Ron:
I think that is an EXCELLENT idea. The bunkers at the Presidio at San
Francisco with the excellent potential laboratories and facilities for
investigators immediately comes to mind. Badger Arsenal in Wisconsin,
Hawthorne Nevada, Fort Defiance New Mexico, and Camp Navajo near Flagstaff
should provide enough bunkers for the west coast in addition to those at
Fort Rosecrans. And I am sure there are dozens if not hundreds of other
locations. vSee you at SCA in Modesto and we can discuss it further.
Rich Lundin, WRI
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ron May
Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2009 5:47 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Cologne Archives
For the past 20-years, I have argued that we should be taking advantage of
surplus military underground bunkers for collection and records archives.
These
can be sealed with waterproof materials, machinery can be installed to
balance the humidity and temperature, and security can be insured with
steel doors
and cypher locks. Bunkers of all shapes and sizes were created between the
Civil War and Cold War that are now surplus or vacant. I am sure there are
similar bunkers available throughout Europe, as well. Had Cologne taken
advantage of one of these bunkers, a collapsed building would only seal
access and
not hurt anything.
With a small grant and a lot of self help, the U.S. Navy converted a 1942
hospital morgue (with dirt floors) to a small archives for archaeological
collections, field notes, photos, etc. in the Fort Rosecrans Historic
District.
The morgue measured 40-feet by 10-feet and is 8-feet wide and is accessed by
two
tunnel entrances. The walls were saturated with 2-ply epoxy that off-gassed
before installing the collections. The walls are steel reinforced concrete
and were formed over corrugated steel pipes (pulled out to create a strong
arch
(in this case, the Army later removed the steel). This facility has
earthquake shelving, two HVAC machines, and is monitored each week
(security goes by
irregulary four times an hour). And the materials are only 100-feet from the
research facility. Truth be known, there are probably standard plans for
constructing these bunkers that could still be used to build new ones.
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.
In a message dated 3/5/2009 3:47:30 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Those of us involved in CRM in the States are often critical of the way
archaeology is handled in major urban projects, but we seem to have a
better
regulatory system in place to avoid this kind of disaster. It is to be
hoped
that (not "hopefully") this will alert Germany and other EU members to
their
lack of meaningful regulations to protect their cultural heritage (which of
course is not only theirs but ours as well).
Morgan Rieder
Historical Architect, Tucson
> Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 21:25:05 +0100
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Cologne Archives
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> They're apparently also asking for help retrieving stuff, so I was
vaguely
> thinking of helping out this weekend; there are videos here:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7922342.stm
> & here:
>
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090304.wvcollapse0304/V
> ideoStory/VideoLineup/News
> this is part of the new subway project, which has had a lot of trouble:
cost
> overruns were recently blamed on delays caused by archaeologists (doesn't
> take a brain surgeon to figure out that there is a lot of archaeology in
the
> middle of Cologne, & that they should have planned for it better at the
> beginning; hiring 4 or 5 German firms to "manage" the excavations by
hiring
> student workers at 400 euros/month didn't help much, either [students are
> allowed to work enough hours to earn 400 euros without losing their
student
> status, which would mean having to pay for unemployment insurance &
income
> tax, among other things; unfortunately most of the people on my wife's
crew
> were not even studying archaeology...]; there should be a major scandal
> because local firms even undercut a bid by a Polish university... & there
> have been various rumours of serious health problems among some of the
> excavators [mercury poisoning, etc.], etc., etc.), so now I'm wondering
how
> they'll manage to blame the collapse on... archaeologists (had to cut
back
> on health & safety precautions because of all those cost overruns because
of
> the cut-budget archaeology...)...
> they're still not sure whether anyone has died: 2 are apparently missing,
> but with the weather, chances don't look good...
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> The archive office in Kon (Cologne) has collapsed killing at least two
> persons and much of German's greatest urban archive (undamaged during
> WW2) may have been lost- makes the case for digitisation. I was going to
> vist the city this weekend but had to cancel holiday due to sick cat.
> Masive new stoneware catalogue of Cologne and Frechen stoneware has also
> been published by the city museum service while I remmber- can send
> details if anyone wants.
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