Microbes for Archaeological Wood Conservation

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Materials Science
• Archaeological Conservation

Background:

• Waterlogged wood is susceptible to degradation from salt precipitation and acidification.
• Current preservation methods face challenges in addressing these specific degradation factors.
• Innovative biological approaches are needed for effective wood conservation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential of bacterial biomineralization for extracting iron and sulfur compounds from waterlogged wood.
• To develop a novel biological extraction method for preserving waterlogged wood.
• To assess the efficacy of this method on wood from diverse aquatic environments.

Main Methods:

• Exploiting the biomineralization capabilities of specific bacterial strains.
• Applying bacterial treatment to wet wood samples to extract iron and sulfur compounds.
• Evaluating extraction performance on wood artifacts recovered from both lake and marine settings.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated the feasibility of using bacterial biomineralization for in-situ extraction of detrimental compounds.
• Identified key bacterial species and conditions for effective iron and sulfur removal.
• Preliminary data indicate successful application across different waterlogged wood types.

Conclusions:

• Bacterial biomineralization offers a promising, innovative approach for waterlogged wood preservation.
• This method targets specific degradation agents (iron and sulfur) while the wood is still wet.
• The developed technique has the potential to be a versatile tool for conservators.