Condition Assessment 

of a 2,500-Year-Old 

Mummy Coffin 

Robert J. Ross

Turker Dundar

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Forest

Products

Laboratory

Research

Note

FPL–RN–0327
April 2012

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.

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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 acousticbased 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

Acknowledgment

Dr. Turker Dundar thanks The Scientific and Technological 

Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) for their support 

of this research. 
Condition Assessment of a 

2,500-Year-Old Mummy Coffin 

Robert J. Ross, Supervisory Research General Engineer

Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin

Turker Dundar, Associate Professor

Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey

Introduction

Wood is one of the oldest materials used by humans; ancient 

civilizations used wood effectively for both structural and 

nonstructural applications. However, very few ancient wood 

artifacts have survived to modern times as a consequence 

of exposure to various biological agents that can cause their 

deterioration. 

The country of Egypt provides us with some of the best 

preserved wood artifacts because of several factors. First, 

despite the paucity of indigenous trees capable of producing wood in sufficient sizes to make large timbers, ancient 

Egyptians used wood extensively in a wide variety of applications. Second, the arid climate in Egypt provides an excellent environment for the long-term preservation of wood. As 

a consequence, excavations of various archeological sites in 

Egypt have yielded many well-preserved wood artifacts. 

It is interesting to note that early Egyptian woodworkers 

developed specialized techniques, which are very similar 

to those used today, to utilize small, low-quality timber as 

components of larger, ornately decorated items (Nicholson 

and Shaw 2000). To date, the oldest piece of plywood found 

came from a Third Dynasty Egyptian coffin; it consists 

of six layers of wood, each 4 mm thick, held together by 

wooden pegs. Similar to modern plywood, the grain of its 

layers are arranged crosswise to give added strength (Lucas 

and Harris 1999).

Mummy coffins are the best examples of Egyptian wood 

artifacts. As some of the most precious, ancient pieces at 

the largest museums in the world, mummy coffins provide 

scientists very important information about social, religious, 

and cultural beliefs of ancient Egyptians. The oldest wood 

mummy coffin found to date is estimated to be 5,000 years 

old and was made from cedar wood (Cedrus spp.). It was 

found at Sakkara, near Cairo, Egypt, in 2003 and had been 

placed in a tomb thought to date from 3100 to 2890 BC, under Egypt’s First Dynasty (BBC 2003).

The work reported here was conducted to assess the physical condition of a 2,500-year-old wood mummy coffin 

(Fig. 1), dated to the first millennium BC. This coffin is part 

of an exceptionally fine group of funerary objects that were 

acquired by the Nelson–Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas Figure 1. 2,500-year-old mummy 

coffin.
Research Note FPL–RN–0327

2

City, Missouri, in 2007 and scheduled for display in 2010 

in a newly designed gallery space. The assessment was conducted to provide information on the condition of the coffin 

to museum staff responsible for designing and constructing 

appropriate support mechanisms for its display. 

Methods and Results

We utilized visual and ultrasound nondestructive evaluation 

techniques to assess the condition of the coffin. In addition, 

a small wood sample taken from the coffin was used to determine the tree species of origin.

Species Identification

The wood was determined to be from a sycamore fig tree, 

Ficus sycomorus. This tree species was known as the “tree 

of life” in ancient Egypt and was cultivated commonly (Assmann and Lorton 2005, Medley 1993). The fruit, timber, and 

twigs are richly represented in the tombs of Early, Middle, 

and Late Kingdoms; it is also commonly mentioned in ancient Egyptian texts. The wood of this species was used for 

making roof timbers, coffins, wagons, and statues (Paul and 

Shaw 2000, Assmann and Lorton 2005).

Visual Inspection

The upper and lower sections of the coffin were visually 

inspected. Results of our visual inspection revealed the following: (1) Mechanical damage, possibly incurred at some 

point during its transport, was observed in several locations. 

(2) The upper section, when viewed from inside the coffin, 

showed no evidence of deterioration. The wood appeared 

to be in excellent condition. (3) The wood in the lower section, upon which the mummy would rest, was covered with 

a layer of dark red, brittle material. This area also contained 

numerous splits and cracks. 

Ultrasound Testing

Ultrasound nondestructive testing techniques are frequently 

used to determine if deteriorated wood is present in a 

structure. Specifically, velocity of sound transmission and 

attenuation characteristics are significantly affected by the 

presence of deterioration caused by fungal decay. We used a 

Sylvatest Duo (CBT–CBS, Les Écorces, France) unit to test 

several areas of both upper and lower sections of the coffin. 

To maintain the integrity of the coffin’s painted surface, a 

limited number of measurements were made at points where 

the paint layer was mechanically damaged. Results obtained 

from these measurements are summarized in Table 1. 

