Adhesive Replacement: Potential New Treatment for Stabilization of Archaeological Ceramics

Abstract

The treatment described here was developed to address the problem of masses of deteriorating archaeological ceramics in need of reconstruction in a cost-effective manner. Archaeological ceramics form a major portion of many museum collections, including those of the National Park Service. Cellulose nitrate adhesives were the material of choice for the reconstruction of ceramics by archaeologists from the 1930s through the late 1970s and are still being used to some extent today. This adhesive is now failing in many old repairs. Greg Byrne, objects conservator at the National Park Service laboratory in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, contrived a novel method for the re-treatment of archaeological ceramics by adhesive replacement. As part of my third-year internship at Harpers Ferry Center, I explored this technique further.