Abstract
This paper reviews the degradation, preservation and conservation of waterlogged archaeological wood. Degradation due to bacteria in anoxic and soft-rot fungi and bacteria in oxic waterlogged conditions is discussed with consideration of the effect on the chemical composition of wood, as well as the deposition of sulphur and iron within the structure. The effects on physical properties are also considered. The paper then discusses the role of consolidants in preserving waterlogged archaeological wood after it is excavated as well as issues to be considered when reburial is used as a means of preservation. The use of alum and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as consolidants is presented along with various case studies with particular emphasis on marine artefacts. The properties of consolidated wood are examined, especially with respect to the degradation of the wood post-conservation. Different consolidants are reviewed along with their use and properties. The merits and risks of reburial and in situ preservation are considered as an alternative to conservation.
Highlights
Archaeological wood is defined as old wood that shows evidence of having been worked by humans, while “waterlogged” means that all the pore spaces, including capillaries and microcapillaries, are entirely filled with water [1,2].Wood is an important material that has been used for shelter, tools and weapons since the time of the earliest hominids
Waterlogged wood is considered to be degraded when the maximum water content (MWC) is greater than 150% and severely degraded when the MWC exceeds 400% and residual basic density (RBD) is less than 40% [86]
The treatment included the removal of iron ions, washing in water (3 weeks), impregnation with a mixture of lactitol, 10% trehalose in water and 0.01% Kathon CG biocide at 50 ◦C started from 15% solution up to 50%, the temperature was raised to 60 ◦C, and the impregnation was continued using 65%, 70% and 80%, subsequently (3 months for few centimetres thick artefacts, 6 months for thicker objects up to 10 cm, 18 months for the thickest ones), dusting with pulverised lactitol monohydrate crystals to initiate crystallisation, air-drying, and surface cleaning
Summary
Archaeological wood is defined as old wood that shows evidence of having been worked by humans, while “waterlogged” means that all the pore spaces, including capillaries and microcapillaries, are entirely filled with water [1,2]. Conservation agents for waterlogged wood should primarily provide integrity and dimensional stabilisation upon drying They should prevent further dimensional changes of the object, maintain, or improve its mechanical strength, and protect it against biotic and abiotic degradation. Due to the nature of conservation work: preserving the dimensions and appearance of ancient artefacts and making their history accessible to the public, treatments must be “gentle” in order to inflict as little damage as possible to the objects themselves. This often means long timescales and processes governed, for example, by diffusion of chemical treatments into artefacts lasting for periods of up to a year for immersion of smaller objects in tanks or, as for the Mary Rose, a spraying programme lasting over twenty years [12]
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