Out of the water perspectives: Dialogue with Heritage Conservators

It’s a fascinating sight when old wooden shipwrecks are exposed in underwater or water saturated environments. Upon recovery, they appear with stories burning to be told and shared. Waterlogged archaeological wooden artefacts often appear to be in a good condition, so why not take them out of the water and make them available to everyone?
Essential properties in archaeological, degraded wood from underwater or water saturated environments diverge considerably from those of fresh or undegraded wood. Once removed from the underwater/ water saturated environment, a chain of destructive processes starts – unless they are met with precautions, definite plans, and resources to secure the future of the excavated artefacts. Understanding of the differences between fresh or undegraded wood and archaeological waterlogged wood and its requirements are crucial for everybody involved in the excavation of waterlogged wooden finds and an introduction to the special properties of waterlogged wood is given in the introduction. The paper then outlines some of the necessary steps when waterlogged archaeological shipwrecks are removed from the submerged environment until being in stable condition in appropriate storage or exhibition. Some of them are supplied with examples from work carried out by the National Museum of Denmark, where shipwreck projects in the field and in the laboratory have produced valuable research and experiences. Still, with the knowledge, experience and equipment at hand, the process from exposure to exhibition of large archaeological finds – such as shipwrecks – continue to spark discussions, challenges, compromises, and unfortunately, loose ends.