Coloured materials used in Elephantine: Evolution and continuity from the Old Kingdom to the Roman Period

Portable Raman and UV-visible spectrometers, equipped with optical fibres, were taken onto the island in order to identify the pigments and precious stones, such as garnet, lapis lazuli, ochre, Egyptian Blue, calcite, and huntite, that had been used. The analyses, carried out between 2008 and 2010, allowed us to propose a chronological evolution of the materials used to decorate official and private buildings in Elephantine.