Archaeological wood

Crestini, C., N. M. N. El Hadidi, and G. Paleschi (2000), Towards the understanding of oxidative degradation processes in archaeological wood, in Book of Abstracts, 219th American Chemical Society National Mtg., San Francisco, March 26-30. 

Jensen, P. and D. J. Gregory (2006), Selected physical parameters to characterize the state of preservation of waterlogged archaeological wood A practical guide for their determination, /. Archaeol. Sci. 33, 551-559. 

Rowell, R. M. and R. J. Barbour (eds.) (1990), Archaeological Woods Properties, Chemistry and Preservation, Advances in Chemistry Series, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC. 

Hafors B (1990) The role of the Vasa in the development of the polyethylene glycol preservation method. In Rowell RM and Barbour RJ (eds), Archaeological wood properties, chemistry and preservation. Advances in Chemistry Series 225. American Chemical Society, Washington DC, 195-216... 

Recent studies into the condition of waterlogged archaeological wood from a range of sources, indicate that attack by tunnelling bacteria and soft rot fungi is more concentrated in the outer layers and erosion bacteria predominate deeper into the wood, suggesting the latter are much less oxygen dependent. 

Archaeological Wood Recovered from the Marine Environment... 

The marine environment presents a hostile and seemingly unlikely situation for the survival of archaeological wood, yet it does survive. Normally, wood does not survive long enough in marine environments to enter the archaeological record because of the activities of wood-boring animals and aerobic microbes. However, studies have shown that rapid burial in the anoxic sediments of the seabed will protect ships timbers and wooden artefacts from the physical, chemical and biological processes that influence the deterioration of exposed wood. 

The fundamental problem encountered if waterlogged archaeological wood is allowed to dry in an uncontrolled manner, is that it may shrink, collapse, distort, split and even in severe cases, completely disintegrate. The situation becomes a particular problem if the recently recovered wood is stored under conditions that do not prevent further deterioration. In an ideal world, it is... 

Research at the Mary Rose Trust has shown that gamma irradiation is a superior alternative to low temperature and biocide treatments of polyethylene-wrapped timbers and has been adopted by the Trust since 1998. Screening a range of bacteria and fungi isolated from waterlogged archaeological wood revealed that a dose of 15 KGy is required for the inactivation of most organisms (see Table 2). 

The feasibility of reburial as a storage method for waterlogged archaeological wood has been fairly well used. The near neutral pH, low Eh and absence of dissolved oxygen fulfil the requirements assumed by conservators for the... 

The depth of burial is also important when considering reburial of archaeological wood. Studies have shown that shallow burial will not prevent longterm deterioration of buried wood by microbes but at depths greater than 50 cm the extent of deterioration decreases significantly. 

Conservation in the context of waterlogged archaeological wood must remove mineral inclusions and stabilise the size and shape of the object. In addition, the conservation treatment should be reversible, and give long-term stability. All treatments of waterlogged archaeological wood should adhere... 

The types of chemical treatments involved in the conservation of archaeological wood are (i) lumen-filling treatments that fill the spaces within the wood with an inert chemical to provide structural support and prevent collapse, (ii) bulking treatments that enter the cell walls and reduce cell wall shrinkage, and (iii) surface coatings that cover the surface of a dry object. 

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