The acoustic properties of sycamore fig wood are not 

known. However, the acoustic wave velocities for wood 

from many hardwood and softwood tree species have been 

determined experimentally and have been found to vary 

from 3,300 to 6,000 m/s parallel to grain (parallel to the 

long axis of the fiber) and 900 to 1,750 m/s perpendicular to 

grain (perpendicular to the long axis of the fiber) at moisture 

content levels ranging between 4% and 12% (Pellerin and 

Ross 2002). The acoustic wave velocities observed for the 

upper section of the coffin were in the range of those known 

for wood that has not deteriorated. However, data from 

measurements on the lower section did indicate presence of 

wood deterioration. Acoustic wave velocity observed at one 

point was significantly lower than would be expected. As 

noted, visual inspection of this area revealed several splits 

and cracks. We could not ascertain if the wood was simply split from drying or was deteriorated from exposure to 

biological fluids or chemicals that might have been used in 

preserving the body. 

Mechanical Property Estimates

In our work to estimate some mechanical properties of the 

wood, we used a value of 0.30 for its specific gravity (SG). 

This value is lower than reported values for this species 

(Medley 1993, Ross and others 2004). We used a lower 

value to be conservative in our estimates. The Wood Handbook (FPL 2010) provides information on the fundamental 

relationship between SG and various mechanical properties 

for both hardwood and softwood species. For our work, 

we used empirical relationships between SG and compression parallel to grain, modulus of elasticity, and modulus of 

rupture. The formulas derived from these relationships and 

corresponding property value estimates are summarized in 

Table 2. Note that because the wood in the coffin was essentially clear (no knots or other major strength-reducing 

Table 1. Summary of ultrasound test results

Measurement 

number Section 

Orientation

relative 

to grain 

Possible 

deterioration 

of wood 

Wave

velocity 

(m/s) 

1 Upper Perpendicular No 1,455 

2 Upper Perpendicular No 1,155 

3 Upper Perpendicular Yes 958 

4 Upper Perpendicular No 1,905 

5 Upper Parallel No 4,426 

6 Lower Perpendicular No 1,572 

7 Lower Perpendicular No 1,726 

8 Lower Perpendicular No 1,430 

9 Lower Perpendicular No 1,425 

10 Lower Perpendicular Yes 508 
Condition Assessment of a 2,500-Year-Old Mummy Coffin

3

growth characteristics were observed), we believed it was 

appropriate to use these relationships with no additional 

modifications. 

Concluding Comments

We had the opportunity to apply nondestructive evaluation techniques to aid in the assessment of a 2,500-year-old 

wood coffin. Using visual and acoustic nondestructive testing techniques, we were able to locate an area of deterioration in the coffin. We were also able to confirm that much of 

the wood in the coffin is solid, with no deterioration present. 

This information was useful to individuals assigned the task 

of designing and constructing the support mechanism so 

that the coffin could be displayed in a vertical orientation 

(Fig. 2). 

Table 2. Summary of mechanical property estimates

Mechanical property Formulaa

Estimated value 

(lb/in2

)

b

Compression parallel to grain 11,030(SG0.89) 3,800 

Modulus of elasticity 2.39(SG0.7) 1.03 × 106

Modulus of rupture 24,850(SG0.13) 21,250 

a

 SG, specific gravity. 

b 1 lb/in2

 = 6.8948 kPa.

References

Assmann, J.; Lorton, D. 2005. Death and salvation in ancient Egypt. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. 504 p.

BBC. 2003. Wooden coffin yields ancient mummy. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2903983.stm. 

(Accessed 2/15/12).

FPL. 2010. Wood handbook—wood as an engineering material. Gen. Tech. Rep. FPL–GTR–190. Madison, WI: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products 

Laboratory.

Lucas, A.; Harris, J.R. 1999. Ancient Egyptian materials and 

industries. N. Chemsford, MA: Courier Dover Publications. 

523 p.

Medley, K.E. 1993. Extractive forest resources of the Tana 

River National Primate Reserve, Kenya. Economic Botany. 

47(2): 171–183.

Nicholson, P.T.; Shaw, I. 2000. Ancient Egyptian materials 

and technology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University 

Press. 724 p.

Pellerin, R.F.; Ross, R.J. 2002. Nondestructive evaluation of 

wood. Madison, WI: Forest Products Society.

Ross, R.J.; Brashaw, B.K.; Wang, X.; White, R.H.; Pellerin, 

R.F. 2004. Wood and timber condition assessment manual. 

Madison, WI: Forest Products Society. 73 p.

Figure 2. Coffin displayed in vertical orientation.