Cartonnage Regionalism in the Ateliers of the Fayum Territory

CRAFT aims to investigate Graeco-Roman funerary cartonnage from the Fayum Oasis, Egypt. The project raises and addresses new questions about the manufacturing of Ancient Egyptian cartonnage artefacts (mummy masks, foot-cases, full body covers) with an innovative approach that focuses on the multi-disciplinary study of such objects, never analysed in depth before. Through an Egyptological approach combined with enhanced, non-invasive archaeometric investigations, as well as with high-resolution 3D reconstructions of artefacts preserved in international museums, CRAFT will generate an unparalleled understanding of Graeco-Roman cartonnage artefacts and the socio-cultural milieu within which they were manufactured. Expected outcomes include advanced research collaborations, addressing questions of cultural heritage preservation, determining provenance, influences, regional features, and religious significance of a so far uninvestigated category of funerary objects.