Conservation of Archaeological Materials from Submerged Sites

Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2024

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Conservation of Archaeological Materials from Submerged Sites," at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The conservation of archaeological materials from submerged sites brings in unique challenges not present in terrestrial archaeological conservation. Storage, pre-treatment, conservation strategies, and curation all have to be tailored to contend with the way different materials degrade in water. Significant strides have been made in recent decades to overcome several of the more serious issues that have plagued conservators, but there are plenty of new challenges ahead, especially as more modern materials begin to fall into the archaeological record. This session is a broad forum to highlight recent developments in methodological approaches, some of the challenges facing conservators, and interesting case studies related to the conservation of archaeological materials from underwater sites.

Other Keywords
Conservation • Cannon • Artifact Conservation • Alamo • Submerged Sites • American Revolutionary War • Maritime • Tin • Paper • Naval

Geographic Keywords
Southern United States • Americas • North America / Texas • Savannah, GA

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-6 of 6)

  • Documents (6)
Documents
  • Addressing Iron Sulfate and Sulfuric Acid Generation in Artifacts Treated with Silicone Oil (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kimberly L. Breyfogle.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Conservation of Archaeological Materials from Submerged Sites", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The generation of iron sulfates and sulfuric acid in submerged organic artifacts was originally recognized in the early 2000s and has been the subject of research and concern since then. Initially thought to be the result of iron contamination interacting with PEG, it is now evident that the problem is not limited...

  • Conservation Observations of the Tin Ingot Assemblage of the Uluburun Shipwreck (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Annaliese Dempsey. Angela Paola.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Conservation of Archaeological Materials from Submerged Sites", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The Late Bronze Age Uluburun shipwreck sank ca. 1325 BCE and was excavated by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology from 1984 to 1994. It yielded a large assemblage of raw metal, including around 1 ton of pure tin in the form of ingots. Artifacts of pure tin are rare from any context, and especially from an...

  • Conserving US Navy’s Heritage (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Shanna L Daniel.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Conservation of Archaeological Materials from Submerged Sites", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Underwater Archaeology (UA) Branch provides a unique look into the United States Navy’s history through the management, research, preservation, and interpretation of its sunken and terrestrial military craft (SMC). The archaeological material recovered from SMC sites is...

  • Fully Loaded: Conserving the Contents of Revolutionary War-Era Cannon (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Karen E. Martindale.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Conservation of Archaeological Materials from Submerged Sites", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. In early 2023, the Conservation Research Lab began work on 17 Revolutionary War-era iron cannon and associated artifacts recovered during the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project. Many of these cannon had wood tampions concreted in place, protecting the contents in the bores. This presentation will discuss the...

  • Physical Characteristics, Including Digital Models, of Seventeen Revolutionary War Cannons from the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Alyssa M Carpenter.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Conservation of Archaeological Materials from Submerged Sites", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. A total of nineteen cannons were recovered from the Savannah River during the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) in 2021. It had been assumed that these cannons were from a British scuttled ship during the American Revolutionary War in 1779. Seventeen of these cannons were later transported to the...

  • Post-conservation Carbonate Blooms on a Bronze Gun from the Alamo (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Chris Dostal.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Conservation of Archaeological Materials from Submerged Sites", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. In 2008, a Spanish-made 4pdr bronze cannon thought to have been used to defend the Alamo in 1836 was donated to the Alamo Museum, which sent it to the Conservation Research Laboratory at Texas A&M University for conservation prior to display. After 12 years, it began to exhibit new corrosion, and was sent back to...