The Conservation and Preservation of Archaeological Materials

Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "The Conservation and Preservation of Archaeological Materials," at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

This session examines advanced methodologies and challenges in the conservation of archaeological materials from terrestrial and underwater sites. Contributions will address innovative conservation techniques, detailed case studies, and interdisciplinary approaches. The focus will be on recent advancements in preservation technologies and the adaptation of established methods to new contexts. By fostering scholarly dialogue, this session seeks to enhance the understanding of best practices and collaborative strategies essential for the preservation of our shared heritage, thereby shaping the future of archaeological conservation.

Other Keywords
Conservation • Preservation • Photogrammetry • Alamo • Waterlogged • Underwater • Barge • Rubber • Dewatering • Excavation Methods

Geographic Keywords
Southeast • Midwest • Quebec, Canada • Southern United States • North America (Texas)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-7 of 7)

  • Documents (7)
Documents
  • Addressing Sodium Carbonate Precipitation on a Cannon from the Alamo (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kimberly L Breyfogle.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Conservation and Preservation of Archaeological Materials", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Last year, a project was undertaken to determine the best option for treating a bronze cannon on display at the Alamo. The cannon was conserved by the Conservation Research Laboratory, but post-conservation it began precipitating a white powder determined to be a mixture of sodium carbonate-based compounds. The...

  • Are Digital 3D Tools Better Than Traditional Methods? New Perspectives on Approaching Maritime Archaeology (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kotaro Yamafune.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Conservation and Preservation of Archaeological Materials", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. In the past decade, digital recording methods such as photogrammetry and LiDAR have been increasingly applied to the field of maritime and nautical archaeology. However, as new digital tools become more prevalent in these disciplines, traditional research methods are being used less frequently. The question arises:...

  • Conserving the H.L. Hunley submarine (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Johanna Rivera.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Conservation and Preservation of Archaeological Materials", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, South Carolina serves as the repository for the H.L. Hunley submarine (1864) currently undergoing conservation and documentation. Raised from the ocean in 2000 and largely excavated by 2006, the submarine is historically significant as the first to successfully...

  • Experimental Conservation of Rubber Gaskets from the CSS Georgia (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Marissa D Agerton.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Conservation and Preservation of Archaeological Materials", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The conservation of modern materials is an ongoing issue within the field of archaeology. Despite rubber being used in everyday life, no standardized conservation treatment has been established for this type of archaeological material. This is partly due to the complexity of rubber which undergoes extensive...

  • Exploring the Impacts of Dewatering a Colonial Fort (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Erika K Hartley.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Conservation and Preservation of Archaeological Materials", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. To 'preserve the past for the future,' it is necessary to examine the preservation methods employed on artifacts in collections as well as the methods used to excavate archaeological sites. Investigations at Fort St. Joseph, an eighteenth-century mission, garrison, and trading post, have led to the recovery of more...

  • Underwater Archaeology, Conservation, and New Technologies: the Case of Contrecoeur Shipwreck (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Aimie Néron.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Conservation and Preservation of Archaeological Materials", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Underwater archaeological surveys were conducted for the environmental studies prior to the Port of Montreal - Contrecoeur Terminal expansion project, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River near the municipality of Contrecoeur, in Montérégie, Québec, Canada. The operations included remote sensing, the...

  • Update: Characteristics of Seventeen Cannon from the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP), Savannah, Georgia. (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Alyssa M Carpenter.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Conservation and Preservation of Archaeological Materials", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Twenty cannon (intact and partial) were recovered from the Savannah River, Georgia, in 2021. It had been assumed that these cannon were from scuttled British ships during the American Revolutionary War in 1779. Seventeen of these cannon were later transported to the Conservation Research Lab (CRL) at Texas A&M...