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This study was carried out in preparation for the conservation of the oil painted dome of Archangel Gabriel church located at Haret El Saqqayeen in Abdeen (Cairo). Stratigraphic, chemical and environmental studies were conducted to examine the painting technique and to assess the conservation state of the dome. The dome was imaged using Multi-spectral imaging and samples were collected from representative areas. Cross-sections were investigated by the means of scanning electron microscopy coupled with dispersive energy of X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDS) and stereo microscopy. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) was employed for the identification of the paint medium. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the colorimetric measurements were conducted for characterization the differences of hues between the original and non-original pigments. As a part of the study, the environment within the dome was measured with data loggers and gas sampling. The results showed that the painted dome dates back to two different periods. The older paintings were applied before 1907 and were covered by ground layers to be repainted in 1907. Non-professional over-painting and the uncontrolled indoor climate have a significant role in the deterioration phenomena of the dome.

P. GEM 66796 and P. GEM 66797 were found together in a tomb in Illahun in 2009 by an Egyptian archaeological mission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. The tomb was described by the excavators as belonging to a craftsman and was dated to the Third Intermediate Period. The papyri were originally stored in the Kom-Aushim magazine, with the inventory numbers 91 and 92; they were subsequently moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum on 18 May 2016 and given the new inventory numbers of P. GEM 66796 and P. GEM 66977. During the same excavations, a further find was made of another group of fragmentary hieratic, late cursive hieratic and demotic papyri, but details of precisely where they were discovered are not yet available. These papyri show a number of similarities with the hand of P. GEM 66796.