The Archaeologist’s Manual for Conservation THE ARCHAEOLOGIST’S MANUAL FOR CONSERVATION A Guide to Non-Toxic, Minimal Intervention Artifact Stablization BradleyA.Rodgers PrograminMaritimeStudies EastCarolinaUniversity Greenville,NorthCarolina KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS NEW YORK,BOSTON, DORDRECHT, LONDON, MOSCOW eBookISBN: 0-306-48613-X Print ISBN: 0-306-48466-8 ©2004 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. Print ©2004 Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers New York All rights reserved No part of this eBook maybe reproducedor transmitted inanyform or byanymeans,electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise,withoutwritten consent from the Publisher Createdin the UnitedStates of America Visit Springer's eBookstore at: http://www.ebooks.kluweronline.com and the Springer Global Website Online at: http://www.springeronline.com TomywifeAnnie—throughthickandthin Foreword This is a Foreword by an archaeologist, not a conservator, but as Brad Rodgers says, “Conservation has been steadily pulled from archaeology by the forces of specialization”(p.3),andhewantstoremedythatsituationthroughthismanual.He seesthisworkasa“calltoactionforthenon-professionalconservator,”permitting “curators, conservators, and archaeologists to identify artifacts that need profes- sional attention and, allow these professionals to stabilize most artifacts in their ownlaboratorieswithminimalintervention,usingsimplenon-toxicprocedures” (p.5).ItisthemissionofBrad’smanualto“bringconservationbackintoarchae- ology”(p.6).Thedegreeofsuccessofthatgoaldependsonthedegreetowhich archaeologistspayattentionto,andputtouse,whatBradhastosay,becauseashe says,“Theconservationist/archaeologistisresponsibletomakepreparationforan artifact’scareevenbeforeitisexcavatedandafteritsstorageintotheforeseeable future”...atremendousresponsibility”(p.10). Themanualisacombinationofhighlytechnicalaswellascommonsense methods of conserving wood, iron and other metals, ceramics, glass and stone, organicsandcomposits—afarbetterguidetoartifactconservationthanwasavail- abletomewhenIfirstfacedthatarchaeologicalchallengeatcolonialBrunswick Town, North Carolina in 1958—a challenge still being faced by archaeologists today. Thestageofconservationin1958isindramaticcontrasttotheprocedures Braddescribesinthismanual—conservationhasindeedmadegreatprogress.For instance,acommonprocedurethenwastoheattheartifactsredhotinafurnace—a methodthatmademecringe.Facedwiththeneedtotreatthousandsofwrought nailsIwasexcavatingfromtheruinsofBrunswickTown,Irentedasandblasterand wasabletocleantherustfrompadlocks,hinges,pintles,keys,bucklesandtools, aswellaswroughtnails,atacostof25centseach(South1962a:18),saying,“No other method can match this achievement.” I also said, “No soaking to remove salts has been found to be necessary,”— a statement that probably makes Brad cringetoday.LaterIsoakedabucketofnailsinadiluted5%solutionofmuriatic acidtoremovetherust,decreasingdramaticallythecostpernail. In 1962, I sent to my supervisor, “Notes on Treatment Methods for the PreservationofIronandWoodenObjects”(South1962b),inwhichIdescribedthe treatmentofwater-soakedwoodandironrecommendedbyvariousconservators andarchaeologistsatthetime—suchassoakingcannonballsinafreshwaterstream vii viii FOREWORD toremovethesalts.Artifactconservationwasaprocessbeingtriedusingvarious nefarious,andsomeefficacious,methodsthatarchaeologistswerepullingoutof theseatoftheirpants. In later years my experience with conservators was not the best as that “force of specialization” Brad speaks of widened the gap between professional conservatorsandtheconservationneedsIhadasanarchaeologist.Forinstance, whenaprofessionalconservatorwasmadeavailabletome,Igave10nailstothe professionaltoprocessforuseinanexhibit—threemonthslaterfourweredone.I receivedapromisethattheotherswouldbecompletedwithinayear—thesewere notthecrownjewelsofEurope!Well,backtosandblastingandmuriaticacid. Since that time, I have left all Spanish barrels I discover (after recording and photographing them in situ) in the well hole where they have been safely conservedbynatureforfourandahalfcenturies.AsBradsays:“In-Situconser- vationisdesignedtoextendanartifact’sstabilityinthegroundortheseabottom, aformofpreemptiveconservation”(p.10)—awisemethoduntilsuchatimethat conservatorscansuccessfullyconservecompositeartifacts. I could continue, but the point is many archaeologists are very likely still tryingtoconservetheirartifactsbyusingmethodspulledfromtheseatofthepants, becausethesourceswrittenbyconservators(andthereisadefinitivelistingofthem inBrad’smanual)aretoocomplexandtechnicalforusebyfieldarchaeologists— yettheresponsibilitytoconservetheartifactsisconstantlythere. Brad’smanualinthisvolumeisthefirstattemptto“bringconservationback intoarchaeology.”Itismyhopethatthismanualwillhelpdothat,sofurtherhorror stories can be reduced and archaeologists can come closer to achieving “Pinky” Harrington’sgoal—“Topreservethephysicalremainsofourpastandtoemploy theminperpetuatingourhistoricalheritage”(Harrington1965:8,quotedinSouth 1976:42). StanleySouthH.H.D. TheUniversityofSouthCarolina