rapid prototyping printers to create the 3D solid objects by the addition of material layers. The process chain from imaging to 3D prototype modelling is really a multidisciplinary field involving informatic and medical personnel with specific know-how, necessarily and opportunely guided under the supervision of expert archaeologists.

14

FLUORESCENCE IN SITU HYBRIDIZATION TECHNIQUE AS USEFUL TOOL FOR DETECTING BIODETERIOGENS OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

Martina Cardoni*, Anna Barra Caracciolo, Paola Grenni

National Research Council, Water Research Institute, Roma

Microorganisms can damage stone surfaces through various mechanisms, including biofilm formation, chemical reaction with the substrate and production of pigments (Capitelli et al., 2007). The biogenic release of corrosive acids is probably the best known and most commonly investigated biogeochemical damage mechanism in inorganic materials (Macedo et al., 2009). For example, aerobic microorganisms producing respiratory carbon dioxide, which becomes carbonic acid, contribute to dissolving stone and forming soluble salts (Fernandes, 2006). In addition, the production of organic acids, such as the lactic, oxalic and acetic ones, has been associated with the dissolution of calcite in calcareous stones (Caneva et al., 1992). For these reasons, the study of microorganisms colonizing the cultural heritage substrates is very important, in order to detect the taxa involved in biodeterioration phenomena and take the appropriate countermeasures. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is a rapid and highly valuable cultural-independent molecular method for detecting and identifying individual microbial cells in environmental samples using rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes. The FISH method when used for detecting and identifying Cultural Heritage biodeteriogens, can be performed in two ways: on powdered samples from the study surface, or, more recently, on adhesive tape strips applied on the surface and immediately removed (Urzì and De Leo, 2001). The FISH method, in contrast to other identification approaches, largely keeps the characteristics of the targeted microorganisms, i.e. their morphology, cell size and cellular RNA content, and makes it possible to have a mirror image of the whole microbial community of a sample. (Poster presentation)

DIGITAL MODEL, ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING

THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY

Marco Carpiceci Sapienza University of Rome

The “state of art” in the architectural survey proves how Information Technology, laser scanning and photomodelling represent the three essential technologies that have produced a basic transformation in the survey methods. Last in order of appearance is the possibility of using drones (UAV, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) equipped with cameras, able to acquire data in places hard to reach. This complex revolution is producing different results, once relegated to the two-dimensional representations and currently enriched by new forms of three-dimensional and immersive fruition. The entire process would need a deep knowledge of the operators in order to identify the right way of the final product depending on the different purposes. The main problem of the survey is the apparent removal of all intermediate phases that lead the subject to its representation and description. Too often a mesh model with mapped images is considered the result of a survey, indeed two-dimensional drawings have been replaced with navigable 3D numerical models. Although this transformation seems an evolution of the whole process (certainly from the emotional point of view), the survey is losing one of the main purposes represented by the Knowledge. The architectural survey is an archive of knowledge, a container of cognitive actions made through the wider range of researches. The application of the new technologies needs to be addressed with competence, so that each action can be adequately placed in the "Survey System" that is the ordered set of the

15

documentation concerning an architectural subject. The knowledge of the processes involves both the acquisition and the processing steps. For that reason it is essential to know and manage laser scanning, photomodelling and flying systems beyond the data elaboration and the post production of the results. The transformation is just begun and all the possibilities and the results achieved by the several technologies should be adequately assessed.

SHARING KNOWLEDGE THROUGH TRAINING

ISCR TRAINING ACTIVITIES TO THE CONSERVATION OF EGYPTIAN CULTURAL PROPERTIES

Donatella Cavezzali ISCR- Istituto Superiore Conservazione Restauro, Rome

The Italian “Istituto Superiore Conservazione Restauro” - ISCR has developed between 2008 and 2010 an intense activity of education and training held at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, realized thanks to the funding of the Italian Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy. More than 120 Egyptian experts, restorers, conservators, curators, librarians, had the opportunity to be trained according to the most updated methodologies. The lecture will present the principles of conservation and restoration applied by ISCR to the preservation of cultural properties. Based on more than 70 years of national and international activities ISCR is the main Italian Institute in the field of education, restoration and scientific research applied to the conservation of artworks. ISCR main concepts have been established in the pioneering theoretical work of Cesare Brandi, ISCR founder, and since the ’40 of the XX cent. has been applied both in the conservation of monuments and museum collections. According to its methodology ISCR has developed an interdisciplinary approach to conservation and restoration based on the collaboration between different professionals on the field, archaeologist, art historians, architects, chemists, physicists, biologists, restorers, to study all the interconnected causes of decay of artworks. This interdisciplinary approach has been transferred to the training activities held in Cairo at the Egyptian museum in which several artworks have been studied, investigated, treated and restored according to the results of the previous studies of historical, technical and scientific nature. The lecture will also present some of the studies and researches conducted on some masterpieces of the Egyptian museum collection such as the “Head of Tutankhamon emerging from the lotus flower” and the “Portrait of two brothers”.

GEOPHYSICS FOR ARCHAEOLOGY: METHODOLOGIES AND CASE HISTORIES

Marilena Cozzolino Molise University

The appropriate representation of the state of conservation of cultural heritage constitutes the element of primary knowledge to guarantee success of any project of enhancement and fruition of the same monument or site. In this context, the use of non-destructive geophysical methods becomes a valuable tool of cognitive investigation immediately in the bud of any archaeological verification projects, restoration and architectural restoration, safeguard through preventive archaeology operations, exploration of large areas within archaeological parks and redevelopment of city centres. Terrestrial remote sensing is an important tool to locate, map and acquire information through indirect means from sites of our cultural heritage before they are forever lost. Ground-based methods of geophysics can be considered an intermediate activity between the preliminary study

16

through the in situ surveys, the analysis of vegetation changes by aerial photography or the lecture of historic documents and the direct archaeological excavation, giving major predictive details respect the first one and having a minor destructive impact on the investigated heritage in comparison to the second one. However is obvious the fundamental role that just the archaeological excavation can provide for the high cognitive and analytical knowledge that it can reach. The non-invasive geophysical methods that can furnish information useful for the reconnaissance of structures buried into the soil and analyse monuments, historical buildings and urban centres are numerous. Beyond the implemented method used in the survey, the procedure of geophysical analysis is based on the concept of “anomaly”. The measurement of a given physical field (electric, magnetic or electromagnetic) generates always the same value in a homogeneous and isotropic soil. On the contrary, in proximity of a buried body with different physical features respect to the surrounding material, the measured value tends to differ from the unperturbed value: the observed physical field indicates an anomaly, that is a variation respect to the reference value relative to the homogeneous condition. Therefore, considering these variations, it’s possible to hypothesize the nature and the geometry of the hidden bodies. The main problem during the survey planning is the definition of the physical parameter to measure and analyse for the optimal characterization of the buried structures inserted in a definite context. Considering the probable type, dimensions and depth of the submerged bodies, the logistics of the investigated area and the geological and physiographical characterization of the soil the Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), the differential magnetic method and the inductive electromagnetic method (EMI) can be implemented. The integration of different geophysical techniques helps to increase the overall effectiveness of a survey applied to the knowledge, diagnosis and monitoring of the state of conservation of Cultural Heritage. It provides objective, complementary and high quality information through a comprehensive assessment of the convergence of multiple parameters describing the same physical situation. This contribution gives information and tools necessary to enhance the knowledge gaps related to the acquisition and processing of archaeological data through the discussion of case histories that involve the application of non-invasive diagnostic detection systems, in the field of applied geophysics, specifically in the field of preventive diagnostics, urban centres, archaeological parks and historical monuments. Keyworks: Ground-based geophysical methods, buried archaeological structures, enhancement and fruition of Cultural Heritage.

