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The mission of the Brooklyn Museum is to act as a bridge between the rich artistic heritage of world cultures, as embodied in its collections, and the unique experience of each visitor. Dedicated to the primacy of the visitor experience, committed to excellence in every aspect of its collections and programs, and drawing on both new and traditional tools of communication, interpretation, and presentation, the Museum aims to serve its diverse public as a dynamic, innovative, and welcoming center for learning through the visual arts.

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About the Mut Expedition

Since 1976, the Brooklyn Museum has been carrying out archaeological work at the Temple Precinct of the Goddess Mut at South Karnak, an important religious site for almost two thousand years. Dig Diary invites you to follow the recent work of the expedition in weekly photo journals covering every aspect of our team's activity.

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Friday, February 16, 2007

Working on Site

Pictured above are fragments of stone on the long, and numerous mastabas, or raised platforms found at Mut Temple and many other archaeological sites throughout Egypt. These mastabas provide safe areas to store fragmentary blocks away from the often very salty soil. Soluble salt, by dissolving and recrystalizing within the body of a fragment, can cause a great deal of damage to even very durable stones.
Khaled and I spend much of our time on site, joining fragments. The purpose of this is so that inscriptions are more easily read and frankly, so that these often small fragments do not become lost. In an outdoor environment, we need to use a durable adhesive. In this case, we use an epoxy with a barrier layer of a more reversable adhesive. Making joins that are perfect can be tough.
Often the surfaces are so eroded, there are not good clean areas to join. Also, getting the right balance, so that the pieces stay together while the adhesive cures can be a challenge. At least in Egypt, there is enough sand to make many sandboxes to assist in this effort.

Lisa Bruno
Objects Consevator

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