The diploma course in marine archaeological conservation at Evtek
Institute of Art and Design, Finland
Vanessa ROTH and Anu NOROLA
Evtek Institute of Art and Design, Lummetie 2, 01300 Vantaa - Finland
Abstract
The diploma in Marine Archaeological Conservation began in September 2000 at Evtek Institute of Art and
Design, Vantaa, Finland. This is the first time that an international level course has been offered in this field,
and it marks a significant shift in the training of marine archaeological conservators. The course is being funded
by the Finnish Government to promote the conservation of the many well-preserved shipwrecks found in the
Baltic Sea, such as the recent discovery of the 1771 Vrouw Maria wreck off the coast of Finland. The course has
been designed to offer a multi-disciplinary approach to the study and preservation of marine archaeological finds
with both theoretical and practical training. The course draws on the skills of many of the leading professionals
in marine archaeological conservation. The paper covers the course structure and the subjects offered during the
diploma course, with an emphasis on those relevant to wet organics conservation. A selection of conservation
treatments undertaken by the students is presented. The students‘ own views on this training course is discussed.
Introduction
The diploma in Marine Archaeological Conservation began in September 2000 at Evtek
Institute of Art and Design in Vantaa, Finland. It is the first time that an international level
training course of this length has been offered in this field anywhere in the world, and it
marks a significant shift in the training of marine archaeological conservators. Up until now,
only very short courses have been available in marine archaeological conservation - or it has
been offered as a unit in maritime archaeology programs. Most people in this field today
come from a science background or have been through a general conservation program with
on-the-job training. There is a genuine need for this kind of training as it may be difficult to
apply the knowledge gained from other conservation courses. There is also an increasing
interest in maritime archaeology around the world, but a general shortage of skilled
conservators working in this field.
The 1999 discovery of the wreck of the 1771 Vrouw Maria, a ship thought to have been
carrying art treasures for Catherine the Great, along with the many well preserved wrecks
found in the Baltic Sea, provided the impetus for this course to be set up by Evtek Institute of
Art and Design and funded by the Finnish Government. There was only one conservator in
Finland working in this field so there was a perceived need for more trained conservators to
work on the Vrouw Maria if it was to be excavated or lifted. An advantage of holding the
course in Finland was also that higher education is free for both Finnish and international
students.
The design of the course structure and the selection of the lecturers was made by Vasilike
Argyropoulos of the Technical Education Institute in Athens and Heikki Häyhä of Evtek
Institute of Art and Design. The course differs from other conservation courses in that there is
no main lecturer, but a series of visiting lecturers from Finland and abroad. The course draws
on the skills of many of the leading professionals in the marine conservation field including
Cliff Cook from Parks Canada, David Grattan from CCI, Ian MacLeod from the Western
Australian Maritime Museum, Per Hoffman from the Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum,
Elizabeth Peacock from Trondheim University and Alice Paterakis from Agora Excavations
in Athens. Christian Degrigny, formally of Arc‘ Antique in France, has been working at
Evtek for the last six months as a lecturer and coordinator of the practical work.
Sixteen students, 5 men and 11 women with ages ranging from 22 to 52 years, are currently
undertaking the diploma course. As the official language of the course is English, this has
enabled not only the participation of visiting lecturers from abroad, but the inclusion of six
international students. It is interesting to note that the students come from a diverse range of
backgrounds, including conservation, archaeology, marine biology, physical geography, art
history and boatbuilding.
Part 1.
September – December
2000
Background
Information:
Part 2.
January – August
2001
Conservation:
Underwater environment
Marine chemistry
Maritime archaeology
Materials analysis
Wood identification
Sediments
Metals
Wood
Glass
Leather
Ceramics
In-situ Conservation
Textiles and Rope
4 months
8 months
Part 3.
Part 4.
September –
December 2001
January – March
2002
Internship
4 months
Final thesis
and
oral presentation
3 months
Figure 1: Structure of the diploma course
The diploma complies with the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and is worth 120
credit points under this system, half the number of credit points required for a basic degree.
However, students are able to add credit points from relevant courses they have done in the
past, in order to obtain a recognised conservation qualification. The diploma course consists
of a 12 month taught component followed by a 4 month internship placement or an
appropriate research project. The internships will be carried out at marine archaeological
conservation laboratories, museums and research institutions in Finland and around the world.
Three additional months are allowed for the completion of the final thesis which is to be
submitted by March 2002, along with an oral presentation. The thesis will summarise the
experiments and conservation treatments done as preliminary projects at Evtek, along with
work carried out during the internship. Students will then be awarded the diploma based on
the assessments received from the visiting lecturers, and on their preliminary project,
internship and final thesis grades.
The course has been designed to offer a multi-disciplinary approach to marine archaeological
conservation with both theoretical and practical training. The first part of the course provided
background information to the subject with courses such as the marine environment,
sediments, marine chemistry, materials analysis, wood identification and maritime
archaeology. The students were given an understanding of the interactions between artefacts
and the marine environment and an insight into the work of professionals in related fields.
