TAA i.1.memo.35
© Griffith Institute,
University of Oxford
Segment of a Reed (Floor Rubbish)
Length: 30 cms
External diameter 1.7 cm
The hollow reed has been filled with a material which now forms a hard, black
resinous-looking core, the diameter of which is 1.5cm., the whole probably forming a
torch.
The material of the core burns with a luminous and only slightly smoky flame:
it consists essentially of a mixture of resin and fatty matter. This latter is
now decomposed and it is impossible until further work has been done on it to
say whether it was originally an oil or a solid fat. The mixture of resin <(yellowish)> and fatty matter has been attacked by small beetles before it was introduced into the reed,
as there are no signs of the core <in its present position> having been attacked and yet many remains of small
beetles are embedded in the material.