I.3 Storage and Conservation Strategy
p. 17-18
Texte intégral
1The safekeeping and storage of objects, especially in respect of their provenance, is a crucial part of all archaeological missions but one often subject to financial constraints (Orton et al. 1993, pp. 98-104). Here we shall address a few of the positive and negative aspects concerning this topic.
Labelling and Ensuring Long-lasting Readability of Tags
2The use of a plastic label or the placement of a paper label inside an additional plastic bag to prevent dampness or destruction by insects, rodents or other animals (e.g. termites) is as important as the right choice of a pencil. Using a lead pencil prevents the writing and thus the provenance from fading if exposed to a UV light for instance or from blurring in the case of dampness. Moreover, a record of all stored bags, their contents and their provenance, including non-documented material, should be considered.
Storage Containers
3Whilst plastic zip-lock bags are the most common means for storing objects, a long-term option is the use of textile bags. To store larger assemblages, wooden boxes, metal boxes, plastic containers, rubber buckets or even organic baskets can be used. However, it should be clear that almost all container types have disadvantages. For instance, destruction by insects (mainly termites) can affect all containers made of organic material such as baskets and wooden boxes.
4Whilst plastic containers or bags suffer damage from heat and, as they age, become brittle resulting in the disintegration thereof. The longest lasting containers are metal boxes, but they can get extremely hot resulting in humidity issues if they are too airtight. The rubber (car tyre) buckets are very sturdy but have no lid. A further option for more complete vessels would be either metal or organic material ring stands (even finished rolls of tape serve the purpose).
Things to Avoid
5Thin plastic bags, purchased at supermarkets, are still commonly used due to their availability and low cost; however, they are the worst possible choice for storage as they often age very badly and fall to pieces within a year.
6Moreover, sherds often have sharp edges which can easily pierce holes in thin bags letting small sherds and labels fall out, again resulting in the loss of both information and provenance. If no other solution is available, the use of multiple bags inside one another to ensure security of provenance is a must and these should be replaced by better quality bags as soon as possible.
How to Store
7It is important to ensure that heavy objects are not placed on top of fragile objects. Large vessels are better stored on the bottom shelve or on the floor using a ring stand.
Humidity
8Humidity or dampness can cause major issues to objects. Pottery can suffer from mould/ mildew and humidity can cause metal objects to corrode further, turning them into unrec-ognisable lumps. For smaller objects, anti-condensation pearls made from silica gel are used to absorb moisture. When storing pottery, it is important that the pottery is very dry. Sometimes it can be good idea to leave a small section of the zip-lock open to allow air to circulate and evacuate any excess moisture.
Shelving
9Providing shelf units can be a major but vital financial investment. The shelves should be secure and stable and made of metal or wood (again, caution must be taken concerning termites). If the quality of the shelving is poor, they may collapse and not only damage the objects but also mix-up provenances, once again resulting in loss of information.
Sustainability
10Seasonal check-ups and necessary adjustments must be made to ensure upholding of the state of preservation of objects as well as their storage containers and, should any problems or damage be witnessed, these should be repaired as soon as possible to avoid any further deterioration.
Auteur
Associated member, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Berlin, Germany.

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