With the new year, the course focused more on conservation and specific materials and
included courses in electrolytic techniques and metals, wood, leather, ceramics and glass
conservation. Practical work was done with both real objects from shipwrecks and with
experimental samples. It was considered very important for the students to be able to work
practically at underwater excavations so three weeks of scuba diving training was held in
May.
COURSE
Introduction
On-site storage and packing
Operating a conservation laboratory
Freeze drying
Underwater environment
Sediments and sedimentation
Materials analysis
Marine archaeology
Wood identification
Introduction to marine chemistry
Computer documentation
Wood use and adaptation in shipbuilding
Introduction to electrolysis
Conservation of the cannon
Ceramics, glass and stone
Conservation of organic materials
Conservation of ships
Conservation of leather
Conservation of metal artefacts
Marine archaeology in Denmark
Scuba diving
In-situ conservation, monitoring
Underwater documentation
Conservation of textile and rope
Figure 2: Subjects taught during the diploma course
INSTRUCTOR/S
Vasilike Argyropoulos
INSTITUTION
ECTS
Technical Educational Institute, Athens, Greece
Evtek, Vantaa, Finland
1.5
Heikki Häyhä
Cliff Cook
Parks Canada, Ottawa, Canada
4.5
Juha Flinkman
Boris Winterhalter
Vasilis Kilikoglou
Minna Koivikko
Riikka Ihamäki
Kalle Virtanen
Finnish Institute of Marine Research, Helsinki, Finland
Geological Survey Institute, Helsinki, Finland
Technical Educational Institute, Athens, Greece
Finnish Maritime Museum, Helsinki, Finland
Lahden Kaupungimuseo, Lahti, Finland
Finland
3
1.5
1.5
4.5
Tuuli Timonen
Pirkko Harju
Matti Perttilä
Pasi Kaarto
Damian Goodburn
Christian Degrigny
Christian Degrigny
Alice Paterakis
David Grattan
Per Hoffmann
Elizabeth Peacock
Christian Degrigny
Jörgen Dencker
Helsinki University, Finland
3
Finnish Institute of Marine Research, Helsinki, Finland
Evtek, Vantaa, Finland
Museum of London, United Kingdom
Arc’ Antique, Nantes, France
Arc’ Antique, Nantes, France
Agora Excavations, American School of Classical Studies, Athens, Greece
Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa, Canada
Deutches Shiffahrtsmuseum, Bremerhaven, Germany
Trondheim University, Norway
Arc’ Antique, Nantes, France
Institute of Marine Archaeology, Roskilde, Denmark
Sea Safety, Finland
Western Australian Maritime Museum, Fremantle, Australia
Finland
1.5
1.5
1.5
3
1.5
4.5
7.5
7.5
1.5
6
1.5
6
7.5
4.5
Trondheim University, Norway
6
Ian MacLeod
Kalle Virtanen
Markku Luoto
Elizabeth Peacock
Courses Relevant to Wet Organics Conservation
There were many interesting and informative subjects taught during the diploma course. The
following is a brief description of those courses relevant to wet organics conservation.
During the first weeks of the course, Cliff Cook taught the students about on-site packing and
transportation, with a particular emphasis on organic materials. We also learnt about the
theory, design and use of freeze dryers in conservation, as well as the common problems
encountered.
Damian Goodburn from the Museum of London taught a course in traditional shipbuilding
techniques. The course covered the development of wood-working tools, wood preparation
and ship construction methods. The students learnt to identify toolmarks and tried out
replicas of historic and prehistoric tools.
Two weeks were spent at the University of Helsinki with Tuuli Timonen and Pirkko Harju
doing a course in microscopic wood identification. The course was based on practical work
in slide preparation and the identification of the most common wood species found in
Scandinavia. The students also practiced sectioning and identifying waterlogged and PEG
treated wood.
One month was spent learning about the conservation of waterlogged wood with David
Grattan and one month with Per Hoffman learning about the conservation of wood and
wooden ships. The courses introduced the anatomy and deterioration of wood, and the past
and present conservation methods. Many case studies were covered in which different
conservation treatments were used. Practical work included the testing and evaluation of
several waterlogged wood conservation methods, as well as basic analytical techniques. The
students were then able to make an informed decision about the most suitable wood
conservation method to use in treating their own artefacts.
The waterlogged leather conservation course taught by Elizabeth Peacock introduced leather
as material, archaeological leather finds and conservation methods. A practical project
involved a comparison of different leather conservation methods on samples from simulated
marine and land burial environments. Elizabeth will return to Evtek in August to teach rope
and textile conservation.
Examples of Practical Work
The students were assigned artefacts to conserve as part of their preliminary projects. The
students were encouraged to work on materials that they are likely to encounter during their
internship placements. The artefacts were donated from museums around Finland, such as the
Maritime Museum of Finland, and a privately owned 1920s steamship wreck.
