TAA i.3.23.26

side and end sections slightly open; they also cut away the 

inner surface of the chief beam at the ends, and made 

slight but similar enlargements at the front inner corners. 

The chips of wood cut from the inner surface of the chief 

beam were examined by M^R L. A. Boodle, who found 

them to be of two kinds which he has identified as being:-

(1) Cedar – Cedrus Atlantica, Mannetti, or Cedrus Libani, 

Barrelier; (2) Christ's thorn – Zizyphus Spina-Christi; Willow. (1) 

The chips of wood identified as cedar were faced with gesso 

and gilded, and they evidently came from the inner 

surface of the chief beam; while the piece identified as 

Christ’s thorn was not gilded, and was thus evidently a chip

from one of the tongues employed for joining up the chief beam 

to the panel. It therefore may be fairly safely said that 

the planking of this shrine is of cedar wood (probably Cedrus 

Libani from the Lebanon or Asia Minor), and that Christ’s 

thorn wood, owing to its harder and tougher nature, was used

for the strengthening dowels and tongues in its joinery.

          With the exception of the roof, which is inscribed with formulae 

in incised relief work, the entire external and internal surfaces 

of this shrine have been sculptured in low bas-relief with religious 

representations and texts. These formulae, texts, and representations 

are all worked upon a gesso coating, which has been overlaid

with a thin layer of gold laid on as gold leaf.