Engaging the Public in Archaeological Conservation: The Development of RIMAP’s Conservation Facility

Summary

This is a paper/report submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

From 1999 to the present, the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) has recovered a collection of artifacts with the intention to conserve them. Since excavation, all the artifacts have been put through desalination and preventative conservation measures. This year, through a grant from the Australian National Maritime Museum, RIMAP created an artifact management facility to begin conservation treatments on these items. The assemblage consists of wooden, cupreous, glass, iron, wood, textile and organic artifacts. They are being conserved using methodologies developed at Texas A&M’s Conservation Research Laboratory. In addition to trained archaeologists, local Rhode Island volunteers assisted in some tasks in the laboratory. This paper discusses RIMAP’s process of engaging the public in archaeological conservation through international partnerships, volunteer work, and the long term preservation of material culture.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• 2020 SHA General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 940