Figure 3: Lifting the cannon. (Photo: E. Ehanti)
The largest artefact being treated is a grey cast iron cannon from the 1788 Kronprins Gustav
Adolf shipwreck which was lifted by the Maritime Museum of Finland in August 2000. The
cannon is being treated by electrolysis in the school’s laboratory. When the course began, the
marine conservation laboratory had yet to be set up. The final laboratory design was based on
the plans made by the students under the supervision of Cliff Cook. The laboratory was fitted
out with a new stainless steel tank and lifting frame constructed especially for the cannon.
Figure 4: The cannon tank and lifting frame (Photo: C. Degrigny)
The following artefacts - the compass, the clog and the window come from the 1920s
steamship. All three are composites which have required specialised conservation techniques.
Figure 5: The compass before treatment
(Photo: E. Ehanti)
Figure 6: Dismantling the compass
(Photo: C. Degrigny)
The compass is one of the most complex composite artefacts undergoing conservation. It is
constructed from both soft and hardwoods, iron and copper alloys and also includes rubber,
glass and wax components. There is also some remaining paintwork on both wood and metal
pieces. The treatment was begun with the advice and assistance of David Grattan for the
wood conservation and Christian Degrigny for the metals components. The compass was first
dismantled as much as possible so that like materials could be treated together. This required
very careful documentation and labelling of the many components. The conservation work
was divided among several students, while one student with previous conservation experience
supervised the overall treatment process. The wooden pieces are currently undergoing PEG
impregnation. There are some metal fastenings that could not be separated from the wood. In
order to check that they did not begin to corrode in the PEG solution, a wire was attached so
that their corrosion potential could be regularly monitored.
Figure 7: The clog before treatment. (Photo: R. Kokko)
The clog has a hardwood sole and leather upper, underneath the sole are both rubber and
leather patches with some iron nails remaining. The leather upper was carefully separated
from the wooden sole so that the two components could be treated individually. Both pieces
were covered with iron stains. The iron stains were removed from the wooden sole by
immersing it in chelating agents, while the iron stains on the leather were removed by a
combination of chemical treatment with chelating agents and electrophoresis. Electrophoresis
is an electrolytic technique used to mobilise metal ions imbedded in organic materials and
cause them to migrate towards a cathode, in this case the stainless steel mesh connected to the
negative terminal of the power supply.
Figure 8: Diagram showing electrophoresis of the clog (Drawing: V.Roth)
Figure 9: The window before treatment. (Photo: R. Kokko)
The window frame is made of softwood boards, and the glass is held in place with putty and
brass screws. It was decided to treat the window as a whole, rather than risk breaking the
glass by removing the screws. The glass was incrusted with iron corrosion products which
were removed using an electrolytic pen. Mechanical cleaning occurs due to the hydrogen
evolution at the cathode, in this case the steel wool in a glass tube. The corrosion products are
also oxidised and dissolved at the stainless steel wire anode.
Figure 10: Diagram showing the set-up of the electrolytic pen. (Drawing: M. Hör)
Future Plans and Initiatives
The students will be putting their scuba diving skills to use in the coming weeks. In July we
will be spending a week diving with Ian MacLeod as part of an in-situ conservation course.
We will be helping to set up sacrificial anodes on iron cannons in the sea and will learn how
to take corrosion potential measurements underwater.
This will be followed by two weeks of underwater archaeological fieldwork at Lake Valgjärvi
in Estonia. The fieldwork will be conducted at a pile dwelling site, with two settlement
periods dating from the Neolithic Age and the Iron Age. The students will participate in all
the steps of the documentation and excavation process and will also be responsible for storing
and transporting any artefacts lifted.
A major project undertaken by a group of the students was writing and designing a web site.
The URL of the site is: http://www.evtek.fi/muotoilu/aikuiskoulutus/koulutusohjelmat/marine
The site includes information about the diploma course and the conservation treatments
conducted by the students, including their scientific background. The idea behind the site was
to communicate with other conservation students and to provide information in a useful and
interesting way. The site currently includes sections on conservation of the cannon and the
theory behind electrolytic treatments. It will be expanded to cover further object treatments in
the coming months.
Discussion
How do the students themselves feel about this diploma course?
One of the main challenges for the diploma course was the inclusion of students from such
different backgrounds and levels of knowledge. At the same time, most students felt that it
had been a valuable experience to have students from different but related backgrounds in the
class.
The subjects taught during the course had been well planned and there were few suggestions
for other subjects that should have been included. However, students without a previous
background in the field felt that there were some gaps in basic conservation knowledge that
that could not be sufficiently covered in a diploma course. In some cases, the order of the
courses could also be improved.
In general, the students felt that the best feature of this course was the opportunity to meet and
establish contacts with so many experienced professionals from right around the world. As
the lecturers are currently working in this field their information is up to date and they are
motivated to give their best. Most of the students thought that the diploma had achieved the
right balance between theoretical and practical work.
In general, the students were very positive about the diploma course. Most felt that they had
learnt a lot and were well prepared for work in marine archaeological conservation, but some
students without a previous conservation background will be seeking further training next
year.
The future of the diploma course is still uncertain but Evtek is currently applying for funding
to offer the course again in September 2003. In the meantime, the structure of the diploma
will be reviewed in light of the first course.