The main objective of this study is to identify the differences between two important techniques of colouring and decorating textiles in ancient Egypt, namely the dyeing and painting and their influences on the morphology of archaeological textiles. In this study experimental samples were prepared from artificially aged dyed and painted linen textiles with some of the common pigments and natural dyes used in ancient Egypt, to obtain samples similar as possible to the archaeological ones. The samples were studied and investigated using a Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with EDX unit (SEM-EDX) and Ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) microscopy. The results showed that the inorganic pigment particles are deposited on and in-between the fibres' surfaces, and serve as a protective coating for the fibres against the morphological deterioration caused by artificial ageing. In contrast, the dye molecules are small enough to penetrate and colour the fibres uniformly. They also decreased the degradation of the surface morphology of the fibres after ageing.