Out of the Privy and into the Lab: Field Conservation on Waterlogged Sites

Abstract

Field conservation efforts on archaeological sites in the United States have still not been mandated by many local, state, and federal agencies. For terrestrial sites, this may not always be necessary, but for underwater sites conservators are included much more frequently. But what about archaeological sites in between, such as waterlogged wells and privies? And what happens when the archaeologists suddenly run into a feature yielding large quantities of waterlogged materials in a good state of preservation? On a recent excavation in Alexandria, Virginia, artifacts were recovered from a Civil War period privy which yielded organics, inorganics, and synthetic materials. Due to funding, time constraints, and lack of knowledge, a conservator was not included in the original scope of work for the project. This type of situation occurs far too frequently. However, by working with a conservator early on in the initial stages of an excavation, priorities and guidelines can be established for dealing with waterlogged finds.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Institute For Conservation 1998 FAIC Conservation Services Referral System, brochure available from the American Institute for Conservation, Washington, D.C.

English Heritage 1990 Waterlogged Wood: Guidelines for the Recording, Sampling, Conservation and Curation of Waterlogged Wood, English Heritage, London.

Means

Bernard

Editor

1999 A Community Digs Its Past: The Lee Street Site, Alexandria Archaeology Museum, Alexandria Archaeology Publication No. 122, Alexandria, Virginia.

Robinson

Wendy

1998 First Aid for Underwater Finds, Archetype Publications, London.

Woolf

Henry

, Editor 1974 The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Pocket Books, New York.

Young

Lisa

1997a Field Conservation Guidelines, Lee Street Parking Lot Site, Alexandria Virginia, prepared by Alexandria Conservation Services, Ltd. for Dames and Moore, Inc.

Young

Lisa

1997b Laboratory Conservation Guidelines, Lee Street Parking Lot Site, Alexandria Virginia, prepared by Alexandria Conservation Services, Ltd. for Dames and Moore, Inc. and the Alexandria Archaeology Museum.

Young

Lisa

1997c 44AX180 Conservation Treatment Proposal for the Artifacts Recovered from a Waterlogged Context, prepared by Alexandria Conservation Services, Ltd. for the City of Alexandria, Office of Historic Alexandria, Manuscript on file at the Alexandria Archaeology Museum, Alexandria, Virginia.