Mike and Carol,

Not all artifacts need to be curated in a climate controlled environment.
Just about all stone, most of the ceramics and glass, and most architectural
materials could just be stored in a secure building. Things that would suffer from
spalling (glazes off ceramic paste, limestone sculptures, unfired adobe,
composite architectural elements, and organics are better candidates for climate
control. At the federal Partnerships for Preservation conferecne in Berkeley
about five years ago, there was talk of using ammunition bunkers for the bulk
material. I personlly feel that material salvaged from sites that were destroyed
should not be culled because the sample is the mitigation that the NEPA or
Section 106 document said would be preserved in exchange for total destruction
of the rest of the site. I have always felt that if an outside party (American
Indian Movement, Sierra Club, etc.) were to sue a museum or agency for culling
the mitigation sample, they would win big time.

Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.