TAA i.3.23.45

                                               4

ancients Egyptians the same as those of the joiner’s art 

to-day, to describe them one has but to quote from the 

article upon modern joinery, published in the Encyclopaedia 

Britannica (Fou<r>teenth Edition, vol. 13, pp. 120-7).

          It says:- “It is important that a joiner’s work shall 

be constructed of sound and dry materials, and on such

principles as to allow of movement due to changes of temp-

erature and humidity.” The condition in which the woodwork 

of these shrines was discovered, notwithstanding infrequent 

moisture having filtered into the tomb chambers, exposing the 

wood to periods of intense humid atmosphere, followed by 

long intervals of drought, (see Chap. V, vol. iii) demonstrates 

that such precautions were in <all> probability taken into account. 

And although shrinkage had taken place causing the boards to

become smaller and come away from one another, there were 

practically no signs of their warping or twisting. This shows

that the tendency of wood to warp and twist was provided

against in the construction <of the shrines>. The timber was evidently care-

fully selected, and probably “the direction of the annular 

rings in alternate boards reversed” before joining them up. 

          “In joinery, strength depends to a large extent upon the 

rigidity of the joints.” The different joints employed 

in the construction of those shrines, although of not great 

variety, nor of very complicated nature, they show from their  

adaption, that their true value in joinery was thoroughly

understood. 

          In some instances to obtain an increased width of material

the simplest type of joint was employed, such as:- “The square 

or smooth joint, in which the edges of the boards to be jointed

were planed straight and square to the faces (<then> probably with an

adze, after which the edges were glued and rubbed into close