Ron,
The excavators of the Arabia may have been amateurs, but I'd hardly call
them treasure hunters.  As you obviously know, the artifacts and the ship
were very carefully excavated and curated properly.  The fact that the
museum is making money shouldn't surprise anybody. It's easy to see why it's
a major attraction in Kansas City.

John Dendy
Dynamac Corporation
Fort Riley, KS

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ron May [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2002 4:00 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: Keep or discard bottle contents?
>
> Why not replace the fluid with alcohol to preserve the contents?
> Generally, people place bottles of food material in cool, dark storage
> places to preserve them. I think the food contents of the bottles is even
> more important than the bottle because it contains chemicals and
> preservative formulae not duplicated in today's grocery store. Moreover,
> the olives of today are not the olives of the past. Same with the perfume.
> Heck, even the treasure hunters who dug up the 1856 paddle wheeler Arabia
> and have it on display in Kansas City, MO have the food bottles in dark,
> cool storage.
>
> Ron May
> Legacy 106, Inc.
>