Conservation of Waterlogged Textiles from CSS Georgia

Summary

During recovery of material from CSS Georgia, numerous textile artifacts were recovered and transported to Texas A&M University’s Conservation Research Laboratory for treatment. Unlike terrestrial locations, waterlogged sites like CSS Georgia provide a stable environment of constant temperatures, low sunlight, and minimal exposure to micro-organisms, allowing for preservation of organic material normally lost to taphonomic factors. With maritime Civil War sites like USS Monitor and H.L. Hunley only relatively-recently excavated, and it becomes clear that the Georgia material provides a unique opportunity to study both textile use during the Civil War and techniques in the preservation of waterlogged organics. An overview of the artifacts recovered from CSS Georgia will be provided, as well as discussion of the conservation techniques employed. In considering the current state of conservation, best practices in processing large amounts of material will be examined, as well as highlighting areas for future research.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Current Projects at the Conservation Research Laboratory at Texas A&M Univerisity   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2017

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 617