THE ORIGIN OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES ON THE NILE DELTA REGION, EGYPT

El-Sayed Abbas Zaghloul

National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS), Cairo E-mail: eazaghloul@narss.sci.eg

The geographic distribution and the geological sequences of the archaeological sites on the Nile Delta in Egypt reveal that the origin of these sites was controlled by the geological evolution of the Delta and the well-known ancient Nile Delta Branches during the Holocene and in recent times. The general slopes of the Delta are toward the northwest, which means that the north western Delta is lower than the eastern one. These may explain the presence of north-western sand dune field while the north eastern region is characterized by the presence of coastal sand bars which runs parallel to the coastal shore line. The field observations, topographic, geomorphic and the geological successions clearly show that the location of the archaeological sites in the Nile Delta were controlled by the locations of the

17

Turtle Back mounds in southern and central Delta regions. In the north-western region, people lived on the top of these mounds and on the top of the Sand Dunes (Barchans and Longitudinal dunes) to be safe from the Nile floods. In the northeaster region, especially during the Roman times, they built their settlements on the top of the coastal sand bars to be safe from the high tide of the Mediterranean Sea and nearby to the outlet of the ancient Nile Delta branches.

TECHNOLOGIES AND TECHNIQUES APPLIED TO THE RESTORATION

IN THE CIERA WORK-SITE SCHOOL

Giuseppe Fanfoni Centro Italo-Egiziano per il Restauro e l’Archeologia

The Italian-Egyptian Centre for Restoration and Archaeology has worked in the Architectural Complex of the Mevlevi Dervishes, which is situated in an area of about 10,000 square meters at the foot of the Cairo Citadel. The monumental ensemble shows archaeological, historical and architectural evidence, dating back to the seventh right up to the nineteenth century A.D. Therefore, they are constructed using traditional and craftsmanship techniques and technologies. The modern technologies, developed also in Egypt with industrialization, are generally extraneous to the historical monuments. As for us, we have applied the innovations of modern technology only as utilities and technically recognizable supports for the conservation of monuments together with their original technologies and craftsmanship techniques. The organization itself of our work-site school recalls the artisanal laboratory, where each work is experienced in the cognitive and creative process and, with the technical application, one acquires in practice the awareness of the interaction of the intervention in every part of the monument.

THE SUEZ CANAL FROM THE TIME OF THE PHARAOHS UP TILL TODAY

Fathi Saleh CULTNAT,

The Canal of the Pharaohs, also called the Ancient Suez Canal , is the forerunner of the Suez Canal, constructed in ancient times. It followed a different course than its modern counterpart, by linking the Nile to the Red Sea via the Wadi Tumilat. Work began under the Pharaoh Sesostris. According to Suez Inscriptions and Herodotus, the next opening of the canal was under Persian king Darius . A possibility is that it was finished in the Ptolemaic period under Ptolemy II, when Greek engineers solved the problem of overcoming the difference in height through canal locks. A stela (one of four commemorating the construction of a canal linking the Nile with the Red Sea by Darius I) was located at the Wadi Tumilat and recorded sections of Darius's canal. Islamic texts also discuss the canal, which they say had been silted up by the seventh century but reopened in 641 or 642 AD by 'Amr ibn al-'As, and which was in use until closed in 767 AD in order to stop supplies reaching Mecca and Medina which were in rebellion. During his French expedition, Napoleon found the traces of the old canal in 1799. In 1854 Mohamed Said Pasha commissioned Ferdinand de Lesseps to dig the modern canal. In

2014 the new regime decided to double the Suez Canal, a work that was completed a year after.

18

FIRST OUTCOMES OF THE NRC-CNR BILATERAL PROJECT “JOINT INSTRUMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AS A MEANS OF ENHANCING CULTURAL HERITAGE AND

STRENGTHENING INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION”

F. Aatia1, A. Angelini2, G. Capriotti3, O. Colacicchi4, A. De Santis4, M. Ferretti2, M. Ibrahim1, A.A. Mahmoud1, O. Osman1, A. Refaat1.

1 National Research Centre, Egypt.

2 Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per le Tecnologie Applicate ai Beni Culturali, Roma 3 Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Studi sul Mediterraneo Antico, Roma

4 Soprintendenza Speciale per il Colosseo e l’Area Archeologica Centrale di Roma Since long time it has been proved that instrumental analysis of the constituent materials provides an essential insight for a better understanding of Cultural Heritage. However putting natural and human sciences to work together requires considerable communication and cooperation skills among scholars with different cultural backgrounds. As an example of field collaboration among archaeologists, restorers, art historians and natural scientists, this paper presents the first outcomes - achieved in Egypt on Coptic icons and in Italy on proto-historical metal artefacts - of the NRC-CNR bilateral project “Joint instrumental investigation of museum collections as a means of enhancing Cultural Heritage and strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration”. The research so far carried out has established a common ground of cultural and scientific cooperation, which is expected to increase and produce further results in 2017, second and last year of the project.

DIALOGUE BETWEEN EGYPTOLOGY AND SCIENCES: ARCHAEOMETRY AS A TOOL, RESEARCH AS AN END

Christian Greco

Muso Egizio Scientific investigations are an increasingly important part of Archaeological and Egyptological research. This has resulted in a greater understanding of the museum’s collections, producing new information that is useful in their preservation. Many new Egyptological discoveries are the result of projects generated by the collaboration between Egyptologists and scientists. Archaeometry, indeed, gives a different but complementary image of the objects, through the characterisation and reconstruction of the object’s history, analyzing the natural and artificial traces left during its lifetime. In the Museo Egizio many archaeometrical analyses have been undertaken on the different materials and for different purposes. An interesting example is the examination of the external sarcophagus of Butehamon (Cat. 2236). Restored by a team directed by Prof. Santamaria and Dr. Amenta of the Vatican Museums, within the international agreement of the Vatican Coffin Project. The analyses were preliminaries to restoration, and fundamental to the technological knowledge of the fabrication of the coffin, the chemistry of its pigments and the history of the object. Moreover, the analyses (ultraviolet induced fluorescence, infrared false colour, radiographic investigation, X-ray fluorescence and 3D shooting) allowed to hypothesize the re-use and adaptation of a pre-existing internal sarcophagus. In particular, targeted micro samples allowed the identification of the sequence and composition of the layers of pigments both in an inorganic (identifying pigments and preparations with stratigraphic analysis, photomicrographs in the infrared false colour, SEM-EDS and XRD) and organic point of view (identifying binders, paints and any superimposed substance during the restoration with FT-IR analysis and GC-MS).

