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CONSERVATION OF EGYPTIAN TOMB PAINTINGS
An Argument for the Closure of the Valley of the Kings and Queens to the Public
Problem Statement and Introduction
Conservation of Egyptian tomb paintings has presented problems for over a hundred
years. Tomb paintings were not made to withstand the numbers of visitors who travel to Egypt
each year to view them. Archaeologists in the 19th century noted their slow degradation and
now modern conservators have documented the terrible danger the tomb paintings of Egypt
are in. It has been estimated by some scholars that if the tombs receive the same treatment
they have they will certainly be gone within one hundred fifty years. The modern process of
conserving tomb paintings (which will be addressed later in this paper) is time consuming and
expensive, but should not be viewed necessarily as a reversal of the damage already caused. To
truly conserve the tombs for study by scholars, it will be necessary to close the tombs and
either create copies or find another way to satisfy the public and Egypt’s tourism companies. In
France they were able to stop some of the damage to Lascaux by a similar strategy.
Visitors degrade tomb paintings by bringing moisture into their environment. When
visitors enter the hot, arid tomb they leave behind perspiration which slowly raises the
humidity level of the tomb. Since Egyptian tomb paintings are made by sticking plaster to the
limestone walls and then painting over them, humidity trapped between the plaster and the
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limestone walls dries, creates small salt crystals and then literally “pushes” the paint off the
walls.
Significance of Work
The ancient Egyptians would cut into the soft limestone of the Valley of the Kings and
Queens to create the tombs. Once the tomb itself was cut, the walls could be smoothed and
any remaining cracks or gaps in the walls filled with plaster. A final thin layer of white plaster
gave the draftsmen a clean white space to work on. Using strings dipped in red ochre, the
draftsmen would grid the entire tomb. The ancient Egyptian artist used these gridlines in order
to give each part of the painting a specific proportion. There were set rules for proportion for
the human body. Draftsmen then outlined the entire painting in red and added the black lines
and details. This process made Egyptian tomb art very regular. Sometimes the tomb owner
would opt to have sculptors carve around the lines to create a relief before the tomb was
painted, at other times the painting was left one dimensional. Colors were added made of
pigments that were created from minerals. The painter would use egg, glue or gum as temper.
The colors for human subjects were applied with an artistic convention. For example, living
individuals were all painted yellow or red, depending upon the subjects’ gender, those
represented as dead were painted black or green. Hair was always black. However, artists used
a variety of creative colors to portray animals. Birds, fish and other animals are so beautifully
rendered that the species is often recognizable.
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Description, Range of Variability and Condition of Collection or Object
Some of the limestone tombs were carved in area where the limestone was not
conducive to carve the stone into low relief; in many private tombs a mud plaster using Nile
alluvium was spread over the walls (Miller, 2006.) A couple coats of plaster would then be
spread over the surface; analysis of the plaster the tomb paintings of Nebamun indicated it was
created by heating gypsum (Miller, 2006.)
Although every effort should be made to save the tombs paintings of Egypt, an even
greater effort should perhaps be placed on documenting them with some of the newer
technology available us. At the British museum they have performed detailed microscopic
survey on the paintings of Nebamun (Miller, 2006.) These have been mapped out as a black
and white image and will be scanned and saved in layers in Adobe Photoshop (Miller, 2006.)
Although it would be different to work with intact tomb paintings, these sorts of recording
techniques should be applied increasingly around Egypt.
Methodology
Issues with Pigment
From a study of the Nebamun paintings at the British Museum it appears areas painted
with Egyptian blues and green are subject to increased degradation; the coarse nature of the
pigments and heavy paint application leads to a loss of color through the millennia (Miller,
2006.) I experienced these types of pigment loss myself experimenting with egg tempura
painting in Pamela Vandiver’s class. I can personally attest to needing a great deal of even the
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finely ground pigment and how coarse it appeared when applied by my admittedly
inexperienced hand.
An attempt to stabilize paint on tombs paintings has proved frustrating for conservators.
At some point an adhesive was applied over one of Nebamun’s paintings in the British Museum;
analysis proved the adhesive was hide glue (Miller, 2006.) Unfortunately, the spreading of this
material over the paint served only to disrupt the pigment further (Miller, 2006.) A varnish
applied over the Nebamun paintings also proved disastrous; the cellulose acetate turned milky
over areas it was applied too thickly and as it dried and shrunk, it pulled up fragments of paint
(Miller, 2006.) Bizarrely, in areas where the cellulose acetate separated from the paint it has
created optical opacity (Miller, 2006.) Dust and dirt that became trapped inside the varnish
turned it a grey shade to the naked eye (Miller, 2006.) Perhaps the British Museum needs to
look at its current storage facilities for the paintings to make sure dust and other debris will not
be a problem in the future for the paintings.
Issues with Plaster Preservation and Conservation
Simply re-plastering and filling in cracks in paintings with gypsum is not a good idea.
19th century repairs to Nebamun’s paintings with gypsum plaster have since caused a great deal
of damage to the painted area, causing sponginess and fragility in the perimeter zones around
the modern plaster (Miller, 2006.) It is thought this damage occurs from the newer gypsum
exerting pressure as it dries and expands (Miller, 2006.) Thus a material that does not expand
as it dries must be utilized to stabilize areas cracking in tomb paintings.
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In the tomb of Nefertari, loose fragments were stabilized using Japanese rice paper
(Preusser, 1991.) These were adhered to the wall using a 20% solution of tricholoroethane
(Preusser, 1991.) This system was completely reversible, yet allowed conservators to do
emergency repairs where the plaster was in a great deal of danger of falling. In area that
required a stronger repair, like the ceilings, cotton gauze was utilized instead of rice paper
(Preusser, 1991.) When fragments were almost completely detached from the walls, acrylic
resin was applied to the underside of the fragment in the center and a piece of paper and
spatula was applied until the resin dried (Preusser, 1991.)
The Problem with Salt
One of the biggest problems faced by conservationists of Egyptian tombs is soluble salts.
Monuments, tombs and temples all over Egypt have been observed with soluble salts which are
crystallizing over monuments and under plaster. The geotechnical behavior of the rocks in the
Luxor-Theban area makes them prime for salt solutions; the porosity of the rocks, combined
with flash floods, ground water or water vapor left from tourists in the tombs leads to ideal
conditions for the salts to crystallize and form over and under plaster, causing serious damage
(Wust, 2000.)
In the tomb of Nefertari fragments of painting that had come off through salt damage
were reattached using a 10-20% solution of Paraloid B72 (Preusser, 1991.) The partially
detached fragment would be covered with tissue to protect the paint, which was adhered with
Paraloid B72 and a lacquer thinner (Preusser, 1991.) This could then be used as a hinge to clean
the underside of salt crystals, impregnating the underside of the fragment with a 3% solution of
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Paraloid B72 (Preusser, 1991.) The fragment could then be reattached using a mortar similar to
the original (Preusser, 1991.)
Rock Porosity
The porosity of the rocks themselves in Egypt is a large part of the salt problem. Wust
(2000) states that pores in sediments are filled with interstitial fluids; CO2, hydrocarbons or
other gases fill the spaces. This kind of porosity makes the rock susceptible to being penetrated
by H2O when it is introduced either by flooding, vapor in the air or ground water. These kinds
of interstitial fluids are the vehicle by which soluble salts are introduced (Wust, 2000.)
In a report authored by Frank Preusser (1991) a study was conducted of the topography
surrounding Nefertari’s tomb. Performing any kind of conservation work on the tomb would be
ridiculous if they couldn’t address the source of the salt damage in the first place. The
topographical study revealed that the risk of flash flood water entering the tomb was low
(Preusser, 1991.) However, water could potentially settle around the entrance of the tomb
(Preusser, 1991), causing the humidity to rise significantly and providing the interstitial fluid
that the soluble salts required to crystallize.
Issues with Biological Problems
In addition to the salts being a risk to the tomb, conservators checked for microbial or
other biological organisms that might pose risk to the tomb paintings (Preusser, 1991.)
Fortunately, the normally arid climate of Egypt keeps potentially damaging microbes from
growing in significant numbers (Preusser, 1991.)
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Fluctuations in Humidity and Moisture Levels
Although tombs remain relatively stable in terms of climate, they do experience some
seasonal variation in temperature and humidity (Preusser, 1991.) These fluctuations are small
in comparison to the humidity fluctuations caused by tourists. This is yet another argument for
significantly reducing the number of visitors to the tombs in Egypt. Excellent reproductions
may well serve the public as well as the tombs themselves.
Pollution
According to Aspropoulos (1992) visitors have another disastrous effect on the tombs
besides their respiration. Tour buses and cars that bring the visitor’s the valley themselves
expose the tomb paintings to pollution from exhaust (Aspropoulos, 1992.) Additionally, the
buses caused vibrations that can heighten the effect of plaster and pigment falling off the walls
(Aspropoulos, 1992.) Sadly, visitors themselves have been observed bumping into the walls,
knocking off more pigments and plaster (Aspropoulos, 1992.) I know of a few instances where
the Egyptian government attempted to place glass or plastic coverings over the tomb paintings
to attempt to address this issue. Unfortunately it only trapped more moisture from visitor’s
breath, allowing more opportunity to salt crystals to grow and expand. The solution for
damage that results from pollution, the vibrations of buses and visitors really only have one
solution, which is to keep visitors out of the tombs entirely.
Anticipated Conclusions
After studying all of the effects visitors have on tomb paintings and the relatively small
conservation efforts that can be done, it would really be best for the Egyptian government to
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close the tombs in the same fashion France closed Lascaux. The reasons of the closure of the
tombs include:
1. Visitors can no longer introduce additional moisture into the environment through
respiration; soluble salts will have one less reason to crystallize
2. Visitors will no longer cause damage by bumping into walls
3. Buses and other modes of transportation for tourists cannot introduce pollution;
vibrations from these vehicles will not cause additional stress to the plaster
Reconstructions of tombs will satisfy visitors as much as the originals, perhaps more so because
a number of different learning mechanisms can be applied that can make them more welcome
and accessible. Although it seems like a rather Draconian solution, it would be far better to
stabilize the tombs and close them then lose such an important chapter in human history.
Visitors would still flock to Egypt, especially if the reconstructions could be made more
physically accessible and fun for visitors!
Annotated Bibliography
Aspropoulos, S. Conserving Nefertari's Wall Paintings. Minerva: the international review of ancient art
and archaeology.
Article regarding methods of analyzing the problems in Nefertari's tomb and methods used for
conservation.
Bitossi, G. R. (2005). Spectrocopic Techniques in Cultural Heritage Conservation: A Survey. Applied
Spectroscopy Reviews .
Article regarding the use of spectroscopic equipment in observing and preserving artifacts of cultural
significance.
Conserving a fragment of wall painting from the tomb of Nebamun. (n.d.). Retrieved 10 30, 2009, from
The British Museum Exoplore/Highlights:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/c/conserving_a_wall_painting.aspx
Online article regarding the conservation of a wall fragment from the tomb of Nebamun as it was
preserved by the British Museum.
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Davies, N. Tomb Paintings at Thebes: The Graphic Work of the Museum's Egyptian Expedition.
Photos and images of a group dedicated to exploring and copying tomb paintings for future study.
Miller, E. Conservation of decorated surfaces on earthen architecture;The Nebamun wall paintings of
the British Museum. proceedings from the international colloquium organized by the Getty Conservation
Institute and the National Park Service, Mesa Verde.
Online conference proceedings regarding the best methods for conserving wall paintings from the tomb
of Nebamun at the British Museum.
Pearce, G. (1969). Penn State Museum Documents. Retrieved 10 30, 2009, from Penn State Museum
Documents: http://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/PDFs/113/Conservation.pdf
Online article regarding the preservation of tomb paintings at Dra Abu el-Naga
Preusser, F. (1987, July 13-16). Scientific and Technical Examination of the Tomn of Queen Nefertari at
Thebes. Courtauld Institute of Art and the Getty Conservation Institute .
Study of the tomb paintings of Nefertari and the efforts of conservators to save the paintings.
The Tomb-chapel of Nebamun:. (n.d.). Retrieved 10 30, 2009, from The British Museum
Explore/Galleries: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/galleries/ancient_egypt/room_61_tombchapel_nebamun/room_61_conservation.aspx
Online article regarding the preservation of the paintings of Nebamun; additionally information on
preparing the paintings for display.
Wust, R. a. (2000). The Origin of Soluble Salts in Rocks of the Thebes Mountains, Egypt: The Damage
Potential to Ancient Egyptian Wall Art. Journal of Archaeological Science , 1161-1172.
Article regarding the damage that has occurred due to soluble salts in the Theban region. This article
contains a great deal of useful information on the topography of the region.
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