LaserCleaningofancientEgyptian

wallpaintingsinthetombof
NeferhotepTT49
Dipl.Rest.SusanneBrinkmann,
Dipl.Rest.ChristinaVerbeek

Fig.01:Since2004,afterintensivetesting,thesootcoveredpaintingshave
beencleanedbyasolidstatelaser.

Abstract
Thisarticleisabouttheexaminationandapplicationoftheuseoflasertechnologiesinthesensitive
conservationsituationposedattheTombofNeferhotep.TheTombofNeferhotep(TT49),locatedin
theThebannecropolisnearthecityofLuxor,hadundergoneextensivedamageduetohuman
inhabitation,farmingpractices,andspecificallyfromtheresidueofburningmummieswithinthe
tomb.Theconservationworkwascenteredonthisresidueofencrustedsootandlayersofdirtwhich
renderedthefragilewallpaintingsnearlyundecipherable.Incombinationwithmechanicaland
chemicalpractices,lasertechnologiesweretestedandapplied,resultinginasuccessfulnon
destructivecleaningmethod.ForthelasercleaninginEgypt,afiberbackpacklasersystem(CL20,
cleanLASERHerzogenrath,Germany)waschosenduetoexcellentpretestingresultsandbecauseof
thesmalldevicesize.Inthetomb,lasertestsarecarriedoutondifferentsurfaces.Ondecoratedas
wellasonundecoratedsurfacessootcrustscanbereducedwiththissolidstatelaser.Usinga
combinationofchemicalandmechanicalpreliminarycleaningmethodswiththelasertreatment
oftenshowedthebestresults.Onthewhitebackgroundsofthewallpaintingsthelasercleaning
workedinaselfregulatedprocessandshowedverygoodcleaningresultsbythinningthesootlayers
pulsebypulse.Inpolychromeareasofthepaintingthecleaningprocessisverydifficultduetothe
inconsistentcharacterofthematerials,wheretheselfregulatingablationprocessisnotpossible.A
combinationofthelasertreatmentwithotherconservationandcleaningtechniquesallowedthe
reductionofsootanddirtontheseheterogeneoussurfaces.Particularlywithregardtothesensitive
areasofinconsistentpolychromepaintlayers,thecontroloftheablationprocessbyaskilled
conservatorismostefficientforhomogenousandnondestructivecleaningresult.

Introduction
Since1999aninternationalteam
ofArgentinianEgyptologists,
ItalianArchaeologistandGerman
conservatorshavebeenworking
ontheinvestigationand
conservationoftheoldEgyptian
tombTT49.Thedecoratedtomb
chapelofNeferhotepislocated
inthenecropolisofwestern
Thebesnearthevalleynow
Fig.2:EncrustedsootandlayersofdirtcoversthewallpaintingsintheTheban
tombTT49.Conservationtreatmentswerecarriedoutsince2000.

calledDeirelBahri,where
famousrulerslikeHatshepsut
builttheirtemples.

ItwastheNecropolisoftheoldEgyptianUpperclass.ThetombwiththeregistrationnumberTheban
Tomb49wasbuiltinthereignofPharaohAy,around1320BC.

Thetomb
ThetombchapelofNeferhotephasthetypicalstructureofthisperiod:Outside,acourtiscutinto
thedeserthillside.Thefaadefacestherisingsunandisstampedwiththetombownersnameand
titles.Theinteriorofthechapelisthemostdecoratedspacewithwallpaintingsandafigurenichefor
thestatuesofthetombownerandhisfamily.Theburialchamberishiddenundergroundinalower
levelofthetombandiscompletelyundecorated.
Whenthetombwasrediscoveredinthebeginningofthenineteenthcentury,thewallpaintingswere
stillinrelativegoodcondition.Therichdecorationofpaintings,reliefsandstatuessufferedseverely
aftertheexcavationofthetomb,whichwasbeingusedtokeepcattleandforhousing.Thegreatest
incidentinthehistoryofthistombchapelwastheburningofmummiesinanannexroominsidethe
tomb.Forthisreason,thicksootlayersarecoveringgreatpartsofthepaintingsanddecoratedstone
surfaces.Especiallytheceilingsandupperpartsofthewallsinthepillarhallarecoveredbysoot.