19

MICROBIAL ECOLOGY FOR ASSESSING STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING OF MICROBIAL

COMMUNITY IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS, FROM NATURAL SOIL AND WATER TO CULTURAL HERITAGE

Paola Grenni*, Martina Cardoni, Martina Di Lenola, Anna Barra Caracciolo

National Research Council, Water Research Institute, Rome (Italy) Microbial ecology is the study of microbes in the environment and their interactions with each other. Microbes are the smallest and most numerous living organisms on Earth. However, despite their small size, they have a huge impact on us and on our environment. They harbour an amazing physiological versatility and catabolic potential for the breakdown of an enormous number of organic molecules, thanks to their great adaptability to different conditions. They have a key role in biogeochemical cycles (e.g. nitrogen fixation, methane metabolism and sulphur metabolism) and in organic matter degradation. Natural microbial communities provide several regulation ecosystem services, including maintaining soil and water quality. Soil and water ecosystem recovery from contamination relies on the presence of abundant and diverse microbial communities with the ability to degrade contaminants. Finally, the microbial community structure reflects the impacts of environmental and anthropogenic factors on ecosystems. Even if most natural microbial populations provide benefits to humans (ecosystem services), some microbial processes can have deleterious effects on the conservation of our cultural heritage because of their biodeteriorative potential. This phenomenon is particularly evident with the part of cultural heritage continuously exposed to abiotic and biotic factors. Microbial ecology makes it possible to study structure–function relationships between microbial communities and their environment at different levels through, for example, the evaluation of microbial abundance, diversity and activity. For example, knowing the species involved in the deterioration of the cultural heritage and their ecology can help us in managing their conservation through suitable recovery measures. Trends in modern microbiology emphasize the need to know and understand the structure and function of complex microbial communities. Most types of microbes remain unknown. It is estimated that we know less than 1% of the microbial species on Earth. Yet microbes surround us everywhere - air, water, soil. An average gram of soil contains one billion (1,000,000,000) microbes representing probably several thousand species. Culture-independent molecular techniques are valuable tools for investigating the diversity and structure of bacterial communities. These techniques can be used on cultivable as well as non-cultivable bacteria. Some techniques for assessing microbial abundance, viability, activity and diversity that have been successfully applied in several environmental projects and that can also be applied in cultural heritage will be presented.

IDENTIFICATION, ANALYSIS AND REPAIR OF METALLIC ARTIFACTS

BY ADVANCED NON- DESTRUCTIVE TESTING TECHNIQUES

Hamed Abdel Aleem Central Metallurgical Research & Development Institute, Helwan

hamedaa@gmail.com

Recent technological developments in the field of non-destructive tests (NDT) techniques have enhanced their application in the field of cultural heritage protection, and are indispensable tools for the characterization of materials, detection of wear and degradation of materials, assessment

20

of interventions, effectiveness and evaluation of compatible materials and processes. NDT techniques such as digital image processing, infrared thermography, ground penetrating radar, ultrasonic testing and fibre-optic microscopy, X-ray and their respective signal and image analyses, allow to determine internal defects, the material composition of artifact without damage /touching the artifact. These methods of NDT beside other methods in laboratories such as XRF, XRD, 3D computer images and finite element models (FEM) can be useful tool for a successful implementation of an integrated approach for analysis and repair of failures in metallic artifacts and the deterioration mechanisms of the protection of built cultural heritage which encompasses scientific support to decision making. Moreover, using NDT methods can be a useful tool for inspection of the repair quality. NDT integrated methods (using more than one method) can give many information which can be used as monitoring system to detect any deterioration or develop internal defects in some of historical buildings. This presentation aims to describe different NDT techniques and their applications in preservation of artifacts and cultural heritages.

THE NEW EXCAVATIONS IN TELL EL-MASKHUTA

Annalinda Iacoviello1, Giuseppina Capriotti Vittozzi2, Andrea Angelini3, Mohamed Abdel- Maksoud4

1Tor Vergata University, Rome 2Italian Archaeological Centre - IIC, Cairo

3National research Council of Italy, Institute for Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage, Rome 4Italian mission in Tell el-Maskhuta

The site of Tell el-Maskhuta was firstly recorded by the group of civilian scholars and scientists, following Napoleon in Egypt between the years 1798 and 1801. These Napoleonic explorers, known as The Savants, described the ramesside triad in red granite, still standing on its base and facing the East, suggesting that the monument was part of an important ancient Egyptian city. The next major explorations of the site were led by Éduard Naville in 1883 and John S. Holladay between 1977 and 1985. Each of these explorations reached different conclusions. According to Naville, Tell el-Maskhuta was a ramesside city, whereas Holladay asserted it was occupied during the Middle Bronze Age by a Hyksos group and, later, was developed by Necho II during the XXVI dynasty. The site was inhabited during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, when it was known as Heroopolis and Ero Castra. In recent years, the SCA has found a ramesside tomb on the opposite side of the modern canal. Notably, this is the only ramesside tomb found within the Eastern Delta. Unfortunately, this site was never completely excavated and recorded, having been studied only by trenches and pits in selected areas due to its massive dimensions and the then-contemporary digging strategies. Current excavations, led by Giuseppina Capriotti, plan to remedy this by utilizing modern technologies, which study the site prior to actual digging, as well as making the traditional archaeological methods of recording and collecting far faster and more accurate. These current archaeological strategies make it more possible to understand better such a grand and multi-layered site like Tell el-Maskhuta. Data can be collected far more quickly and accurately than in the past, and it will be easier to retrieve and access this data for future studies. With these methods and approaches, soon the importance of this site along the Wadi Tumilat will be appreciated with more clarity.

