Conservation of archaeological

Sease, Catherine. 2002. The conservation of archaeological materials. In Archaeology. Original Readings in Method and Practice, P.N. Peregrine, C.R. Ember, and M. Ember (eds.), pp. 36-47. Upper Saddle River, NJ Prentice Hall. 

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. 

He became involved in the conservation of archaeological wood as an undergraduate botany student at Washington State University. 

Complex degradation processes generally occur to some degree, even in controlled environments. In the case of wood, such processes terminate in reversion to topsoil in the natural environment. The conservation of archaeological wood might best be defined as any effort directed toward the retention of desirable intrinsic characteristics. In other words, conservation attempts to slow down or reverse the process that turns a fauteuil into fertilizer. Consolidation is one of a number of treatments available to conservation. Before approaching the technical aspects of consolidation, it is useful to have an overview of the process and to relate its role to the field of conservation. 

Hierarchy of Values. The conservation of archaeological materials is an exercise in controls. Decisions are made and processes are selected to achieve the ends desired. In selecting ends to be accomplished and defining the product of conservation, the material and condition of the artifact and the expectations of the end consumers of the process must both be considered. Consumer expectations are a major component of the process of developing and assigning values to attributes possessed by the artifact. 

Another technology used in the conservation of archaeological wood is the use of sucrose applied by aqueous diffusion as a preservative. Sucrose has the advantages of not being as temperature- and humidity-sensitive as PEG, is less expensive, penetrates well (12), and it is commonly available in Third World countries without requiring the expenditure of precious foreign ex-... 

In the planning of this chapter, I was charged with presenting new directions in the conservation of archaeological wood. After a great deal of searching for new directions, all I could find were old directions. Therefore, I am going to offer new problems, or old problems restated, in the hope and the expectation that the identification of new problems will lead to new solutions. 

This volume and the symposium on which it is based provide an excellent example of breaking this communication deadlock. This dialog among conservators, archaeologists, and wood scientists, if continued, can become a most significant event in the conservation of archaeological wood. It represents, perhaps, a true new direction in the conservation of archaeological wood. ... 

See the illustrated board entitled Conservation of archaeological artefacts... 

Nikitina, K. F. (1981). Conservation of archaeological leather in the State Hermitage Museum. In 6th triennial meeting Ottawa, 21-25 September 1981 preprints (pp. 10). International Council of Museums Committee for Conservation. 

Watkins, S. C., Scott, R. (2001). Timeless problems reflections on the conservation of archaeological ceramics. In W. A. Oddy, S. Smith (Eds.), Past practice, future prospects (pp. 195-199). British Museum. 

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