Egyptian Antiquities Organization

Progressive deterioration occurred in the tomb after its discovery, and one of us (G. B.) found evidence in the tomb that partial restoration was attempted in 1935 to retard this deterioration. In about 1940, the Egyptian Antiquities Organization (EAO) assessed the condition of the tomb because of startling changes within it. Salt crystals were evident, no mention of which was made in 1904 (24). Plaster swelling and the collapse of mural fragments... 

This chapter is based on the progress report submitted to the Egyptian Antiquities Organization, Cairo, January 1987. We acknowledge the Egyptian Antiquities Organization for providing permits to work in the tomb of Nefertari. 

Billard, T. C. Burns, G. On Deterioration of Egyptian Antiquities, Causes and Remedies progress report to the Egyptian Antiquities Organization University of Toronto Toronto, Canada, 1979. 

Charcoal was a valued commodity in antiquity. The ancient Egyptians used the volatile product of hardwood distillation, pyroligneous acid, for embalming. Before synthetic organic chemistry became well established, destructive hardwood distillation provided several important industrial chemicals, among these were acetone, acetic acid, and methanol (still often referred to as wood alcohol). Charcoal is a fine, smokeless fuel, prized for its smokeless nature and used extensively for outdoor cooking. Acetone was originally made by the dry distillation of calcium acetate made from wood-derived acetic acid, but better, cheaper sources are also available. 

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