Assessment of biodegradation in ancient archaeological wood from the Middle Cemetery at Abydos, Egypt

Abydos is a large, complex archaeological site located approximately 500 km south of Cairo in Upper Egypt. The site has served as a cemetery for thousands of years and is where most of the Early Dynastic royal tombs are located. North Abydos includes the Middle Cemetery and the North Cemetery, which...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PloS one 2019-03, Vol.14 (3), p.e0213753-e0213753
Main Authors:	Abdel-Azeem, Ahmed M, Held, Benjamin W, Richards, Janet E, Davis, Suzanne L, Blanchette, Robert A
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Analysis Archaeological sites Archaeology Aspergillus Aspergillus - genetics Aspergillus - isolation & purification Biodegradation Biodegradation, Environmental Biodiversity Biological diversity Biology and Life Sciences Canals Cemeteries Conservation DNA, Fungal - metabolism DNA, Ribosomal - metabolism Egypt Electron microscopy Environmental degradation Excavations (Archaeology) Forests Forests and forestry Fungi Fungi - genetics Fungi - isolation & purification Hardwoods Historic buildings & sites Historic sites Humans Hydrogen-Ion Concentration Laboratories Landscape Medicine and Health Sciences Microscopy Museums Old-growth forests Penicillium People and Places Physical characteristics Physical Sciences Plant pathology Preservation Sand particles Scanning electron microscopy Social Sciences Soft rot Soil Microbiology Soil properties Soils Studies Termites Wood Wood - chemistry Wood - metabolism Wood - microbiology
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Summary:	Abydos is a large, complex archaeological site located approximately 500 km south of Cairo in Upper Egypt. The site has served as a cemetery for thousands of years and is where most of the Early Dynastic royal tombs are located. North Abydos includes the Middle Cemetery and the North Cemetery, which are separated from each other by a wadi. The Middle Cemetery was the burial ground for important Sixth Dynasty (2407-2260 BC) officials and over time for thousands of elite and non-elite individuals as well. Excavations at the core area of the Old Kingdom mortuary landscape have revealed many culturally important wooden objects but these are often found with extensive deterioration that can compromise their preservation. The objectives of this study were to characterize the biodegradation that has taken place in excavated wooden objects, elucidate the type of wood degradation present, obtain information on soil properties at the site and identify fungi currently associated with the wood and soils. Light and scanning electron microscopy studies were used to observe the micromorphological characteristics of the wood, and culturing on different media was done to isolate fungi. Identification of the fungi was done by examining morphological characteristics and extracting rDNA from pure cultures and sequencing the ITS region. Wooden objects, made from Cedrus, Juniperus and Acacia as well as several unidentified hardwoods, were found with extensive degradation and were exceedingly fragile. Termite damage was evident and frass from the subterranean termites along with sand particles were present in most woods. Evidence of soft rot attack was found in sections of wood that remained. Fungi isolated from wood and soils were identified as species of Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Penicillium, Stemphylium Talaromyces and Trichoderma. Results provide important information on the current condition of the wood and gives insights to the identity of the fungi in wood and soils at the site. These results provide needed information to help develop conservation plans to preserve these degraded and fragile wooden objects.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203