ADVANCED PHYSICO - CHEMICAL & MECHANICAL TECHNIQUES FOR CHARACTERIZATION OF ARTIFACTS

21

Khaled Sadek & Reda Abdel-Magied Central Metallurgical Research & Development Institute

khal_sadek@hotmail.com

Monuments are mostly made of stones, metals, ceramics, refractories, glasses and other materials. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of these materials as well as determination of its physical chemical and mechanical properties are very essential for monuments restoration and preservation. These analysis and measurements should be carried out by internationally accredited laboratories according to ISO /IEC 17025 standard. The Central Metallurgical Research and development institute, Cairo ,Egypt (CMRDI) has along experience in characterization , analysis and measurements of these properties for various industrial ,service and civil sectors a using its advanced internationally accredited facilities. X-ray diffraction is applied on powder or microcrystalline samples for structural characterization of materials. and for rapid analysis of unknown multi-component mixtures even amorphous without the need for extensive sample preparation. Contact X-ray is normally applied to materials form which no sample could be taken i.e. non destructive . Whereas X-ray diffraction gives the phases of the compounds constituting the materials , X-ray fluorescence determines quantitively the elements. Advanced techniques of scanning electron microscope (SEM , TEM ) determine the microstructure of the different phases. Determination of the mechanical properties of materials is very important to predict and avoid failure on standing and ensure durability of preservation and restoration processes Mechanical testing unit in CMRDI is equipped with modern facilities for evaluation, measurement and testing of materials. In order to cope with the international systems for satisfying customer's needs, CMRDI supported the decision for implementing a quality system for Mechanical testing unit to provide customers with accredited services of mechanical measurements. Accredited certificates will help customers for marketing their products locally and internationally. This is very important for production of replicas of metallic artifacts. Mechanical testing should be carried out side by side during identification and analysis of metal failure in metallic artifacts as well as its repair to predict its life assessment.

COST EFFECTIVE NATURAL MATERIALS FOR REMEDIATION OF HEAVY METALS

FROM WASTEWATER

Hanan Elhaes1 and Medhat A. Ibrahim2

1Physics Department, Faculty of Women for Arts, Science, and Education, Ain Shams Univ., Cairo

2Spectroscopy Department, National Research Centre, Cairo medahmed6@yahoo.com

Heavy metals find its way to the aquatic environment in Egypt as a result of industrial discharge without adequate treatment. This requires pollution prevention on one hand and continuous environmental monitoring through precise spectroscopic methods of analyses on the other hand. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy FTIR, neutron activation analyses NAA and molecular modelling calculations were utilized to follow up the effect of pollutants upon the sediment and soil at and around the aquatic environment of the river Nile. In order to control the level of heavy metals in the aquatic environment a new trend of phytoremediation is experimented. Aquatic plant such as water hyacinth is utilized in its dry form, in order to maximize its benefits and minimize its adverse impacts. Accordingly, water hyacinth as dry matter is produced with cross linked sodium alginate in the form of sphere. The method is considered as cost effective in addition, this approach is considered as green technology for removal of heavy metals from the

22

aquatic environment. Results indicate that, Pb and Cd could be removed from wastewater up to 95%.

GAMMA RADIATION TECHNOLOGY IN PRODUCING CO-POLYMERS FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS ON ANCIENT TEXTILES

Islam Mohamed Ezzat Ministry of Antiquities, Cairo

New polymeric hydrogels based on vinyl acetates and ethers have been recently synthesized by the µ-intiated polymerization method due to their versatile application in material sciences’ trends. However; as a hydrogel it is so soft when it is swollen in aqueous solutions. Selected linen and wool samples accelerated using (temperature , relative humidity , U.V. aging cycles) were quietly treated using irradiated (Vinyl acetate and dibutyl maleate Co-polymer) via gamma (PNPI-PAM) cobalt system held at The Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority and the same co-polymer in its normal molecular size. The selected co-polymer was prepared by direct radiation technology and their characteristics such as deforming behaviour, slow release of small molecules and protein were investigated using doped–focal Microscope (D-FM), Scanning Acoustic Microscope (SAM). Neutron activation Analysis (NAA) implemented at The Egyptian ETRR-2 Reactor to initialize the elemental variations in treated linen and wool samples. Linen samples have shown good acceptance for the irradiated polymer exceeding the normal size in improvement of physical properties; adversely the wool samples which showed less acceptance for it. Subsidiary pathologic tests demonstrated active genetic assembly for micro-resistance systems in both linen and wool samples. The study anticipate an advanced methodology in cooperation cycle of cultural heritage preservation and peaceful radiation energy trends.

INITIATING AN INTERACTIVE GEO-INFORMATIVE MAP FOR THE VALLEY OF THE GOLDEN MUMMIES (VGM), BAHARIYA OASES, GIZA, EGYPT

PARTICULAR RESULTS OF STDF 4168 BASIC AND APPLIED SCIENCES

Magdy Ahmed Atya National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG), Helwan

magdyattia@nriag.sci.eg

The Valley of the Golden Mummies (VGM) is a unique archaeological necropolis, sometimes called the "Oases of Dead". Although the site is incredibly significant, it hasn't an accurate map. Since its discovery during 1990s, the valley has been threatened by neighbouring farms and the excavated tombs, mummies, and artefacts began to disappear because of their age and of environmental pollution. The present work is oriented to generate interactive maps to document the valley with accurate coordinates, infra contents of tombs and complexes, and definitely outline the outer boarders. To achieve the goal of the present work, we applied the GPS, the GPR, the magnetic gradiometer, the EM profiler, and the Ohm-Mapper to document the site. Some tools have shown a great success while others had limited practical output. However, we succeeded to map and document the individual artefacts. The results shown are proposed to be used to announce the site as an open museum.

23

EXTREME CLIMATE EVENTS IN EGYPT: A CASE STUDY IN ALEXANDRIA

Magdy Kamal Badir

Regional Training Center/Egypt, Egyptian Meteorological Authority, Cairo mbadir64@gmail.com; gd68@hotmail.com

Without the strip of Mediterranean coastline, Climate of Egypt is classified as arid desert climate and very dry. Throughout Egypt, days are commonly warm or hot, and nights are cool. Egypt has only two seasons: a mild winter from November to April and a hot summer from May to October. The only differences between the seasons are variations in daytime temperatures and changes in prevailing winds, while rainfall is concentrated in the winter months. Despite these already extreme features, recent studies have shown not only that Egypt is experiencing a rise in average temperatures, especially in the summer months, but also that improbable events such as sporadic torrential rains can occur. In addition the phenomenon is poorly forecasted due to its sporadic nature, to its fast development, and to the spatio-temporal scales involved. Climatic conditions measured at global scale for many years made possible to define what is considered normal and extreme event. Extreme meteorological events may be good markers of climatic change or variability. Extreme weather and climate events often result in large loss of human life and exponentially increasing costs associated with them. In this study, spatial and temporal patterns of changes in extreme weather events at 73 weather stations in Egypt will be presented. Severe atmospheric instability can occur and drive heavy rains which can affect the Country causing flash floods with serious impacts on the society, and, in some cases, casualties. A torrential rainfall event which affected Egypt occurred in 1994, and, more recently, other events occurred in Egypt in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015 and the last on 27th Oct. 2016. In the present study the atmospheric dynamics conditions on the event in Alexandria region occurred in Oct. 2015 characterized by strong instability and heavy rain is analyzed and a possible triggering mechanisms is discussed and presented.

