In an archaeological excavation near Oldenburg in eastern Schleswig-Holstein, 140 wooden piles belonging to a Neolithic jetty or harbor facility were recently brought to light. The rescue excavation is being financed by Deutsche Bahn, as the archaeologists are digging at worthwhile points along the 80-kilometer-long future railroad line to the planned Baltic Sea tunnel. Experts from the Schleswig-Holstein State Archaeological Office have also uncovered the remains of eight human skulls among the thousands of years old wooden piles. The spectacular excavations will continue until the end of 2019, but the joy of the finds is accompanied by concerns about how the fragile wooden piles can be preserved in the long term. These and similar questions regarding the conservation of archaeological artifacts will be discussed at the “Conference on preventive conservation in the archaeological field” organized by the Archaeological Objects specialist group in Mannheim.
With the kind support of the Reiss-Engelhorn-Mueen, the VDR Archaeological Objects Section is planning its 6th specialist conference under the motto “Preventive? Preventive conservation in the field of archaeology” from 24 to 26 October 2019 at the Museum Weltkulturen in Mannheim. Preventive conservation in the field of archaeology is present in many areas of conservators’ daily work. The aim of this conference is to provide an overview of this very complex topic. Particularly important are the first preventive measures on finds during and shortly after excavation. In what form is this done, what techniques are used on excavations to recover sensitive material groups such as organics or glass? Of particular interest are also the practices and implementation possibilities on excavations for storing and transporting the freshly recovered finds. The spectrum of lectures ranges from “Preventive conservation on Egyptian excavations” to “Logistical handling of challenging archaeological and ethnological objects” and “Plastics in archaeological excavations” to “Current restoration projects of the SIMAT e. V. association in the province of Idlib (Syria)”. Roland Schwab will provide information on “Non-destructive and low-destructive material analysis of cultural assets” and Max Rahrig will deal with the question “What to do with all the scans?”, thus making a contribution to the long-term archiving of 3D data for the documentation of important art and cultural assets. The excursions on offer include a guided tour of the central archives of the Archäologisches Landesmuseum, Baden-Württemberg or the depot of the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen in Mannheim.
More detailed information and the program: https://www.restauratoren.de/termin/tagung-praeventiv-die-praeventive-konservierung-im-archaeologischen-fachbereich/
The number of participants is limited to a maximum of 188. During the 3 days, the permanent exhibition of the Museum Weltkulturen can be visited free of charge (upon presentation of the conference name badge or VDR membership card).