TAA i.3.23.20.recto
Page 8 of first draft on shrines, handwritten.
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© Griffith Institute,
University of Oxford
shaped his work. In fact, so much were the methods <to such an extent were the>
employed by those ancient Egyptians the same as
those of the joiner’s art to-day, to describe them one has
but to quote from the latest article upon modern joinery,
published in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1)
It says:- “It is important that a joiner’s art work shall be
constructed of sound and dry materials, and on such
principles as to allow of movement due to changes of
temperature 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, (2) 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/<suggests> that the tendency of wood to warp and twist was
evidently provided against in the construction of the shrines.
The wood was evidently carefully selected, and <in all probability> 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 these
shrines, although of not great variety, nor of very complicated nature,