Conservation Blog

conserved pistol with corroded stock

Probing Deep into Conservation

Reaching into the muck, the words “Is it a snaphaunce, a matchlock? It’s mostly brass covered in mud!” rang out amongst the crowd of local, national […]

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March 1, 2021
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Conservation Blog

Conserving a Jack of Plate

In 2005, while excavating a soldier’s pit (Pit 8), archaeologists came upon a mass of these small iron plates. Called a jack of plate, this artifact […]

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January 26, 2021
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Conservation Blog
Pick being used to remove corrosion on a backplate

Back to the Backplate

In 2007, a substantial piece of armor was recovered from Structure 183, the Blacksmith Shop/Bakery. The artifact is a backplate, a piece worn with a breastplate […]

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September 9, 2020
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Conservation Blog
Conservator measuring a large tombstone

The Knight’s Tombstone

The Knight’s Tombstone was discovered by APVA excavators in 1901 prior to the 1907 construction of the Memorial Church. Carved from Belgium limestone, the tombstone is […]

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June 19, 2020
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Conservation Blog
Lead die being cleaned

No Gambling on Conservation

This past summer Jamestown Rediscovery archaeologists focused primarily on digging structure 193, the cellar of a building that sat at the corner of a 1608 extension […]

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February 4, 2016
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Conservation Blog
Fragment of wooden box lid with copper alloy tacks

A Tactful Reveal

The wooden cover decorated with tacks that archaeologists excavated in May 2015 may be the cover to a treasure box called a casket. “It would hold […]

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September 3, 2015
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Conservation Blog
Two views of a dagger before and after conservation

Conserve To Preserve

After artifacts are removed from the soil by the archaeologist, they go to the lab located on Jamestown Island to be processed and preserved. This is the job of the conservator.

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February 24, 2015
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Conservation Blog