CONSERVATION RESEARCH LABORATORY REPORTS

COMPOSITE WOOD/IRON ARTIFACTS: 
POLE ARMS/PARTISANS
WOOD SHAFT CONSERVATION

LA SALLE SHIPWRECK PROJECT, 
TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION

Throughout each year, the Conservation Research Laboratory conserves material from a number of different archaeological projects. The purpose of these CRL reports is to showcase the conservation procedures used to treat some of the more interesting archaeological material.  The conservation of a partisan found on the Belle is presented in this report. The Belle, one of the ships of French explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur (Lord) de La Salle, was lost in Matagorda Bay, Texas in 1686.  It was excavated by the Texas Historical Commission.


CONSERVATION OF A WOOD SHAFT      PHOTOS STILL TO COME!!
Throughout the conservation process, the wood shaft part of the partisan had been kept wet by wrapping it in damp rags.  It was conserved only after the blade was cast.  The encrustation around the wood was carefully removed using a mechanical air scribe.  Silicone oil was used to treat the wood in this instance, although acetone-rosin would have been just as appropriate.  Both are very good when the wood to be preserved is broken in several pieces and has to be repaired.  PEG was not appropriate as conservation treatment in this case, since there was some metallic iron remaining on the blade.  PEG attacks and can be potentially damaging to iron unless specific precautions are taken.

Once the partisan was cast and the wooden handle conserved, final photographs and drawings were made of the reconstructed complete piece.  Observations, such as the success rate of the treatment used and the final appearance of the object, were also included in the conservation record.  The notes made before, during, and after the conservation process aid in the analysis of artifacts.

SEE HOW WE CONSERVED THE IRON BLADE

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT POLE ARMS AND PARTISANS


Citation Information:

Donny L. Hamilton
1998, Composite Wood/Iron Artifacts: Pole Arms - Partisans: Wood Shaft Conservation, Conservation Research Laboratory Research Report # 2b, World Wide Web, URL, http://nautarch.tamu.edu/crl/Report2/polearm2.htm, Nautical Archaeology Program, Texas A&M University, La Salle Shipwreck Project, Texas Historical Commission, Austin, Texas.

E-mail: dlhamilton@tamu.edu

 

CRL PROJECT REPORTS

LA SALLE SHIPWRECK PROJECT


This page is maintained by the staff at the Conservation Research Laboratory, Nautical Archaeology Program, Texas A&M University (crl@tamu.edu). 
Updated: July 25, 2000

The contents of this site - text, images, and data - are intended for personal information only. Downloading of information or graphic images contained herein for private use is not discouraged; however, written permission from either the Nautical Archaeology Program or the Texas Historical Commission is required for the publication of any material. Any use of this information should credit the Nautical Archaeology Program. For additional details, contact Donny L. Hamilton (dlhamilton@tamu.edu).