No one else seems to be biting - so I'll ask the obvious curmudgeon questions. Why is it being moved? What is historic or significant about it that it must be preserved? If not obvious as to how it was put together, how does it relate to some activity which cannot be described? What process did the object play that makes it significant? What will be the cost of moving and preserving the thing set in opposition to its actual historical significance.
Patrick Martin <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Stathi is right; t a photo or line drawing is highly desirable so
some kind of ID can be made first. How much of this thing is cast,
how much sheet, how heavy might it be, is it really of any interest
to your context, or is it just something dumped along the roadside, etc?
On Apr 3, 2006, at 1:12 PM, Marcy Rockman wrote:
Writing to ask the collective wisdom for advice in moving a large,
fragile piece of mining equipment. The piece appears to be a mixer of
some sort, approximately 6 ft. tall, currently lying on its side. It
was part of a 1930s oil field near Santa Maria, California. The area
is currently being redeveloped as an oil field. The piece is lying
next to a road that is being used by heavy drilling rigs, so is in
danger of being damaged by traffic. There is no evidence of a
foundation near the piece, so it does not appear to be in its
original use location. One idea to keep the piece from further harm
is to move it to the opposite side of the road and place it in the
vicinity of some other remnant foundations from the 1930s
development. A major concern with this idea is that the piece is
quite rusted and appears to be rather fragile. There is a pipe
running the length of the piece, which may help keep it together, but
the outer shell may not fair so well.
Has anyone out there done this sort of move before? We are
considering some nylon slings for the actual lifting part, but would
like to put something around the piece in advance to keep it together
and project it from additional damage. Any suggestions as to
materials, procedures, or other options would be most welcome.
Thank you,
Marcy Rockman
------------------------------
Marcy Rockman, Ph.D.
Principal Archaeologist
PCR Services Corporation
233 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 130
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 451-4488
[log in to unmask]
Patrick E. Martin
Professor of Archaeology
Department of Social Sciences
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI 49931
phone 906-487-2070,email [log in to unmask]
www.industrialarchaeology.net
S.P. Austin
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