Conservation and restoration of shipwreck artifacts
The conservation phase is often time-consuming and expensive (sometimes costing more than the original excavation), which is one of the most important considerations when planning and implementing any action involving the recovery of artifacts from a shipwreck.
This can refer to the chemical reactions or corrosion that takes place, the rate of deterioration and decay, and the ultimate preservation of the shipwreck artifacts.
As scuba diving grows in popularity and treasure hunters seek to make their fortunes, shipwrecks have become constant locations for looting and illegal salvaging.
The act's primary function is to safeguard shipwrecks, located in American waters, from unsanctioned salvaging, illicit looting, and total ruination.
It is imperative that artifacts remain in water until the appropriate conservation and preservation techniques have been applied to them, ensuring they are protected, stabilized, and acclimated to their new environmental surroundings.
These small creatures can chew through wooden shipwrecks at a rapid pace, and if left unchecked can-do extensive damage to wrecks.
This is impeccably important for waterlogged wood and other organic materials as the direct presence of ultraviolet light/infrared radiation can cause degradation and eventual disintegration.
The best practice is to keep shipwreck artifacts in a cooler storage environment with minimal access to light, which can cause unwanted heating and fluctuations in temperature, leading to extremely harmful results.
Higher temperatures, specifically, could result in humidity levels significantly rising which could cause further deterioration, infestations of insects, molds, rot, and bacteria.
As discussed previously, high relative humidity may result in mold, infestations, rot and even undesirable chemical reactions or corrosion, depending on environmental conditions.
Approximately 70% of bone and ivory is made up of an inorganic lattice composed of calcium phosphate and various carbonates and fluorides, and at least 30% is ossein, which is organic.
The water-soluble material such as tannins, fats and oils, components part of leather, can dissolve in a marine environment as a result of the collagen's fiber that is susceptible to hydrolysis.
Before conservation techniques are applied to a metal artifact, it is essential to be aware of the corrosion products that result from the exposure to different environments.
Clay is formed by the alteration of feldspathic rocks under the influence of atmospheric agents, such as rain, rivers, winds and gas releases from the Earth's crust.
It is crucial to proceed gradually in order to avoid the overly rapid release of salts that could cause additional damage to the object.
[8] Textiles are fabrics and woven objects that are products of other kinds of interlacing of yarns, braiding, looping, knitting, lace making, and netting.
[13] Wood, an organic material produced by plants, are chemically composed of: carbohydrates (cellulose and hemicellulose), lignin and other components (aliphatic acids, alcohols, proteins and inorganic substances) in a smaller amount.
Archaeological Waterlogged normally looks well preserved; however, it is very weak and deteriorates because of the soluble water substance making it dissolve in marine environments.
[8] If the waterlogged wood is removed from the marine environment and exposed to air, the water will evaporate and the resulting surface tension forces of the evaporating water cause the weakened cell walls to collapse, creating considerable shrinkage and distortion[14] Waterlogged woods extracted from a marine environment may be covered by impurities and sediments.
The disinfectant fungicide, algaecide, orthophenyl phenol; however, the most commonly used and recommended because of its lesser toxicity is a mixture of boric acid and borax.
The desalination process takes a long period of time and is necessary that the water is changed until the concentration of excreted of soluble salts reach its maximum.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization estimated that over 3 million shipwrecks are spread across the ocean floors.
[23] This treaty is a global acknowledgment of the importance in conserving and preserving shipwrecks and the artifacts associated with them for present and future generations to study and learn about them.
American salvage company Sea Search Armada (SSA) stated they'd found the ship in the early 1980s and claimed 50% of its contents".
[25] It was in 2012, that a U.S. federal court ruled in favor of Spain in accordance with the international law of sovereign immunity, which forced Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc to return the haul, in its entirety, to the Spanish government.
Sanctuary and NOAA staff are working with numerous partners to locate, document and preserve dozens of historically significant shipwrecks and artifacts from America's past.
[28] This significant increase of carbon dioxide dissolving in the oceans is changing the water's chemistry and PH balance by causing acidification.
An example of the implications of depth changes can be seen "In many wrecks around Florida, for instance, seagrass functions as an anchor, holding sediment in place and blanketing fragile timbers.
Finally, a new threat to shipwrecks caused by the warming of Earth's waters is the migration and invasion of the wood eating ship worm to new ecosystems.
"Shipworms, which can obliterate a wreck in ten years, have already attacked about a hundred vessels dating back to the 13th century in Baltic waters off Germany, Denmark, and Sweden".
