You Missed a Spot: How Proper Conservation Revealed Much about an Obscure Aspect of Nineteenth Century Naval Technology

Author(s): Miguel Gutierrez

Year: 2017

Summary

The Texas A&M Conservation Research Laboratory is currently in charge of the conservation of artifacts from the CSS Georgia, a massive Confederate ironclad vessel purposely scuttled in 1864. Among the artifacts being treated are brass gun sights used to enhance the accuracy of naval cannon. However, literature on these specific sights is simply nonexistent. Yet, great research is not always the consultation of numerous scholarly articles or thick, heavy tomes. Sometimes, great research is just a matter of being more thorough while cleaning an artifact. Proper conservation of these brass gun sights has led to the discovery of crucial information in the form of five key words literally etched on the surface of the artifact at the time of manufacture. These five words have done more to reveal the history and manufacture of the brass gun sights from the CSS Georgia than previous consultation of any publication.

Cite this Record

You Missed a Spot: How Proper Conservation Revealed Much about an Obscure Aspect of Nineteenth Century Naval Technology. Miguel Gutierrez. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435229)

Keywords

Temporal Keywords
19th Century

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 620