ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND—While reviewing the Asian collections at the University of Aberdeen, curatorial assistant and archaeologist Abeer Eladany found several pieces of wood stored in an old cigar box, according to a BBC News report. Her search of the museum’s records revealed that the fragments once made up a piece of cedar discovered in 1872 by engineer Waynman Dixon inside the Queen's Chamber of Egypt’s Great Pyramid. The artifact was eventually donated to the museum in 1946 and ended up in the wrong collection, Eladany said. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the wood dates to somewhere between 3341 and 3094 B.C. Researchers think it may have been used in the construction of the Great Pyramid, which is estimated to have occurred some 500 years later. “This may be because the date relates to the age of the wood, maybe from the center of a long-lived tree,” explained Neil Curtis of the University of Aberdeen. “Alternatively, it could be because of the rarity of trees in ancient Egypt, which meant that wood was scarce, treasured and recycled or cared for over many years.” Dixon also found a ball and a hook in the Great Pyramid, which are now housed in the British Museum. These are the only three items ever recovered from the ancient structure, Eladany added. For more on the Great Pyramid's construction, go to "The Great Parallelogram."