Conservationtreatments
Thedamagesonthewallpaintingsandrocksupporthavedifferingintensityandpotentialrisk.The
stabilityoftherocksupportmarlylimestone,variesfromgoodconditiontoaveryfragilestructure.
Thewallpaintingsaresufferingfromtheweakconditionofthelimestone,causingdelaminationand
partiallossofplaster.Thepaintingsshowalossofcohesionandareflakingoffespeciallythickpaint

layerswithcoarseEgyptianblueandgreenpigment.Butasignificantalterationarethesootfilmsand
crustsonthepaintingandstonesurface.Theblacksootlayersdiminishthelegibilityofthepainting.
Thesecrustsonthesurfaceofthepaintlayercanalsocausethepaintingtoflakeoffthewall.
Themainconservationactivitiesinthetombaretreatmentstostabilizethelosestonefragments,
plasterandcracksbytheinjectionofmortar.

ResearchProject
Forthecomplexproblemofcleaningfragilesootblackenedsurfacesaresearchprogramwas
implementedwiththesupportoftheGermanGerdaHenkelFoundationtodevelopspecificcleaning
methods.First,thecompositionofhistoricmaterialsandoverlyingsoilingisanalyzedtofindout
abouttheirchemicalandphysicalpropertiesaswellastheiralterationandsensitivity.

ChemicalcompositionofPaintLayers
GumArabicwasusedasabindingmediumforthepaintings.(ResearchbyJgers&Jgers2009)
Scientificanalysisofasetofsamplestakenfrompaintedfragmentshasrevealedastandardpalette
forthisperiod.Thepigmentsusedarecoalblack,huntitewhite,redandyellowochre,greenand
bluefritandJarosit.Somepolychromepartsofthepaintingsarefinishedwithamasticvarnish.
(ResearchbyJgers&Jgers2009;Kutzke2007;Brinkmann,etal.2009)

Compositionofthesoot
FTIRanalysesdetectedgypsum,calciteandincinerationresidueofalteredfats,oilsandresinsinthe
sootlayers.Thesearetheresiduesfromburningmummificationmaterialswiththeirhighcontentof
fats,oilsandresins.(ResearchbyHerm2004)
Thecleaningofthewallpaintingsaimstoreducetheoverlayingcrustsofsootanddirt,therewith
interruptingtheongoingdamageprocesses.Italsoaimsingainingthevisibilityandunderstandingof
thedepictions.Duetotheverycompleximpairments,differentmethodslikemechanicaland
chemicalcleaningweretested.Inspecificareasofthepaintings,chemicalandmechanicalcleaning
provedtobesuccessful.Butintheverysensitiveareasoffragilepaintlayersofhighwaterorsolvent
sensitivity,likethewhitebackgrounds,thetraditionalcleaningmethodswerenotsuitable.
Withregardtotheproblemofcleaningthesootdarkenedwhitebackgrounds,thelasercleaningwas
consideredbecauseitcouldoptimizethecleaningresultswithaselectiveablationprocess,thus
avoidingsideeffectswhilepreservingthehistoricallayersbehindtheblacksootcrusts.

Previoustesting
First,thepretestinginthelaboratoriesoftheFraunhoferInstituteandofcleanLASERwerecarried
outonsamplesofsoiledlimestone,fragmentsofpaintedplaster,coloredclayshardsandsoot
covereddummieswithtypicaloldEgyptianpaintingmaterials.Fortheseteststhelightweight
backpacklaserfromcleanLASERsystemsCL20wasused.(ResearchbyPanzner2004)
Smallmasks(3x5mm)wereusedtodefinetestingareasonthedifferentmaterials.Aftertesting,
thesesampleswereexaminedwithamicroscopetoseealterationsincolor,materialloss,and
surfacestructure.Theinitialtestingwastodetectifaselectivereductionofthesootcrustwas
possiblewithoutcausingdamagetothesupportingsurface.Also,thesetestswereusedtodefinethe
specificparametersforuseontheOldEgyptianwallpaintingsinthetombchapel.

Becauseofaccuratecontrolofthefiberlaser,thetreatmentwaspossibleduetotheveryprogressive
actionofthelaser,whichwassoftlythinningthesootlayerspulsebypulse.
Alsothetestingonpigmentswaspromisinggoodcleaningresultswhenlowenergyintensitieswere
employed.Theriskofcolorchangeisevidentiftheenergyimpactistoohigh.Forexample,Egyptian
Bluecouldchangetogreyandthelasercleaningofcoalblackisdifficultduetothesimilarabsorption
propertiesofthesootlayers.

BackpackLaser
TheCleanLASERsystemCL20isalaserattachedtoa
backpackwiththeweightofjust12kilogram,making
iteasytotransportandhandle.
ThebackpacksystemworkswithaQswitchedbeam
whichisdeliveredbya2meterlightwaveguide(glass
fibercable)totheendeffector:Inthisway,a
controlledablationprocessofthesootanddirtcrust
ispossible,leavingthesubstrateundamaged.

