Current Projects at the Conservation Research Laboratory at Texas A&M Univerisity

The Conservation Research Laboratory (CRL) is one of the oldest and largest archaeological conservation labs focusing on underwater cultural heritage material in the world. A combination of cutting edge facilities and highly experienced conservators have allowed the CRL to expertly conserve millions of artifacts, from small personal artifacts to entire shipwrecks. This session aims to give a brief overview of several of the many ongoing projects currently underway at the lab, ranging from the massive undertakings of conserving the iron-clad civil war ships CSS Georgia and USS Westfield, to the smaller nuanced projects like the Brother Jonathan chest and the World Trade Center shipwreck. Presentations will focus on conservation techniques as well as the associated research, which includes several thesis and dissertation topics for graduate students in the Nautical Archaeology Program in the Texas A&M Department of Anthropology.