Port Royal Project

From 1981 through 1990, Dr. Donny Hamilton excavated the 17th-century sunken city of Port Royal, Jamaica.  The following project reports present some of the conservation procedures used on many of the recovered artifacts.  The reports also illustrate the problems encountered when conserving waterlogged material. For an example, see the report on a wood/iron carpenter's chisel.

Mardi Gras Project

In May 2007, the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation, in cooperation with the Oceanography Department at Texas A&M University and the Mineral Management Servie, conducted a partial excavation on a deep water shipwreck 4016 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico. See details and on-going conservation webcam here.

La Salle Shipwreck Project

When the Texas Historical Commission arranged for CRL to conserve all of the excavated material from La Salle's 17th-century ship, the Belle  - including the ship herself- we knew it would be a great challenge.  Few, if any, shipwrecks excavated in the United States have contained the quantity and variety of material found on the Belle.  New conservation procedures have been developed for this project, and a new conservation vat was built especially for treating the ship's hull.  This vat is the largest wood conservation facility in the United States.

The following research reports illustrate some of the problems we have encounterd while conserving the Belle and her hold.  More will be added as work progresses.

New conservation methods: silicone oil and organic conservation

Composite wood/iron artifacts: pole arms and partisans

Conservation of the skeleton

Conservation of a wooden chest

Modeling La Belle.

A big thanks to all our sponsors.