Conservation of archaeological metal, part 3

The rust layer can hold important information that complete cleaning will destroy.



This stirrup was furnace treated in 1942. In 1978 an X-ray examination (left) revealed silver and copper alloy inlay. The conservator carefully cleaned the surface, so that the inlay was partially revealed (right). In some places the rust is so thick that it cannot be removed without destroying the ornamentation. Only in the X-ray picture is the whole pattern visible

Invention and deception

Glueing the pieces together and replacing missing parts is a part of the conservator's work. Many ingenious methods and remarkable materials have been used over the years. In the old days, conservators tried to complete fragmentary objects. Today, conservators must document their repairs, so that there can be no doubt about what is original.



A stirrup from St. Kongshøj. According to The National Museum's register, 1873: "A pair of rusty and damaged stirrups....[which] seem to have been silvered all over." There is no information about the conservation process but a recent X-ray picture reveals that parts of the foot plate were filled in at one time with plaster and that the stirrup is held together and strengthened with steel wire. The silver inlay is visible in the enlargement on the right.

The next showcase: fibulae...