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Gold from the tomb of Scribe Beri: a comparative analytical approach to the New Kingdom gold grave goods from Riqqa (Egypt)

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Abstract

The gold necklace and penannular earrings from tomb 296 at Riqqa, containing the coffins of a female and of a male, the latter a scribe named Beri of the reign of Tuthmosis III (eighteenth Dynasty Egypt), were analysed by PIXE, XRF, and EDS, together with eight penannular earrings from other find-spots of the same period. Analysis of jewellery items from tomb 296 at Riqqa revealed the use of high-purity gold alloys and electrum alloys, while the other earrings investigated were found to be made of electrum with high Ag content. Two earrings conserved in different museums were shown to be originally a pair. PIXE mapping revealed the extensive use of a hard soldering technique for the joints, with the solders being obtained by the addition of Cu to the base alloy. The presence of PGE inclusions indicated the use of alluvial gold, but the variability of their composition could be ascribed to the recycling of gold from different origins, in the case of some objects.

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Acknowledgments

This work falls under the scope of the CNRS-funded project PICS 5995 CNRS ‘Analytical study of Bronze Age Egyptian gold jewellery’. We thank Margaret Maitland at National Museums Scotland; Campbell Price at the Manchester; Stephen Quirke at the Petrie Museum; and Hélène Guichard at the Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Louvre Museum for allowing to access and analysis of the objects. The AGLAE team at C2RMF, especially Quentin Lemasson and Laurent Pichon, is gratefully acknowledged for technical support during PIXE experiments; Dominique Bagault at C2RMF for the photographs of the NMS Riqqa jewellery; Matthew Ponting at the University of Liverpool for access to the Niton XL3t equipment, as well as Jim Tate and Alison Sheridan at National Museums Scotland for their comments and suggestions while working on the manuscript. Financial support for PIXE analysis was provided by the access to Research Infrastructures activity in the 7th Framework Programme of the EU (CHARISMA Grant Agreement No. 228330).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Museums Scotland, Collections Services Department, National Museums Collection Centre, 242 West Granton Road, Edinburgh, EH5 1JA, UK

    Lore Troalen

  2. CNRS, ArchAm - UMR 8096, MAE, 21 allée de l’Université, 92023, Nanterre, France

    Maria Filomena Guerra

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  1. Lore Troalen
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  2. Maria Filomena Guerra
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Correspondence to Lore Troalen.

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Troalen, L., Guerra, M.F. Gold from the tomb of Scribe Beri: a comparative analytical approach to the New Kingdom gold grave goods from Riqqa (Egypt). Appl. Phys. A 122, 210 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-016-9699-1

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