Natural ageing of the ancient Egyptian linens.

Over 150 mummies had been found in one of the noble tombs (B. C. 15-16 C.) on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, Egypt•UAR by Egyptian culture center of Waseda University. The tombs were the rock-cut graves built in the slope of the low terrace. Six linen specimens, which had been used for mummy-cloth or a bandage in this tomb, were analysed and compared to modern linen with no chemical treatment. 56-126mmol/glucose unit of aldehyde groups and 31-102mmol/glucose unit of ketone groups were formed in the ancient linen by oxidation over the long period of time, while carboxyl groups were hardly detected. The linens exhibited low D. P., although neither the cellulose crystallinities nor the crystallite sizes in the lateral dimension, estimated with the (020) reflection, were significantly different from each value of the modern linen. These facts suggest that the slow oxidation proceeded in such dry and dark environment as the tomb, and that the reaction especially in the crystalline regions were accompanied with the cleavage of the molecular chains rather than that of the inter-molecular hydrogen bonds by hydroxyl groups.