Condition Assessment of a 2,500-Year-Old Mummy Coffin

Robert J. Ross; Turker Dundar

doi:10.2737/FPL-RN-327

Treesearch

Condition Assessment of a 2,500-Year-Old Mummy Coffin

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Robert J. Ross, Turker Dundar

Year:

2012

Type:

Research Note

Station:

Forest Products Laboratory

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2737/FPL-RN-327

Source:

FPL-RN-327

Download (PDF 336 KB)

Download (PDF 336 KB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/40692.pdf

Abstract

This work was conducted to assess the condition of a 2,500-year-old mummy coffin. The coffin, part of a collection of funerary objects at the Nelson–Atkins Museum of Art in St. Louis, Missouri, is made of wood obtained from a sycamore fig tree, Ficus sycomorus. Visual and acoustic-based nondestructive testing techniques were used to inspect the coffin. The upper portion of the coffin was remarkably well preserved; both visual and acoustic tests revealed no signs of deterioration. An area of deterioration in the bottom portion of the coffin was found. Based on our assessment, museum staff were able to design and construct a case that enabled them to display the coffin in a vertical orientation.

Keywords

mummy, coffin, nondestructive evaluation

Citation

Ross, Robert J.; Dundar, Turker. 2012. Condition assessment of a 2,500-year-old mummy coffin. Research Note FPL-RN-0327. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. 3 p. https://doi.org/10.2737/FPL-RN-327.