Conservation

	Contact name Kasia Bernaciak

Textile from Temple Bar, Dublin 2 (before and after treatment) Coin from the Abbey River, Limerick (before and after treatment) Arch Con Labs flyers 2002 - 2004	Conservation is an essential component of archaeological investigation. The natural degradation of artefacts often accelerates after excavation, and conservation can halt this process, yielding a wealth of information about the archaeological context of the finds. Our conservation facility, Arch Con Labs, is a fully equipped conservation laboratory offering a comprehensive range of cost-effective services to Irish archaeology, including some that are unavailable anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. The aim of conservation is to stabilise and preserve objects found during excavation, utilising both interventive treatments and preventive measures. The techniques used include Cleaning (mechanical and chemical) Stabilisation (impregnation of wet organics, anticorrosion treatment of metals and consolidation of friable objects) Freeze drying (particularly wooden and leather artefacts) Reconstruction Archival packaging Every step of the conservation process is fully documented using photography and computerised records, and all work is carried out under licence to the minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands.