- Homepage
- Team
- News
- ZMEA/#OnceUponatimeinEgypt
- ZMEA/#AfostodatăînEgipt
- Recap 2023:
- Our Museum / Your Museum – ZMEA
- For the first time at the museum!
- ZMEA: 12 papyri
- Accessories to wear of Ancient Egypt
- Museum education workshops
- Gods and Mortals of Ancient Egypt
- ZMEA – under the microscope…
- A preview at the mall, at the exhibition ”Gods and Mortals of Ancient Egypt”!
- EXHIBITION SPACE ARRANGEMENT
- Artefacts
- Financing
- About
- Contact
ZMEA - under the microscope…
So far, we have presented some of the pieces that will be part of the exhibition of the Project “Gods and Mortals of Ancient Egypt”. It’s time to show you how cultural objects are prepared to become the “stars” of the event.
In the presentation of the pieces from our #zmeaonline serial we focused on their story, but also on the conservation / restoration activities, this being the main objective of the project. The result of this scientific approach will be the exhibition that will highlight the research work. Without the conservation / restoration activities, the life of the objects we admire in the museum showcases would be much shorter. Most of these valuables contribute to the transmission of knowledge and skills from one generation to another and we can say that they have always played an important role in developing the emotional connection between generations.
As for the scientific research of the morphology of objects, this is an extremely important step in the complete knowledge of objects, but also for the correct understanding of the causes of degradation and, at the same time, in choosing the applied restoration methodology. One of the main stages in the curative conservation and restoration activities of the pieces from the Egyptian collection was the realization of physical, chemical or other investigations and analyzes. In the case of some objects that are part of the collection, physico-chemical analyzes were performed, investigations with computer tomography, as well as research of painted surfaces by photography and microscopy in UV light, with the role of determining certain types of materials and/or techniques of these objects but also any substances used in the past in the restoration process.
Microscopic analyzes were performed to determine the textile fibers (by analyzing the samples from the textile strips) and the wood essence (analyzing the samples taken from the coffin of the human mummy). The results of the analyzes performed on textile samples show that the strips used in the mummification process are of the cloth-fabric type, made of linen thread.
Regarding the type of wood from which the coffin was made, optical microscopy analyzes revealed that the wood is Ficus sycomorus, a large, hardwood exotic tree, commonly used in Ancient Egypt to make coffins.
Another important stage in understanding the Egyptian collection was the performance of medical imaging investigations at USAMV Cluj-Napoca, in which the human mummy, mummified human body parts and animal mummies were fully scanned. The results are spectacular, especially in view of the fact that the human mummy has an almost complete skeleton, which is impossible to find through other means of scientific research.
As for the animal mummies, only incomplete skeletons or bone fragments were found inside the bandages. Mummification of parts of the bodies of animals or birds was a common practice in Ancient Egypt.