THE DISAPPEARED BLOCKS FROM TJEKW TEMPLE

Mahmoud Ragab

Ministry of Antiquities

In 1995 one farmer found some blocks on his land named Awlad Mosa, located about 6 km north of Suez. An Egyptian mission worked and discovered a stone building consisting of limestone regular blocks, some of them inscribed in hieroglyphic, belonging to king Nectanebo II, and assembled without interest for inscriptions. From 2006 to 2010, the same mission discovered another building, 15 m west of the first, showing the same features. A lot of fragments of inscribed blocks contain not only the cartouche of Nectanebo II, but also the name of Tjekw. This name is well known from a number of documents, in particular from Tell El-Maskhuta, as well as from the famous stela of Pithom dated to the Ptolemaic period. These reused blocks had been moved from their original location, probably in Tell el-Maskhuta.

24

PRODUCING KNOWLEDGE IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PRACTICE

AND CULTURAL HERITAGE RESEARCH: THE ROLE OF ITALIAN IBAM CNR

Daniele Malfitana - Antonino Mazzaglia National Research Council of Italy, Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage, Catania The Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage of the National Research Council (IBAM-CNR) is a research Institute with high and specialized skills in the field of knowledge, documentation, diagnosis, preservation, enhancement, fruition and communication of archaeological and monumental heritage. Thanks to a multidisciplinary team composed of archaeologists, historians, architects, geologists, engineers, chemists, physicists, computer scientist, the Institute reveals its expertise through the development and the application of forefront methodologies and techniques in the field of survey, study and interpretation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and leads archaeological missions in Italy and abroad (Turkey, Greece, Crete, Spain, Iraq, Peru, Albania). In the last years the Institute has invested enormous resources in forefront technologies for digitization and 3D recostruction of the cultural heritage, developing methodologies able to join different disciplines (archaeology, archaeometry, geophysics, computer sciences), making the research results accessible to the community. The virtual reconstruction of the temple of Apollo and the Greek theatre in Syracuse, as well as the amphitheatre and the Roman theatre in Catania, the house of the gold bracelet in Pompeii, the tomb of the architect Kha or that of Nefertari (this one obtained from a wood-model stored in the Egyptian Museum in Turin) are just some examples of multimedia products developed by IBAM-CNR through its laboratories (IT-Lab in Lecce and the Laboratory of Immersive Archaeology and Multimedia in Catania) with a philological approach and the full integration of knowledge, techniques and different methodologies. These products, based on virtual reconstructions and augmented reality, offer to the community innovative tools for the understanding of the past. These models offer a wide typological and chronological exemplification capable of ranging from single find to the reconstruction of an entire archaeological and monumental context. They can be read as different steps of a unique process of research, based on a consolidated experience and oriented towards the production of new knowledge. On the basis of these concrete examples, the presentation want to provide a reasoned exposition of the methods and techniques developed and used by IBAM-CNR in the study, documentation and digital reconstruction of archaeological and artistic contexts.

NILE AND RED SEA: WADI TUMILAT AND OLD TRANSVERSAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN TWO MAIN COMMERCE ARTERIES

Bruno Marcolongo

National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Applied Geology, Padova Precise localization and shape of the old Pharaohs canal and those of Wadi Tumilat, connecting in ancient times Nile valley with Red Sea, has since ever attracted researchers and scholars’ attention. At the end of seventies of last century, during five excavation seasons done between 1978 and 1985, University of Toronto carried out the “Wadi Tumilat project” under the direction of John Holladay. Focus has been concentrated essentially to Tel El Maskhuta. More recently, since 2007 the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology/University of Warsaw (PCMA) started excavations in Tel el-Retaba (“Tel el-Retaba Archaeological Mission”), an XVIII dynasty fortress and then civil settlement during Late Period till Ptolemaic Period. Now, careful geomorphological interpretation, performed in the plain band between Nile and

25

“Great Bitter Lake” with the high-resolution images broadly distributed by Google and Bing (Spot 5 colors 2,5 m and Digital Globe-Ikonos), brings to light a series of paleo-fluvial elements which sprawl coherently between Nile and the “Great Bitter Lake”. In fact, recalling previous paleo-hydrographic studies made around Ma’adi and on the easternmost portion of delta, I have drawn a detailed map of all the paleo-fluvial traces (paleo-riverbeds, terraces and paleo-fluvial overflow, etc.) starting from Nile “talweg” and spreading numerous along ancient Tumilat valley. In the urban texture of Old Cairo (easternmost part, just starting from the area of Coptic Museum) are recognizable structural discontinuities, which in force of their shape, direction and extension could be superimposed to a paleo-flow branch of Nile eastward to “Great Bitter Lake”. Further to the east, textural and morphological discontinuities are represented by bands of agrarian parcels with higher soil moisture content and “meander” like shapes, often in lower topographical area. Moreover the entire wide band of the so-called Tumilat valley is flanked by almost continuous old fluvial terrace, marking the land subjected to the morpho-dynamic of the paleo-riverbed. In particular, about 10 km downstream of Tell Retaba and 7 km upstream of Tell Maskhuta, traces of an old river overflow can be recognizable on the satellite images, which cut the terrace itself and extend towards southeastern lowlands. The whole riverbed of old Wadi Tumilat, shown in the above sequence of images, materializes its shape and exact position through the broad band of rural terrain intensively cultivated, oriented West-East with an average width of 3-4 km. Important archaeological sites as Tell Retaba, Tell Mashkuta and also Tell Basta (“Bubastis”) show tight space contiguity with the abandoned course of the easternmost Nile’s branch. Availability of surface flow water appears in these cases as the most attractive environmental element, guiding settlement strategy and influencing very much growth, development and decline of sites themselves. Obviously this study, completely preliminary one, should be followed by detailed geomorphological and geo-archaeological survey on the spot, which only can confirm and enrich the provisional frame here suggested. Specific care has to be devoted to the collection of possible existing micro-relief topographical data and stratigraphic data in the corridor of Wadi Tumilat valley, as well as of pedological and agronomic data, which all together are able to indicate soil and sediment differences due to the fluvial history and landscape morphogenesis.

REDUCING UNESCO HERITAGE LOSSES THROUGH PROACTIVE GEOSCIENCES Claudio Margottini

Scientific Attaché, Italian Embassy, Cairo Rupestrian settlements were among the first man-made works on the history of humanity. The most relevant masterpieces of such human history, have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The sites and remains are not always in equilibrium with the environment. They are continuously impacted and weathered by several internal and external factors, both natural and human-induced, with rapid and/or slow onset. These include major sudden natural hazards, such as earthquakes or extreme meteorological events, but also slow, cumulative processes such as the erosion of rocks, compounded by the effect of climate change, without disregarding the role of humans, especially in conflict situations. As a matter of fact, many rupestrian sites have been excavated into soft rock, generally with UCS<25 MPa (ISRM, 1981), in vertical cliff, showing major conservation issues in the domain of rock slope stability and rock weathering. The present paper reports the experience of rock fall mitigation in rupestrian sites, mainly from the UNESCO World Heritage List (Bamiyan in Afghanistan; Lalibela in Ethiopia; Petra in Jordan and Vardzia in Georgia).

26

The general approach, implemented in the activities, include a very detail interdisciplinary study, to understand degradation processes and causative effects, followed from a field conservation work. The latter is mainly related to the re-discovering of traditional knowledge and sustainable practices, mainly based on local conservation techniques.

SCIENCE AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES APPLIED TO ARCHAEOLOGY IN A MODERN MUSEUM: THE CASE OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE ROVERETO CIVIC MUSEUM

Barbara Maurina, Franco Finotti, Eleonora Zen

Fondazione Museo Civico di Rovereto The main task of museum institutions consist in acquiring, interpreting, preserving and developing the natural, cultural and scientific patrimony of humanity. Thus, the basic duties of museums are the collection (also in the field), research, care of and cultural promotion of their collections. The modern museum, to this end, makes use of scientific instruments and new technologies, resulting in a virtuous cycle, particularly where the scientific and humanities sectors work in constant synergy, as they do at the Foundation of the Civic Museum of Rovereto. The Civic Museum of Rovereto was founded in the mid Nineteenth Century to preserve the natural, historical and archaeological memory of the area. This patrimony of knowledge has progressively grown, as has the commitment to its enhancement and promotion, not only through museum exhibitions but also, and in particular, through the development of research. With this in mind, over the last decades the museum has acquired innovative laboratories and scientific instruments. In the archaeological sector, research is seen above all as research in the field: since 1851 in fact the Archaeology Section has promoted and coordinated excavations within the Province of Trento and outside, beginning with its first activities conducted by Paolo Orsi. The museum possesses non-destructive tools for work in the field (e.g. geophysic ERS instruments) and uses 3D technology for documenting the excavation in action (zenithal photography from a dirigible) and post- excavation (laserscanner). The post-excavation analysis and documentation is mainly carried out in the museum, with the help of scientific laboratories. In particular, for in depth studies of the archaeological contexts and reconstruction of the ancient landscape and economy, the museum has set up laboratories and equipments for archaeobiological and archaeometric analysis. Researchers into archaeozoology and archaeobotanics analyze and study the faunal and botanical finds from archaeological deposits, while the dendrochronological laboratory conducts analysis of the annual growth of tree rings to determine their chronology. In the optical microscopes laboratory analysis of the chemical composition of materials is made. Most of the work of the archaeologists consists, as it is well-known, of documenting the finds, with the contribution of new technologies recently acquired by the MCR Foundation, in particular with 3D (Zscan) photographic equipment and a 3D printer which is very useful in the regulating phase of the conservation activities in the museum's restoration laboratories. Lastly the development and promotion of the data and the collections are aspects to which the museum has always devoted a particular attention. For this reason, in recent years the Museum has aimed to strengthen its I.T. services and online communications and is proceeding with a project for the publication of its own data banks, freely accessible to all the users of the internet site of the MCR Foundation. The data banks cover the museum's collections of archaeological and numismatic findings, the archaeological patrimony to be found in the surrounding territory and, furthermore, archives relating to two of Rovereto's great sons, known for their archaeological research between the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: Paolo Orsi and Federico Halbherr. Of particular importance and public success has been the archive “Secret Egypt”, developed during a long and fruitful collaboration with the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, which aims to raise the importance of the Egyptian archaeological patrimony through the geo-referenced publication of

27

photographic documentation produced by Maurizio Zulian during twenty years of activity.

FROM SCATTERED TO INTEGRATED: USING VIRTUAL RESTORATION FOR REASSEMBLING PAPYRUS THE BOOK OF THE DEAD OF MNW

HR –KHT FROM 18TH DYNASTY

Moamen Othman Ministry of Antiquities

Many ancient Egyptian papyri are currently scattered among different museums and collections. While it is not possible to physically bring together these fragments as they cannot be moved from their museums and institutions, they may be virtually reassembled thanks to the techniques of digitization, image processing and electronic publishing. This paper focuses on virtual restoration to reassemble ancient Egyptian papyri. A Papyrus with hieroglyphic text of the Book of the Dead was distributed over different places. The papyrus belongs to a person named Mnw-hr-kht and represents an early example of the Book of the Dead, dating back to the New kingdom, 18. Dynasty (Hatshepsut/Thutmosis III. - Amenophis II.) This contribution will hopefully help researchers for studying papyri divided among different museums in a more systematic way, thanks to the availability of an electronic edition including the whole text and vignette of the virtually reassembling fragments. Finally, the aim of the virtual conservation is the improvement of the readability of texts, the support of the researchers with the transcription and interpretation of these ancient manuscripts, and the preservation of the primary support itself. The conservation may gently unfold creased objects, guarantee the stabilization of the material, and rejoin detached fragments according to fibre structures etc.

TELL HEBOUA (TJAROU): THE EASTERN GATE OF EGYPT

Mohamed Abd el-Maksoud Egyptian Mission in Tell Hebua

The site of Tell Hebua is located on the eastern bank of Suez Canal, about 4 km northeast of the city of el-Qantarah East. Tell Hebua presents an agglomeration of three sites located on the edge of paleo-lagoon of the Mediterranean Sea. The discovery of the sites occurred within the framework of an archaeological project to excavate the Horus military road that once connected Egypt to Palestine. Excavations fieldwork, carried out in Tell Hebua I, have revealed a defensive system represented by fortresses reinforced with towers and surrounding administrative, religious, palaces, and daily- life buildings of the New kingdom and Saite period. Tell Hebua II, located southeast of Hebua I, has yielded a massive enclosure wall that represents a fortified city with series of magazines and palaces of the New kingdom. The fieldwork has found many stone elements inscribed with names of kings of 18th and 19th dynasties. Hebua III, situated about 1 km southeast of Hebua II, includes a daily-life structures with many silos and bread ovens with serpentine walls (zigzag) and many oxen burials. The discovery of a fortified city at Tell Hebua (Tjarou) confirms what was engraved on the walls of Karnak Temple by king Sety I, which described the fortresses and installations, in the region of North Sinai, from Qantarah to Rafah.

28

3D, VR, AND AR FOR CULTURE HERITAGE

Mohamed Farouk

CULTNAT, Cairo The advancement and availability of technologies especially with the spread and the capabilities of smart portable devices represent a strong driver for developing applications in different domains. This presentation describes the CULTNAT experience which consists in documenting and presenting heritage using 3D acquisition, virtual Reality, and augmented reality. A new project that deploys those technologies in high harmony to serve both public and academic domains, will be presented.

