Observations on Microbial Growth during Conservation Treatment of Waterlogged Archaeological Wood

2001 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 211 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. G. Bjordal ◽  
T. Nilsson
Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 1113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liuyang Han ◽  
Xingling Tian ◽  
Tobias Keplinger ◽  
Haibin Zhou ◽  
Ren Li ◽  
...  

Structural and chemical deterioration and its impact on cell wall mechanics were investigated for visually intact cell walls (VICWs) in waterlogged archaeological wood (WAW). Cell wall mechanical properties were examined by nanoindentation without prior embedding. WAW showed more than 25% decrease of both hardness and elastic modulus. Changes of cell wall composition, cellulose crystallite structure and porosity were investigated by ATR-FTIR imaging, Raman imaging, wet chemistry, 13C-solid state NMR, pyrolysis-GC/MS, wide angle X-ray scattering, and N2 nitrogen adsorption. VICWs in WAW possessed a cleavage of carboxyl in side chains of xylan, a serious loss of polysaccharides, and a partial breakage of β-O-4 interlinks in lignin. This was accompanied by a higher amount of mesopores in cell walls. Even VICWs in WAW were severely deteriorated at the nanoscale with impact on mechanics, which has strong implications for the conservation of archaeological shipwrecks.


2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (11) ◽  
pp. 2957-2967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianna Giachi ◽  
Chiara Capretti ◽  
Ines D. Donato ◽  
Nicola Macchioni ◽  
Benedetto Pizzo

Radiocarbon ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Brock ◽  
Michael Dee ◽  
Andrew Hughes ◽  
Christophe Snoeck ◽  
Richard Staff ◽  
...  

AbstractTo achieve a reliable radiocarbon (14C) date for an object, any contamination that may be of a different age must be removed prior to dating. Samples that have been conserved with treatments such as adhesives, varnishes or consolidants can pose a particular challenge to 14C dating. At the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU), common examples of such substances encountered include shellac, the acrylic polymers Paraloid B-67 and B-72, and vinyl acetate-derived polymers (e.g. PVA). Here, a non-carbon-containing absorbent substrate called Chromosorb® was deliberately contaminated with a range of varieties or brands of these conservation treatments, as well as two cellulose nitrate lacquers. A selection of chemical pretreatments was tested for their efficiency at removing them. While the varieties of shellac and Paraloid tested were completely removed with some treatments (water/methanol and acetone/methanol/chloroform sequential washes, respectively), no method was found that was capable of completely removing any of the vinyl acetate-derived materials or the cellulose nitrate lacquers. While Chromosorb is not an exact analog of archaeological wood or bone, for example, this study suggests that it may be possible to remove aged shellac and Paraloid from archaeological specimens with standard organic solvent-acid-base-acid pretreatments, but it may be significantly more difficult to remove vinyl acetate-derived polymers and cellulose nitrate lacquers sufficiently to provide reliable 14C dates. The four categories of conservation treatment studied demonstrate characteristic FTIR spectra, while highlighting subtle chemical and molecular differences between different varieties of shellac, Paraloid and cellulose nitrate lacquers, and significant differences between the vinyl acetate derivatives.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 2015
Author(s):  
Federica Antonelli ◽  
Marco Bartolini ◽  
Marie-Laure Plissonnier ◽  
Alfonso Esposito ◽  
Giulia Galotta ◽  
...  

Waterlogged archaeological wood is exposed to a high risk of biological degradation during the post-excavation phases of storage and restoration. For this reason, often biocides must be used to preserve wooden remains. In the present work three essential oils (cinnamon, wild thyme, and common thyme) were tested as possible alternative biocides to use in the preservation of waterlogged archaeological wood. The oils were first tested in vitro to establish the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and to evaluate the biocidal activity on selected fungal strains. Then, the established MIC was applied on waterlogged archaeological wood samples and during an actual restoration treatment. The effectiveness of the oils was evaluated through cultural analyses, ATP quantification, and next-generation sequencing. The results showed that the oils caused a significant decrease in the vitality of fungal mycelia grown in vitro and of the microbiota present in treated wood and storage water. Furthermore, an influence on the composition of the bacterial communities of treated wood samples was observed. Although further tests are needed to evaluate interferences with the materials used during restoration procedures, essential oils could be considered as a possible alternative to the currently used biocide.


Archaeometry ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 855-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. CAPRETTI ◽  
N. MACCHIONI ◽  
B. PIZZO ◽  
G. GALOTTA ◽  
G. GIACHI ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 49-58
Author(s):  
Alessandra Papacchini ◽  
Simona Dominici ◽  
Giuseppina Di Giulio ◽  
Marco Fioravanti ◽  
Antonella Salvini

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document