Fig.03:PortableandrobustBackpacklaser,idealfor
applicationinunfriendlyenvironment.CleanLASER
Herzogenrath(www.cleanlaser.de)

Changeofparameters
Theuseroperatesthescanningendeffectorofthelaserbymovingahandpiecewithintegrated
scannerparalleltotheobjectsurface.Theoperatingparameterscanberegulatedonthisend
effector.Intheusedsolidstatelaser,powerdensityisdefinedthroughfollowingparameters:
averagelaserpower(P),scanwidth(SW),scanfrequency(SF),pulsefrequency(FP)(alsocalled
repetitionrate)andnumberofpasses(NP).Thecleaningresultisalsodependentonthefocal
distanceandthespeedofmanualmovement.Theaveragelaserpowerrisesin4incrementsupto20
watt.

Laserparameter

solidstatelaser(CL20)

Pulseenergy(20W)

0,5[mJ]

Areaofsinglepulse

<0,01[mm2]

Focaldistance

160[mm]

Pulseduration

>100[ns]

Pulsefrequency

40000115000[Hz]

Intensity

107,<2,5x107[W/cm2]

Scanfrequency

50150[Hz]

Wavelength

10644[nm]

Beamguidance

Scanline,orthogonaltothelinehandmovement

Tab.1ParametercleanLASERCL20

Thecombinationoftheseparametersoffersthepossibilityforaneasyandpreciseregulationoflaser
intensity.Thebestandhomogenouscleaningresultscanbefoundwhenthelaserpulsesoverlapin
anoptimalway.Thisoverlappingofthepulsesisregulatedbythecombinationofdifferent
parameters.
Specialinterestformuralpaintingcleaningbesidesthechoiceofthepulseenergy(watt)istofind
thespecificpulsefrequency:Thelaserbeampowergeneratedbythebasicapplianceisstoredbyan
optoelectronicelementintheresonatorandistransmittedinshort,veryintensivepulses.These
pulseshaveapeakpowermuchhigherthanthepowerofaconstantemission(qswitcheffect).The
lightcanbefocusedbynormalopticelements,likeglasslenseswithdifferentfocallengthsand
correspondingfocaldiameters.Duetothebundledbeam,thepulsedlaserradiationcausesthe
removalofouterlayers.Thenumberoflaserpulsespersecondisdecisivefortheeffectofeach
individualpulse.Dependingontheareaofapplication,pulsefrequenciesbetweenseveralthousand
anduptoahundredthousandpulsespersecondcanbeadjusted.Inthecaseofalowpulse
frequency,theentirebeampowergeneratedinthebasicapplianceisdistributedtoarelativelyfew
butveryintensivelaserpulses.Inthecaseofahighpulsefrequency,theintensityoftheindividual
laserpulsesdecreasesaccordingly.Theeffectoftheindividuallaserpulsecanthereforebe
determinedverypreciselythroughthechoiceofthepulsefrequency.Asthepulsefrequencyis
lowered,theintensityofeachlaserpulseincreasesandthebeambecomesmoreaggressive.When
thepulsefrequencyisraised,theintensityofeachpulseisdecreased.Toavoiddamagingthe
substratebylaserradiation,ahighpulsefrequencyshouldbesetinitially.Theremovalcanbe
intensifiedbyreducingthefrequency.(ResearchbySommer2014)


Pulsefrequency
TOOLOW
decreasescanfrequency

Scanwidth
TOOHIGH
decreasescanfrequency

Scanfrequency

Tab.02:Schematicdiagramoftheeffectofchangingparametersontheendeffector

Lasercleaningtestsinthetomb
Thefirstcleaningtestsinthetombwerecarriedoutonundecoratedsootcoveredareasinorderto
findsuitableparametersforthereductionofdirtlayers.
Thelasertreatmentswerecarriedouton
definedsamplefieldsofvarioussurfaces,which
wereexaminedwithamicroscopebothprior
andposttreatment.Todetectpossiblematerial
alterations,microsampleswereevaluated
throughlightmicroscopy,SEM,FTIR,XRFand
microchemicalanalyses.(ResearchbyJgers&

Fig.04:Testsinthetombwithdifferinglaserparameters
throughmasksof5x10mm.

Jgers2009).

Afterdeterminingthecorrectparametersfornondestructivecleaningonundecoratedsurfaces,the
cleaningpossibilitiesofpolychromeareaswereapprovedbyfurtherlasercleaningtests.

