Scientists examined the adhesives and binding agents used in various ancient Egyptian artifacts using a mass spectrometry-based proteomics method. In the study published in Science Advances, small samples dating from 1425 BCE to 400 CE, obtained from collections in Sweden, the United Kingdom and Denmark, were analyzed. These included painted wooden coffins, fragments of tomb wall paintings, painted plaster used in the construction of mummy busts, and painted limestone architectural elements. Blank control samples were used to rule out laboratory contamination, and the chemical damage in the proteins detected was also examined.
The results showed that the Egyptians frequently used cattle glue and collagens obtained from sheep, goats, horses, donkeys and antelopes. These materials were likely prepared by boiling animal skin and connective tissue. Animal proteins were found not only in adhesives but also in paint and ground-layer samples. The researchers found no clear association between the animal species and the type of artifact, method of application, color, chronology, geographic origin or context of use.
The analysis also revealed seed proteins from sesame and moringa plants. Sesame proteins were detected in a red sample from a coffin fragment and in a fragment of a tomb wall painting, while moringa proteins were identified in a coffin sample. These traces may be by-products left over from processing the seeds; further research using complementary methods is needed to determine their purposes of use conclusively. In ancient Egypt, oils obtained from these seeds were used in food, medicine, insect repellents, cosmetics and embalming. Moringa was also considered a manifestation of Ptah, regarded as the patron of artisans, so the traces in the coffin may be connected to the plant’s symbolic meaning.
The proteomic method can identify all proteins in complex mixtures, as well as their damage, in detail using only a small amount of sample.
Why it matters
The study’s main contribution is demonstrating that organic materials in ancient artifacts can be examined not merely as materials of general animal origin, but at the level of which animals the proteins came from. The absence of a clear match with species, color, period or context of use shows that the choice of material cannot be explained by a single production rule and that the artifacts must be evaluated individually. Since this approach enables multiple components to be examined together in very small samples, it could contribute to more detailed interpretations of existing findings in conservation and art history research. However, it is not yet clear whether the sesame and moringa traces are production residues, deliberate additions, or related to moringa’s symbolic meaning; complementary analyses will determine this distinction.