Emily J. Van asks:

Anyone see the article in a recent American Antiq. about washing lithics
from excavations in Calgon?  Any thoughts?  Our archaeologist wants to
try
it during this year's field school and I'm trying to decide if this is a
good idea.

emily

The answer is a definite "maybe, maybe not".  Calgon is a water softening
agent, meaning that it has the ability to take minerals out of solution.
It can be useful when buried artifacts are "contaminated" with certain
mineral salts from their burial site but may be harmful if used
improperly.  The book your (and everyone else's) archeologist needs is:
"A Conservation Manual for the Field Archeologist" by Catherine Sease.
Published by Univ. of Pennsylvania Musuem, and available through
www.amazon.com.

Kory Berrett, FAIC, Objects Conservator
Berrett Conservation Studio
3054 Reisler Road, Oxford, PA  19363
(610) 932-2425; fax 932-8955; [log in to unmask]

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