The day comprised presentations by international speakers on the post-excavation conservation, investigation, storage and archiving of archaeological metal objects. There was a particular focus on recent Cardiff University research into the use of desiccated microclimates to store iron and copper alloys. The conference took place at Museum of London, Mortimer Wheeler House, and the day ended with guided tours of the Museum of London Archaeological Archive, the largest archaeological archive in the world.
Session 1 – X-radiogaphy and Analysis
Establishing standards for the digital radiography of archaeological materials. Karla Graham and Claire Tsang, Historic England.
From X-radiography to tomography: a quest for the ideal imaging technique for archaeological metal. Janneke van der Stok,Tonny Beentjes, Ineke Joosten, Lambert van Eijck, Dominique Ngan-Tillard, Maarten van Bommel. University of Amsterdam.
Session 2 - Conservation Treatments
Conservation of ancient, completely corroded, copper bowl: Experimental study of gap-filling via new nano-polymer. Saleh Mohamad, Fayoum University.
Conservation treatment of a copper-alloy bathtub from the Stabian thermal baths in Pompeii. Eleonora Piccirillo.
Conservation of a recently excavated anti-resurrections infant coffin from Euston, London. Lucie Altenburg, MOLA.
Session 3 – Long-term stability and storage
Terrestrial archaeological ironwork: an assessment of past treatments. Penny Hill, St Fagans National Museum of History.
Repacking the metal finds from Wharram Percy. Charlotte Tomlin, Spencer & Fry.
The Desert in the Dry Dock: Desiccation on a Grand Scale. Nicola Grahamslaw, SS Great Britain Trust.
New research in the use of desiccated microclimates to store archaeological metals. Nicola Emmerson, Cardiff University.
The conference abstracts can be found in the PDF below.
Icon Post-X Metals Conference