The conservation of iron objects in archaeological preservation – Application and further development of alkaline sulphite method for conservation of large quantities of iron finds

Abstract

AbstractThe usual damage on archaeological iron finds caused by corrosion are outlined in this paper. For a better understanding of these phenomena and the resulting consequences for iron conservation a short literature summary is given regarding actual corrosion models for archaeological iron finds. The desalination of chloride‐contaminated iron finds is the demand to be derived from this synopsis. Therefore, the desalination with the alkaline sulphite reduction method is applied at Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Baden‐Württemberg recently, which allows the long‐term stabilization of many iron finds. Finally, the research project ‘Investigations into the alkaline sulphite treatment for conservation of large quantities of archaeological iron objects’ is introduced.