The Archaeologist's Manual for Conservation: A Guide to Non-Toxic, Minimal Intervention Artifact Stabilization

233 Pages·2004·4.81 MB·English

by  Bradley A. Rodgers

The Archaeologist’s Manual
for Conservation
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THE ARCHAEOLOGIST’S MANUAL
FOR CONSERVATION
A Guide to Non-Toxic, Minimal
Intervention Artifact Stablization
BradleyA.Rodgers
PrograminMaritimeStudies
EastCarolinaUniversity
Greenville,NorthCarolina
KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS
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eBookISBN: 0-306-48613-X
Print ISBN: 0-306-48466-8
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TomywifeAnnie—throughthickandthin
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Foreword
This is a Foreword by an archaeologist, not a conservator, but as Brad Rodgers
says, “Conservation has been steadily pulled from archaeology by the forces of
specialization”(p.3),andhewantstoremedythatsituationthroughthismanual.He
seesthisworkasa“calltoactionforthenon-professionalconservator,”permitting
“curators, conservators, and archaeologists to identify artifacts that need profes-
sional attention and, allow these professionals to stabilize most artifacts in their
ownlaboratorieswithminimalintervention,usingsimplenon-toxicprocedures”
(p.5).ItisthemissionofBrad’smanualto“bringconservationbackintoarchae-
ology”(p.6).Thedegreeofsuccessofthatgoaldependsonthedegreetowhich
archaeologistspayattentionto,andputtouse,whatBradhastosay,becauseashe
says,“Theconservationist/archaeologistisresponsibletomakepreparationforan
artifact’scareevenbeforeitisexcavatedandafteritsstorageintotheforeseeable
future”...atremendousresponsibility”(p.10).
Themanualisacombinationofhighlytechnicalaswellascommonsense
methods of conserving wood, iron and other metals, ceramics, glass and stone,
organicsandcomposits—afarbetterguidetoartifactconservationthanwasavail-
abletomewhenIfirstfacedthatarchaeologicalchallengeatcolonialBrunswick
Town, North Carolina in 1958—a challenge still being faced by archaeologists
today.
Thestageofconservationin1958isindramaticcontrasttotheprocedures
Braddescribesinthismanual—conservationhasindeedmadegreatprogress.For
instance,acommonprocedurethenwastoheattheartifactsredhotinafurnace—a
methodthatmademecringe.Facedwiththeneedtotreatthousandsofwrought
nailsIwasexcavatingfromtheruinsofBrunswickTown,Irentedasandblasterand
wasabletocleantherustfrompadlocks,hinges,pintles,keys,bucklesandtools,
aswellaswroughtnails,atacostof25centseach(South1962a:18),saying,“No
other method can match this achievement.” I also said, “No soaking to remove
salts has been found to be necessary,”— a statement that probably makes Brad
cringetoday.LaterIsoakedabucketofnailsinadiluted5%solutionofmuriatic
acidtoremovetherust,decreasingdramaticallythecostpernail.
In 1962, I sent to my supervisor, “Notes on Treatment Methods for the
PreservationofIronandWoodenObjects”(South1962b),inwhichIdescribedthe
treatmentofwater-soakedwoodandironrecommendedbyvariousconservators
andarchaeologistsatthetime—suchassoakingcannonballsinafreshwaterstream
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viii FOREWORD
toremovethesalts.Artifactconservationwasaprocessbeingtriedusingvarious
nefarious,andsomeefficacious,methodsthatarchaeologistswerepullingoutof
theseatoftheirpants.
In later years my experience with conservators was not the best as that
“force of specialization” Brad speaks of widened the gap between professional
conservatorsandtheconservationneedsIhadasanarchaeologist.Forinstance,
whenaprofessionalconservatorwasmadeavailabletome,Igave10nailstothe
professionaltoprocessforuseinanexhibit—threemonthslaterfourweredone.I
receivedapromisethattheotherswouldbecompletedwithinayear—thesewere
notthecrownjewelsofEurope!Well,backtosandblastingandmuriaticacid.
Since that time, I have left all Spanish barrels I discover (after recording
and photographing them in situ) in the well hole where they have been safely
conservedbynatureforfourandahalfcenturies.AsBradsays:“In-Situconser-
vationisdesignedtoextendanartifact’sstabilityinthegroundortheseabottom,
aformofpreemptiveconservation”(p.10)—awisemethoduntilsuchatimethat