GEOARCHAEOLOGY AND NILE FLOODPLAIN EVOLUTION OF SAQQARA-MEMPHIS AREA

Mohamed A. Hamdan1, Fekri A. Hassan2, Roger J. Flower3 1University of Cairo

2 French University in Egypt 3 University College London

Department of Geology - University of Cairo, Cair Our investigations of the subsurface geology of the Nile floodplain in the Saqqara-Memphis region provide new insights to our understanding of the history of the modern River Nile, the relationships between Nile floods and global climate change, and the impact of changing flood conditions on the emergence, sustainability and episodes of societal collapse of the centralized government of ancient Egypt by the end of the Old Kingdom. In the current work we analyse six drill cores and introduce new rates of siltation for the Nile flood plain; we also report on new, previously unrecorded sediment depths for archaeological remains and demonstrate a much deeper floodplain level than was previously known for buried settlements in the Saqqara-Memphis region. The floodplain of the Saqqara-Memphis area reveals a sequence of aggredational and degredational events comprising six clearly marked sedimentary units (I-VI). The sequence begins with a unit of Late Pleistocene fluvial sand and gravel with remnants of Early Holocene alluvial sediments (unit I). This basal unit was eroded, possibly during the 8.2 kyr climatic event. Deposition resumed during a period of high Nile flow, rapid sea level rise and locally wet climatic conditions. As a result, the flood plain was occupied by swamps and anastomosing channels (unit II), levee deposits with Predynastic potsherds were recorded at the top of this unit. Unit II ends with a short degradational phase during a series of low Nile floods around 5.2kyr and the erosional surface is at about 14m below the current surface of the floodplain. Subsequently, the Nile River changed to a more stable meandering channel system with well developed levees and flood basins aggrading to 11m below the surface of the current floodplain (unit III). This aggradational unit was subsequently eroded by the end of Old Kingdom (4.2Kyr) to between 11 and13m below current surface. The degradational hiatus was followed by a widespread layer of alluvial silt and sand in almost all cores at 8-11 m below surface indicating very high Nile floods that coincided with historical records of extremely high floods during the Middle Kingdom and frequent high floods during New Kingdom (unit IV). We detected another significant erosional surface at ca. 270 Cal BP (between units IV & V) marking a declining Nile flood level. During the last two thousand years (units VI-VII) more normal floods but with several lows and highs prevailed. The VI-VII transition at 1200 AD coincides with historical records of a series of very low floods which led to severe famines at that time. Palaeoclimatic and archaeological implications are also discussed.

29

INVESTMENT CASTING / LOST WAX TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF REPLICAS

Raafat Ahmed

Central Metallurgical Research & Development Institute, Helwan Raafat57@hotmail.com

For thousands of years , ancient Egyptians utilized the lost wax technology for the production of gold jewelry and articles such as rings, necklaces, eardrops, small statues of Gods , crowns “etc. the collection of king Tut in the Egyptian museum is the best in the world .Recently, the same technology is used for production of many metallic articles such as medical implants and turbine blades “etc. The presentation reviews the CMRDI facilities, the only facility in Middle East , and how it can be tailored for production of metallic replicas. The investment casting process steps are production of pattern wax of the desired castings. These patterns, called wax pattern, are injected in metal dies. A wax die must be manufactured for each casting to be produced. A number of patterns (depending on size and complexity) are assembled according to the suitable casting design, casting cluster or assembly. After some initial pre-dips, which thoroughly clean the wax, the assemblies are dipped , or “invested,” into a liquid ceramic slurry, and then into a bed of extremely fine sand to make a shell. The first critical layers must avoid the reaction with metal and make sure to choose the suitable sand to keep the tolerance. . Between each layer the ceramic is allowed to dry. The later, heavier layers are often applied by automated equipment or special shell building robots. A certain layers must be invested to build a shell strong enough to withstand subsequent operations. After the shell is completely dry, the wax is melted out in a high pressure steam boilerclave, leaving a hollow void within the mold, which exactly matches the shape of the assembly. Prior to casting, the shells are fired in a sintering furnace where intense heat burns out any remaining wax residue and prepares the mold for the molten metal. In the conventional gravity pouring method, metal is poured into the shell through a funnel shaped pour cup and flows by gravity down the sprue channel, through the ingrates and into the part cavities. As the metals solidify, the parts, gates, sprue and pouring cup become one solid casting. After the casting has solidified, the ceramic shell is broken off and the parts are cut from the sprue using a high speed friction saw. The investment casting unit in CMRDI established in 2006 to provide the Egyptian market with the specific spare parts in many fields and all alloys such as the power generation stations and medical implants which needed to Egyptian hospitals and patients In same time the unit can utilized for with the museum sector to make replicas , of the same shape, design, and alloy. CMRDI has an advanced facility in investment casting wax injection machine to make the wax pattern, slurry mixers for the primary and secondary ceramic layers, rain fall sander to make the first stucco layer, fluidized bed and advanced melting furnaces under vacuum and under pressure also has a heat treatment unit for titanium. All these facilities are ready for any cooperation to support the Egyptian industries.

APPLICATION OF NANOTECHNOLOGY IN THE FIELD OF CONSERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

Randa Abdelkarim

Engineering Center for Archeology, Faculty of Engineering - Cairo University randaabdelkarim@gmail.com

During the last decades, the scientific contribution to conservation work related to cultural heritage has grown rapidly. On the other hand, the expertise in conserving a work of art is not limited to historical and artistic analysis. Nowadays, conservation requires a deep knowledge of materials science given that all natural aging of works of art cannot be prevented.

30

Cultural and heritage works of art can be restored with the latest nanoparticle technology after degradation occurred over time as well as damage due to natural causes, such as floods and fires. The use of nanotechnology in art conservation is a relatively new concept. It wasn’t until 2001 that results of the first use of nanomaterials in this field were published. The most recent applications of nano materials for the conservation of cultural heritage will be reviewed.

MULTISPECTRAL REMOTE SENSING AS A TOOL FOR ENVIROMENTAL AND ARCHEOLOGICAL STUDIES

Rosamaria Salvatori

National Research Council of Italy – Institute on Air Pollution, Roma rosamaria.salvatori@cnr.it

Multi and hyper-spectral remote sensed images are currently a well-established and effective tool for environment monitoring and archeological studies. The benefit supplied by the use of remote sensed images lies either in the capability to perform synoptic analyses of large surfaces when using lower spatial resolution sensors or in supplying detailed information when using new generation high spatial resolution images. The availability of satellite images, collected in the last three decades can also provide a historical record of environmental changes and anthropic modifications. Since the spectral characteristics of the surfaces are related to their physical and chemical properties, the processing of multi- and hyper-spectral images, acquired at wavelengths between 0.35 and 2.5 µm, takes advantage when integrated with field or laboratory spectral data and with physical and chemical measurements of the investigated surfaces. The characteristics of multispectral images allow to follow the evolution of the landscape from the vegetation point of view as well as from the geomorphological one: therefore, archeological studies can take advantage from these analyses. It is well known that vegetation distribution can contribute to identify the presence of buried structures and that image pattern analysis can emphasize environmental perturbations associated with ancient human settlements. Moreover, the study of the spectral signature of different “archeological”, “artistic” and, in general, man-made materials is now rapidly developing, contributing consequently to a better understanding of the possible origin of the materials. Dealing with the images and their spectral properties can easy represent the starting point for the collection of data coming from different sources and for their organization in a complex system devoted to reconstruct the archeological environment together with its natural framework. It is emerging clearly, that the multidisciplinary approach will be the most important tool to better understand our cultural heritage.

