Mark,
Keep it wet, and keep it cold. Organic material such as leather, textiles,
and wood are under constant attack from micro-organisms such as certain
types of bacteria. These micro-organisms feed on the cellular tissue of
organic material. Over a period of time, most of the tissue that usually
would stabilize a cell disintegrates.
Waterlogged material appears to retain its form, but that is only a result
of water taking the place of the organic tissue reduced by bacteria within
the cellular structure. Once a degradated waterlogged artifact is
reintroduced back into the natural environment and allowed to desiccate,
the cellular structure will implode due to the absence of water. These
artifacts will have to be conserved through the impregnation of bulking
agents such as polyethylene glycol (PEG).
For storage, colder temperatures retard the growth of harmful bacteria.
Conversely, the freezing of an organic waterlogged artifact will harm the
cellular structure as well because water expands when frozen. My advice is
to keep it moist and in a refrigerator for storage until further
conservation efforts can be made.
Mike Deegan
> Hi,
>
> As you all know, lots of leather is recovered from nineteenth and
> earlyt twentieth century sites e.g., shoe leather, harness, etc. OK,
> generally speaking, if its just fragments or scraps, I have just put
> it in paper bags and let it dry for later processing or curation.
> However, let's say I recover a leather or cloth artifact that seems
> worthy of more extensive long-term storage, curation, restoration or
> whatever. What are reocmmendations for short to medium-term storage
> of something like a damp or waterlogged shoe. Sealed container?
> Refrigeration? Freezing? Thinking about coming out of the field,
> stabilizing, and holding for further work ... Comments or
> suggestions. Thanks in advance.
>
> --
>
>
> Mark C. Branstner
>
> Illinois Transportation
> Archaeological Research Program
> 209 Nuclear Physics Lab, MC-571
> 23 East Stadium Drive
> Champaign, IL 61820
>
> Phone: 217.244.0892
> Fax: 217.244.7458
> Cell: 517.927.4556
> [log in to unmask]
>
__________________________________________________
Michael J Deegan
MS Candidate- Historical and Industrial Archaeology
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931
845-661-9788
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