Vee Ring is correct about the amount of information out there re:
conservation. The past 30 years has seen the grow of conservation
organizations that produce journals, newsletters and conference
proceedings. To be honest, a lot of the literature is deadly technical and
would not be of interest to archaeologists, but there are a few notable
exceptions. One excellent text book is "The Elements of Archaeological
Conservation" by J.M. Cronyn, published by Routledge, 1990. It is perfect
for an archaeological techniques/field course.
The author "Organ" is Robert Organ, a chemist who contributed
enormously to our understanding of the processes of metal corrosion. I
think the book Vee Ring referred to is his "Design for Scientific
Conservation of Antiquities", first published by Butterworths in 1968.
Rather than describing treatments, it is a guide for setting up
conservation lab facilities, equipment, and specialized processes. It is
very detailed, covering health and safety concerns too.
A word of caution about old text books that describe artifact
treatments, such as Plenderleith and Werner's "The Conservation of
Antiquities and Works of Art" (first published, 1956, second edition,
1971), Oxford University Press. Many older treatments have proven to be
disastrous for artifacts as well as hazardous to those carrying them out.
Early conservation was much like alchemy - a lot of fun, but not too well
understood.
FInally about garbage dumps and middens in general: micro-environments
produce conditions conducive to preservation of certain types of material.
Fascinating area of study, but dealing with "recent" artifacts, such as
tin cans with paper and painted labels, contents included at times, is
really not pleasant (memories of the smell of a can from Franklin's dump
that had rotting lamb with peas in it)!
Regards,
Judy Logan
Senior Conservator, Archaeology
Conservation Processes and Materials Research
1030 Innes Road
Ottawa ON
K1A 0M5
tel: 613 998-3721 fax: 613 998-4721 e-mail: [log in to unmask]
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