A unique painted wooden coffin belonging to "IRTIR. W" that dates back to the Late Period was excavated during the survey of the Unas pyramid road in 1965. Since then, the coffin has been stored at the Saqqara museum. The wooden coffin is composed of two pieces, a lower part (base) to lay down the mummy and an upper part (lid). Both parts are well-decorated and colored. In this study, we characterize the materials used and the construction method of the coffin. Multispectral imaging in the visible, near-infrared, and near-ultraviolet regions was conducted for mapping and for the preliminary identification the pigments on the coffin's surface in addition to the previous restoration attempts. Moreover, the results of the multispectral images acted as a guide to other analytical techniques. X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were applied on the location of the different pigments, and the results from all techniques were compared to each other. The wood of the coffin comes from the Ficus sycomorus tree and is covered with a ground preparation layer that is identified as calcite mixed with animal glue. Beeswax is also identified through FTIR in samples from the different pigments, suggesting its use as a previous restoration material. The decorations on the coffin's surface were painted using six pigments: calcite (white), carbon (black), hematite (red), Malachite (green), Egyptian blue, and Orpiment (yellow).
Salama et al. (Wed,) studied this question.