Interpretation from Conservation

For an AOC Conservator, one of the main aims when working with finds is not just to ensure their stability for the future, but to maximise the information that can be realized from them.

Throughout the conservation process, conservators look for clues about the manufacture, use, life and purpose of an artefact. Artefacts and the materials from which they are constructed can hold such information within corrosion layers, or be evidenced by creases, folds and wear marks for example; even the absence of such evidence will tell a tale.

For example, a leather artefact excavated from Loch Glashan in the 1960’s was re-interpreted through the conservation process. On excavation, a collection of leather fragments were thought to constitute a leather jerkin. This interpretation was not questioned and so, after conservation, using a wax-like substance (known as polyethylene glycol) which gave them a stiff glossy appearance, the fragments were then mounted on a manikin and displayed in this way for the next 40 years. A re-examination of the site archive with the purpose of writing-up the excavation by Anne Crone and Ewan Campbell caused this interpretation to be revised.

At AOC Archaeology Group’s conservation laboratories, the mounted leather fragments were inspected. All of the leather fragments were removed from the manikin, and together with the remainder of the excavated fragments they were re-treated, by soaking in glycerol and then freezing prior to under-going freeze-drying, so that they could be handled and recorded. The results were highly successful with the texture and appearance of the leather much improved; the fragments also seemed to relax back in to a ‘remembered’ shape – very probably the shape and form in which they had originally been. This allowed AOC conservator Rob Lewis to examine in detail the leather and record such features as wear-marks, creases and stitch holes.

Most of the mounted leather fragments had evidence of slots through which a leather thong could be run to secure them together. These slots had raised or depressed areas between them, forming an identifiable pattern and allowing pieces of leather that were originally joined together to be matched up. A number of leather fragments also had creases in them which did not correspond to the shape of the manikin, on which they mounted, suggesting they resulted from the original shape of the artefact. These and other subtle clues enabled the conservator to piece the fragments back together like a jigsaw to find the best fit. The shape that became apparent was that of a ‘satchel’, with evidence of a strap attachment. Certain features of the satchel, such as its similarity to contemporary descriptions and depictions of book satchels, together with its first millennium AD date, mean that it could be one of the earliest examples of a satchel made to carry a bound codex. Were it not for investigation through the process of conservation, this highly important archaeological find could still be in fragments, covered in wax and adhered to a manikin.

This example illustrates that conservation is not simply about conserving archaeological artefacts but also about contributing to the understanding and interpretation of artefacts. This is something that field archaeologists should not ignore when designing research strategies.

Relevant Information about this project in our Publications Section

AOC Conservator: Gretel Evans
Client: Historic Scotland