Tra scienze e archeologia: le indagini archeometriche degli ornamenti da Tebtynis nell’ambito delle ricerche sulle collezioni egizie del Museo di Scienze Archeologiche e d’Arte (Università di Padova)

The Egyptian collections at the Museum of Archaeological Sciences and Art are composed of two distinct groups: E. Neumann’s collection and materials from the excavations in Tebtynis (Fayyum) of the University of Padua (1930-1935). Approximately 500 papyri (project Papyri Patavinae) and approximately 100 beads are currently under restoration and study. The research follows the lines: 1) reconstruction of characters’ profiles: the collector (E. Neumann) and the archaeologist (C. Anti) in the history of archaeology and museology of the early 20th century; 2) study of materials: first step, here presented, for the study of the beads is the correct materic identification, which can be obtained, in a totally non-invasive way, using optical microscopy (OM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Both methodologies gave satisfactory results in view of further studies.