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The degradation of archaeological bronzes underground: evidence from museum collections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2015

Inga Ullén ,
Anders G. Nord ,
Monica Fjaestad ,
Einar Mattsson ,
Gunnar Ch. Borg  and
Kate Tronner
Inga Ullén
Affiliation:
The Museum of National Antiquities, Box 5428, S-114 84 Stockholm, Sweden (Email: [email protected])
Anders G. Nord
Affiliation:
The National Heritage Board, Box 5405, S-114 84 Stockholm, Sweden (Email: [email protected])
Monica Fjaestad
Affiliation:
The National Heritage Board, Box 5405, S-114 84 Stockholm, Sweden
Einar Mattsson
Affiliation:
Apelvägen 26, S-182 73 Stocksund, Sweden
Gunnar Ch. Borg
Affiliation:
Chalmers University of Technology, Dept of Geology, S-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden
Kate Tronner
Affiliation:
The National Heritage Board, Box 5405, S-114 84 Stockholm, Sweden
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Abstract

This interdisciplinary project, initiated by the National Heritage Board in Sweden, was undertaken to determine the environmental factors affecting the deterioration of archaeological bronzes in Scandinavia – while they still lie underground. The possible influence of soil acidification was obviously of special interest. The method was to examine 3200 prehistoric bronze artefacts from different museum collections in Sweden and Norway and compare the condition of specimens dug up in different areas at different times. The results showed that the condition of excavated bronzes had greatly deteriorated during the last 50–60 years, particularly along the North West Coast of Sweden, where the soil is very sensitive to pollutants. The archaeological context, e.g. the burial rite, was also among the factors influencing the preservation of the artefacts.

Keywords

CRMartefactsconservationmuseum collections
Type
Method
Information
Antiquity , Volume 78 , Issue 300 , June 2004 , pp. 380 - 390
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2004

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