SouthCarolinaInstituteofArchaeologyandAnthropology Columbia,SouthCarolina REFERENCES Harrington,J.C.1965.ArchaeologyandtheHistoricalSociety.TheAmericanAssociationforState andLocalHistory.Nashville. South,Stanley1962a.AMethodofCleaningIronArtifacts.NewsletteroftheSoutheasternArchaeo- logicalConference9(1):17–18. —.1962b.NotesonTreatmentMethodsforthePreservationofIronandWoodenObjects(Unpub- lishedmanuscript,NorthCarolinaDepartmentofArchivesandHistory,BrunswickTownState HistoricSite,Raleigh. —.1976b[1972].TheRoleoftheArchaeologistintheConservation-PreservationProcess.Pp.35– 43.InPreservationandConservationPrinciplesandPractices.EditedbySharonTimmons. ProducedbytheSmithsonianInstitutionPress.PublishedbytheNationalTrustforHistoric PreservationintheUnitedStates.ThePreservationPress.Washington,D.C. Preface This project began over a decade ago in my first attempt to produce a manual that outlined the procedures used at the artifact conservation laboratory at East CarolinaUniversitytostabilizeandconservewater-degradedarchaeologicalarti- facts.TheConservator’sCookbook(1992),becameapracticalconservationman- ualdesignedtocomplimentgraduatelevelconservationclasses.Thetextandflow chartsprovidedsimplehands-onadvicetostudentswhowantedtoconservearti- facts. Complimenting the conservation manual was the Conservation of Water Soaked Materials Bibliography (1992), by far the most comprehensive listing ofbooksandarticlesyetcompiledconcerningarchaeologicalartifactdegradation, conservation,andstabilization.Thesetextsenjoyedsurprisingpopularity,inspired nodoubtbythefactthattheyendorsedpracticalapplicationandmethodologyin themidstofafieldwhoseliteraturewasdominatedbytheorywithanecdotesfrom spectacularlydifficultostentatiousprojects. Atthattime,however,crossoverstudentsfromtheDepartmentofAnthro- pology began to add great scope to my experience, expanding significantly the types and conditions of artifacts brought into the laboratory for conservation. I soondiscoveredthatalthoughthetreatmentsintheConservator’sCookbookwere specificallydesignedtostabilizewatersoakedanddegradedartifacts,theyworked equallywellorbetteronartifactsrecoveredfromlandsites.Indeed,theprocedures devisedforwater-degradedmaterial,reflectedaconsiderableadvanceoverthose employedtostabilizeartifactsinmostterrestriallaboratories. Experience proved that the famed preservation properties of seawater are simply an anomaly of available conservation technology. In other words, given the same treatments, artifacts excavated from the ground demonstrate equal or betterpreservationtothoserecoveredfromwetsites.Italsobecameclearthatdry recovered artifacts can be conserved in a condition that permits detailed micro- excavationandexaminationofbothprehistoricandhistoricobjects.NativeAmer- icancopperornamentsfromFortNeoheroka(1713)couldbeexaminedforsigns ofuseandpolishing.WhatwasthoughttobeaconcretedgunbarrelfromSanta Elena(1572)wasfoundtobenomorethanamandrelrolledpieceofsheetiron, and buttons and coins lost all concretion and accumulated filth to reveal dates, maker’sstamps,gilding,moldmarks,andwearthatwasneverseenbefore. In light of these discoveries it became increasingly clear, that despite the fact that underwater archaeology is a much younger field than prehistoric and ix x PREFACE historic archaeology and owes much to its parent fields, it is now well ahead in artifact conservation technique and practice. The Archaeologist’s Manual for Conservation is the first attempt to share these hard won conservation advances with the archaeological field as a whole, and demonstrate for the first time that hands-on conservation should be endemic to the entire profession; prehistoric, historic,andunderwater. Acknowledgements Every author is in debt to innumerable people who share ideas, concepts, and opinions,butmostofall,tothosewhoofferencouragement.Withoutafirststep, abookremainsonlyapipedream,andfewfirststepsaretakenwithoutencour- agement. In this light I would like to thank my colleague Dr. Annalies Corbin, for her ideas, help in proofing, and sage advice to the effect of, “what are you waitingfor”?SheandDr.NathanRichardsshoulderedheavyburdensasIworked, proofpositivethat“oldfashionedteamwork”is,withoutquestion,stillaliveand well.Dr.Richardsalsoprovidedfinedetailedlinedrawingsthatelucidateconser- vationconceptsfarbeyondthemeansofwrittentext.Iwouldalsoliketothankmy graduatehelp,Mr.DaveKrop,Mr.AndrewWeir,Ms.ClaireDappert,andespe- ciallyMs.DannielleLaFleur,yourdiligenceandhardworkaremuchappreciated. SpecialthanksgotoMr.ChristopherF.Valvanoforthephotographs,eachamajor endeavor. Scientists can sometimes focus their entire attention on concept detail— learningalot,aboutalittle.Conservationscienceistheopposite.Anarchaeologist/ conservatorneedstoknowalittle,aboutalot.Itisgoodtohavefriends,therefore, who can give sound and specialized advice. In this light I would like to thank Mrs.MarciaKuehl,chemistryconsultantandoldfriendandDr.CharlesEwenfor makingavailablethecollectionsatthePhelpsAnthropologyLaboratoryforstudy andpreservation. FinalthanksgotomywifeAnnforyourencouragementandpatience.Rusted logstaplesdon’tbelongonthekitchentableandIwon’ttellyouwhathasbeenin thefreezer. xi