Proposal for the conservation of a wide collection of iron archaeological objects
Keywords:
conservación de materiales, cloruros, tratamientos masivos, tratamientos colectivos, akaganeíta, corrosiónAbstract
In the archaeological excavations carried out in Biscay (Basque Country), tens or hundreds of iron remains are often recovered. Taking into account that the archaeological sites in this area are near the sea, there is a chance that their burial conditions have a high content of chlorides — a corrosion accelerator. For that reason, we can foresee that these archaeological materials will begin to deteriorate immediately after the excavation finishes.
Reducing the corrosion rate of an extensive collection of ferrous materials becomes a challenge. In this vein, an intervention model aimed at stabilizing a great amount of objects while minimizing costs and enhancing the efficiency of the interventions has been developed at the Arkeologi Museoa. The treatment has been applied to a group of archaeological remains. The results obtained, the advantages and drawbacks, and the risks associated with long term conservation are presented in this paper.
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