TELL DAFANA, RECENT EXCAVATIONS 2015/2016

Sayd Abdel-Alim Ministry of Antiqities

The site of Tell Dafana is situated in the northwestern part of El-Ismailia governorate, region of El-Qantara west, about 13km to the west of Suez Canal. The ancient site lays beside the Pelusiac branch of the Nile that ran eastwards to north Sinai. The site has been mentioned twice by Herodotus as a garrison town founded by king Psamtik I to guard the northeastern frontier. The ancient town had already been linked with biblical Tahpanhes, where the Judeans from Jerusalem are said to have taken refuge when they fled the Neo-Babylonian repression during the reign of king Apries. The major excavations were undertaken by F. Petrie in 1886. He could trace the large levelled

31

enclosure wall with its southern entrance and he also excavated a complex of two large casemate buildings inside the fortress. In 2009 and 2010, the supreme council of Antiquities conducted two excavation seasons, under the supervision of Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Maksoud. During the first season, the excavation focused on the enclosure walls (eastern, southern and western), the temple area in front of the main gate of the fortress and large magazines. In 2010, the excavations on the area in the northeastern corner of the enclosure, revealed a series of rectangular units filled with remains of copper slags and many grinding stones. In addition, many bronze arrowheads were found, which might reflect some military activities at the site. During the season 2015/2016 a rescue excavation has been undertaken. It aimed to dig a small mound of 200m by 80m which is located on a path of Ring Road called 30 June. A large-scale excavation continued for six months, and revealed a settlement containing houses built of mud brick and annexes such as ovens, kilns, burials and many copper workshops. A short-term excavation was conducted inside the fortress at some places where we could identify three units representing a series of magazines, tower house and a large casemate building.

THE AREA OF THE MODERN SUEZ CANAL IN THE GRAECO-ROMAN SOURCES

Giuseppe Squillace Calabria University, Cosenza

The paper aims to recall the accounts of the Graeco-Roman sources on the Suez area and, in particular, to consider the so said ‘Canal of the Pharaohs’ trying to understand the goal of this important project, and comparing it with other famous works of the classical past.

APPLICATIONS OF SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN EGYPT

Christopher Stewart Tor Vergata University of Rome

Remote sensing is widely applied in archaeological research to map, prospect, and monitor large and often inaccessible areas at low cost. However, while optical remote sensing techniques are already well established, relatively few studies have made use of remotely sensed Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data by comparison. In materials with very low relative permittivity, such as dry sand, microwave signals are capable of some degree of penetration. Moreover, the active nature of SAR makes it sensitive to surface roughness relative to the incident wavelength. While the implications of this for archaeological prospection had been discussed and indirectly applied, it was initially mainly exploited for geological and hydrological mapping. Only relatively recently has research been carried out on the direct use of SAR for archaeological prospection in desert regions, with the advent of High Resolution (HR) and Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite SAR missions. This presentation describes a methodology for anthropogenic feature extraction from SAR data of North Sinai, from regional to local scales, and some preliminary results of its implementation. The satellite SAR data includes scenes acquired by the first and second generation Phased Array type L-band SAR (PALSAR-1 and 2) sensors carried on-board the Japanese Advanced Land Observing Satellites (ALOS-1 and 2). The PALSAR-1 data was acquired through a Category-1 (research) project of the European Space Agency (ESA), while the PALSAR-2 data was obtained from the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) via the fourth Research Agreement for ALOS-2. The North Sinai area has been chosen as a suitable desert test area given the extent and homogeneity of its desert land cover, its lack of development, while still containing some

32

infrastructure, and its archaeological significance as a land bridge between Egypt and the Levant.

CONSERVATION OF THE WALL PAINTINGS IN KHONSU TEMPLE KARNAK, LUXOR, EGYPT

Cristina Vazio Conservator, Roma

These Projects were for: The Egyptian Antiquities Organization & American Research Centre in Egypt, Inc. (ARCE). The temple of Khonsu is located inside the monumental complex of Karnak at Luxor, Egypt. The temple was built in sandstone during the reign of Ramesses III (XIX Dyn). Several blocks derived from pre-existing temples were reused in the interior. The rooms of the temples have polychrome decoration and relief wall decorations. During the 2008 we carried out, for the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) and the Egyptian Antiquities Organization, a preliminary assessment of the state of preservation of six rooms in the temple ( 2007-08 Project ). One year later - in 2009 - we carried out and completed an intervention of restoration securing all the fragments that were at risk of collapse in various rooms, and the complete restoration of paintings in room XII ( 2009 Project ). The 2007-08 Project, begins with a brief historical outline of the Karnak area and the Khonsu Temple. After an analysis of original techniques and materials, the present state of the decorated surfaces is examined. An analysis of the causes of decay is given, and a list of the decay effects visible on the surfaces. Trial conservation tests were carried out on a number of decorated surfaces considered representative for their original techniques and the decay phenomena to be observed, in order to ascertain the materials and methodologies suitable for the Tomb's future restoration. A proposal for such a restoration intervention, including time-frames and methods, concludes Part One. Part Two contains detailed reports on the state of conservation of every surface of the six rooms inside the Temple (Rooms III, VI, VII, X, XI and XII). An initial GENERAL REPORT specifies the room and provides a number of useful observations about it. A DETAILED REPORT and GRAPHIC DIAGRAM then follows for every surface within the specified room (entrance, walls, ceiling etc.) with data on the state of conservation of the decorated layers and rock support. This is followed by a comparison with Chicago House's photographic documentation (dating from around 1960). This documentation was very important, allowing us to identify the rate of development of the main decay phenomena to have affected the painted surfaces over the years. 2009 Project - Emergency treatment in Rooms III, VI, VII, X, XI and complete restoration of Room XII. After the analysis of original techniques and materials, present state of conservation, causes of decay and a list of the decay effects visible on the surfaces, carried out during 2008, it was noticed that in most of the rooms studied, there were loose fragments at risk of falling off. During the 2009 Project the consolidation of all these fragments was carried out, to prevent further losses of the pictorial layer. Moreover, during this project, a complete restoration of the wall paintings of Room XII was carried out. The Report of this conservation project, contains an analysis of original techniques and materials, the state of the decorated surfaces with the causes of decay, a list of the decay effects visible on the surfaces and we describe all the operations and materials used for the complete restoration of the wall paintings of the room. At the end, we suggest the precautions to be taken for the correct future conservation of the room and its paintings. This is followed by graphic diagrams of the state of preservation of the wall paintings before the treatment.