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Conservation


Conservators removing tiles from the water cistern of a post great fire building
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Conservation ensures the long-term survival of excavated material by active stabilisation of vulnerable material and the safe storage of the finds archive as a whole.

Conservation allows the detailed study of artefacts, technology and use, as conservators work with excavators and finds specialists to contribute to the study and understanding of the finds.

Consultative surveys and reports on public and private collections can be carried out on site or at the Resource Centre. Our experienced staff are available for lectures and workshops on all aspects of our work.

On-site conservation

  • recovery of large or fragile objects from site, from mosaic floors to complex assemblages
  • on-site conservation of standing structural remains
  • advice on the preservation of archaeological deposits in situ
  • advice on mitigation strategies and reburial of structural remains and archaeological features

    • Analysis and investigation

  • conservation of archaeological objects of all kinds; full documentation is provided, with technical reports where appropriate
  • analytical and investigative conservation of all materials, particularly metalwork
  • identification of materials and the composition of artefacts
  • investigation of technologies associated with artefacts
  • conservation and stabilisation of all materials for archive deposition
  • conservation of wet organic materials – we have freeze-drying facilities for the conservation of leather and small wooden artefacts, plus a large treatment tank for the pre-treatment of larger structural timbers
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    Preventive conservation

  • collections management programmes to assess the condition of archives and the performance of earlier treatments, using the latest statistical techniques
  • advice on the preventive conservation of objects
  • care and packaging on site
  • conservation and advice on short- and long-term storage and display
  • testing of display and archive materials using accelerated ageing tests
  • forensic archaeology: preservation of material evidence for long-term storage and study
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    More information

    For further information contact Liz Goodman or Liz Barham on 020 7814 5646.

    Read our conservation capability statement
    Read our specialist services conservation brochure (PDF 173kb)

    Examples