conservatorscansuccessfullyconservecompositeartifacts.
I could continue, but the point is many archaeologists are very likely still
tryingtoconservetheirartifactsbyusingmethodspulledfromtheseatofthepants,
becausethesourceswrittenbyconservators(andthereisadefinitivelistingofthem
inBrad’smanual)aretoocomplexandtechnicalforusebyfieldarchaeologists—
yettheresponsibilitytoconservetheartifactsisconstantlythere.
Brad’smanualinthisvolumeisthefirstattemptto“bringconservationback
intoarchaeology.”Itismyhopethatthismanualwillhelpdothat,sofurtherhorror
stories can be reduced and archaeologists can come closer to achieving “Pinky”
Harrington’sgoal—“Topreservethephysicalremainsofourpastandtoemploy
theminperpetuatingourhistoricalheritage”(Harrington1965:8,quotedinSouth
1976:42).
StanleySouthH.H.D.
TheUniversityofSouthCarolina
SouthCarolinaInstituteofArchaeologyandAnthropology
Columbia,SouthCarolina
REFERENCES
Harrington,J.C.1965.ArchaeologyandtheHistoricalSociety.TheAmericanAssociationforState
andLocalHistory.Nashville.
South,Stanley1962a.AMethodofCleaningIronArtifacts.NewsletteroftheSoutheasternArchaeo-
logicalConference9(1):17–18.
—.1962b.NotesonTreatmentMethodsforthePreservationofIronandWoodenObjects(Unpub-
lishedmanuscript,NorthCarolinaDepartmentofArchivesandHistory,BrunswickTownState
HistoricSite,Raleigh.
—.1976b[1972].TheRoleoftheArchaeologistintheConservation-PreservationProcess.Pp.35–
43.InPreservationandConservationPrinciplesandPractices.EditedbySharonTimmons.
ProducedbytheSmithsonianInstitutionPress.PublishedbytheNationalTrustforHistoric
PreservationintheUnitedStates.ThePreservationPress.Washington,D.C.
Preface
This project began over a decade ago in my first attempt to produce a manual
that outlined the procedures used at the artifact conservation laboratory at East
CarolinaUniversitytostabilizeandconservewater-degradedarchaeologicalarti-
facts.TheConservator’sCookbook(1992),becameapracticalconservationman-
ualdesignedtocomplimentgraduatelevelconservationclasses.Thetextandflow
chartsprovidedsimplehands-onadvicetostudentswhowantedtoconservearti-
facts. Complimenting the conservation manual was the Conservation of Water
Soaked Materials Bibliography (1992), by far the most comprehensive listing
ofbooksandarticlesyetcompiledconcerningarchaeologicalartifactdegradation,
conservation,andstabilization.Thesetextsenjoyedsurprisingpopularity,inspired
nodoubtbythefactthattheyendorsedpracticalapplicationandmethodologyin
themidstofafieldwhoseliteraturewasdominatedbytheorywithanecdotesfrom
spectacularlydifficultostentatiousprojects.
Atthattime,however,crossoverstudentsfromtheDepartmentofAnthro-
pology began to add great scope to my experience, expanding significantly the
types and conditions of artifacts brought into the laboratory for conservation. I
soondiscoveredthatalthoughthetreatmentsintheConservator’sCookbookwere
specificallydesignedtostabilizewatersoakedanddegradedartifacts,theyworked
equallywellorbetteronartifactsrecoveredfromlandsites.Indeed,theprocedures
devisedforwater-degradedmaterial,reflectedaconsiderableadvanceoverthose
employedtostabilizeartifactsinmostterrestriallaboratories.
Experience proved that the famed preservation properties of seawater are
simply an anomaly of available conservation technology. In other words, given
the same treatments, artifacts excavated from the ground demonstrate equal or
betterpreservationtothoserecoveredfromwetsites.Italsobecameclearthatdry
recovered artifacts can be conserved in a condition that permits detailed micro-
excavationandexaminationofbothprehistoricandhistoricobjects.NativeAmer-
icancopperornamentsfromFortNeoheroka(1713)couldbeexaminedforsigns
ofuseandpolishing.WhatwasthoughttobeaconcretedgunbarrelfromSanta
Elena(1572)wasfoundtobenomorethanamandrelrolledpieceofsheetiron,
and buttons and coins lost all concretion and accumulated filth to reveal dates,
maker’sstamps,gilding,moldmarks,andwearthatwasneverseenbefore.
In light of these discoveries it became increasingly clear, that despite the
fact that underwater archaeology is a much younger field than prehistoric and
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