Results
Areductionofthesootlayersonundecorated,
aswellas,ondecoratedstonesurfacesandwall
paintingsinthetombofNeferhotepispossible
withthebackpacksolidstatelasersystem.The
cleaningresultsarehighlyconsistentand
efficient.
Onstonesurfaces,acombinationofchemical
andlasercleaningbringsaboutthebestresults.
Becauseoftheporousstructureofthestone,
oilyandfattycomponentsofthesoothad
penetratedintothesurface,thusmakingit
impossibletoremovetheextremelythicksoot

Fig.05:Removingthicksootlayersfromthepaintings.A
rapidpulsedlaserbeamscansacrossthetreatedsurface.

crustswithoutresidue.
Goodresultswereevidentonthewhitebackgroundpaintlayerswhereaselfregulatingwork
procedureandselectiveablationofthesootlayerwaspossiblewithoutinterferingwiththe
underground.Thelasertreatmentdoesnotcauseanyharmtothefragilepaintlayers,thoughathin
yellowtransparentfilmisperceptibleonthesurface.

Thecleaningtestsonpolychromeareasshowthatthetreatmentneedsadifferentiatedapproachto
thesespecificsituations.Thenondestructivesootreductionofred,yellowandgreenwaspossible
afterdeterminingsuitablelaserparameters.Onlywithmultiplepassesonthesamplefieldtherewas
somereductionofpigment.Ontheotherhand,theEgyptianblueandgreenpigmentsweretreated
withoutanycoloralteration.
Auxiliarymaterialswiththelasercleaning:Coal
blackpigmentunderneathablacksootcrustisa
particularlydifficultcaseforlasercleaningdueto
thesimilarabsorptionspectrum.Coveringthe
blackpaintedareaswiththetemporary
consolidationmaterialCyclododecansolvedthis
problem,asthisactedasatemporaryshield
Fig.06:Beforelasertreatmentblackpaintedareaswere
coveredwiththetemporaryconsolidationmaterial
Cyclododecan.

hinderingthelaserlightfromablation.
Cyclododecansublimateswithoutleavingresiduals
onthetreatedsurface.


However,theveryinconsistentcompositionofpaintedsurfaces,alongwiththeinconsistenciesin
overlyingdust,dirtandsootdeposits,makesaselfregulatedablationprocessimpossible.The
paintedsurfaceswithintricatestructuresandmultiplecolorsareachallengetothelasercleaning
processandtheoperator.Inthepolychromeareas,aprogressivereductionofthesootanddirt
layersistheaimofthelasercleaning,leavingonlyathinpatinaonthesurface.

Anothersubjectofthisanalysiswasthethinyellowishtransparentfilmremainingonthesurfaceof
stoneandwallpaintingafterthelasertreatment.Microchemical,REMandFTIRanalysisindicated
thisasorganicsubstanceswhichpenetratedintotheporoussurfacestructureofthepaintlayers,
plasterandstone.Thesearomatichydrocarbonsseemtobethealteredresiduesfromburning
mummies.
Theseorganicsubstancesin
thesootcrustscanbefound
ontreatedaswellason
untreatedsamplesofthe
paintlayers.(Researchby
Jgers&Jgers2009,2014)

Fig.07:Athinyellowtransparentlayercanbedetectedontreated(right)aswellas
onuntreatedsamples(left).

ItwaspossibletoreducethesootanddirtcrustsonbroadareasoftheOldEgyptianwallpaintingsin
thetombchapelofNeferhotepwiththehelpoftheportablebackpackfibrelaserequippedwith
rechargeablebatteries.
Inordertoobtainsootreductionon
differentsurfacesofstone,plasterand
wallpainting,acombinationof
mechanical,chemicalandlasercleaning
methodsshowedthebestresults.
Previouslyillegibledetailsoftheseunique
wallpaintingsarenowvisibleagain.

Fig.08:Detailofthewallpaintingbeforeandafterlasercleaning.

Fig.09:PortraitofNeferhotepbefore,duringandaftertreatmentwithchemical,mechanicalandlasercleaningmethods.

Acknowledgement
WewouldliketothanktheGerdaHenkelFoundationfortheirfinancialsupport,throughwhichthis
testingoflasercleaningwasmadepossible.WewouldalsoliketothankCleanLasersystemsand
FraunhoferInstitute,Dresde.Ourgratitudegoestotheheadoftheproject,Prof.M.VioletaPereyra,
BuenosAiresandthemembersofNeferhotepe.V..

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