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Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’

blog.britishmuseum.org

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Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’

#31

Post by chrisseaton »

exDM69 wrote: post #17
brailsafe wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't those materials basically amount to plastic? The products we have now are definitely crap, but they sure as hell last a long time.

No, beeswax, linseed oils, pine resin are not plastic. They can be used instead of plastic in many applications but they're still renewable and bio-degradable materials. Bitumen is a crude oil product, and quite nasty material indeed. But it's not really what I was referring to here. Plastic is very durable but it's quite brittle. A plastic bucket for example can break quite easily and needs to be disposed of respons…

> No, beeswax, linseed oils, pine resin are not plastic.

How would you describe them except 'plastic'?

> They can be used instead of plastic in many applications but they're still renewable and bio-degradable materials.

Many plastics are renewable and biodegradable.

Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’

#32

Post by Intermernet »

Digit-Al wrote: post #23
ConsiderCrying wrote: post #9

I love the clash of deeply detailed language like "we vaporized the samples and used ‘Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS)’ and separated the molecules" with them using 'black goo' as a term. I am fascinated that the goo wasn't just a random choice for mummification but apparently had spiritual/cultural significance. Never knew too much about Egyptian culture but this being a sort of 'regeneration' symbol,…

> I love the clash of deeply detailed language like "we vaporized the samples and used ‘Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS)’ and separated the molecules" with them using 'black goo' as a term. I would argue that 'black goo' is the most deeply detailed and technical term that could be used for such a substance. I think we can both agree that one cannot argue that it is not black. Now read the following defi…

Not precise or technical, but from an evocative perspective, I like the term "Necroplasm".

Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’

#35

Post by cmrdporcupine »

exDM69 wrote: post #17
brailsafe wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't those materials basically amount to plastic? The products we have now are definitely crap, but they sure as hell last a long time.

No, beeswax, linseed oils, pine resin are not plastic. They can be used instead of plastic in many applications but they're still renewable and bio-degradable materials. Bitumen is a crude oil product, and quite nasty material indeed. But it's not really what I was referring to here. Plastic is very durable but it's quite brittle. A plastic bucket for example can break quite easily and needs to be disposed of respons…

Polymerized linseed oil ("Danish oil") is definitely a kind of plastic.

It just isn't made with a petrochemical.

Linseed oil is awesome stuff though. Currently working on some wooden skis, some with woven flax instead of fiberglass and some with linseed varnish & pine tar bases.

Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’

#36

Post by [deleted] »

tragomaskhalos wrote: post #26
ginko wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I was surprised about the bitumen and its origin story Interesting, bitumen was the first (and only) thing I thought of.

Indeed - I believe people in the middle ages burnt mummies as fuel because of their bitumen content

[deleted]

Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’

#38

Post by analog31 »

exDM69 wrote: post #12

I guessed quite a few of these ingredients because I work with beeswax, tree resins and plant oils in the wood shop, particularly when doing instruments. I was surprised about the bitumen and its origin story (floating blobs in the dead sea). That stuff looks like bitumen but I did not expect that they had petroleum products so long ago. I use lots of materials in my craft that were once used by the ancient Egyptians…

Thankfully, hide glue is still readily available. There may have been some limited experimentation with modern glue in stringed instruments, but pretty much everybody is still using hide glue today.

Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’

#39

Post by klyrs »

exDM69 wrote: post #12

I guessed quite a few of these ingredients because I work with beeswax, tree resins and plant oils in the wood shop, particularly when doing instruments. I was surprised about the bitumen and its origin story (floating blobs in the dead sea). That stuff looks like bitumen but I did not expect that they had petroleum products so long ago. I use lots of materials in my craft that were once used by the ancient Egyptians…

http://www.dnr.louisiana.gov/assets/TAD/education/BGBB/2/anc...

Patroleum products were used by indigenous peoples around the world. Going back in time would be pretty wild -- you could just walk around the Dakotas and pick up nuggets of gold; in otherwise pristine environments, you'd find waterways contaminated by oil seeps. Northern indigenous peoples found uses for the oil, but not the gold.

Re: Ancient Egyptian coffins and mystery of ‘black goo’

#40

Post by bagpuss »

here is a proposal to procure some of this liquid and drink it

"we need to drink the red liquid from the cursed dark sarcophagus in the form of some sort of carbonated energy drink so we can assume its powers and finally die"

https://www.change.org/p/let-people-drink-the-red-liquid-fro...

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