Things That Go Boom: A Conservation Challenge

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Underwater Archaeology (UA) Branch has overseen and treated thousands of artifacts from Navy’s sunken and terrestrial military craft (SMC) these past 25 years. With the firepower that U.S. Navy has been known for, it is not uncommon for various types of weapons, arms, and ordnance to enter into NHHC’s archaeological collection that could potential pose safety concerns. This paper will explore the unique challenge that these materials present to conservators and how UA works with external parties to safely render it inert while keeping the artifact largely intact.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2023 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow