Restoration

Restoration and conservation

As in every archaeological excavation, many of the recovered artefacts of Tell Sabi Abyad were damaged in antiquity and through their long stay in the soil. They have to be conserved and restored, so that they may be of use to future researchers as well. It is only when they have been conserved and restored that they can be exhibited in a museum.

Renske Dooijes works at the restoration department of National Museum of Antiquities and at Tell Sabi Abyad she is responsible for the conservation of the Assyrian metal objects and the other recovered objects. In last summer's restoration projects the most interesting objects were obviously treated with priority, as for example a bronze bowl, a number of bronze rings and beautiful weapons.

Of course the metal objects from the Assyrian gold treasure were also part of the programme. This gold treasure, found in a cremation burial from the 12th century BC, received a lot of publicity in the summer of 1998. 

In the drawings it is indicated where the objects showed corrosion. The situation after restoration is also recorded on slides. This documentation is very important, because the appearance of bronze may change drastically after the removal of corrosion.

It is often difficult to protect archaeological metal objects against further decay. By means of an electric drill with little brushes and grindstones the layer of corrosion on the bronze objects is removed as well as possible. In some cases the bronze has unfortunately already been corroded through and through, so that treatment is no longer possible. Sometimes the corrosion layer is so solid or so thick that it cannot be removed without the use of chemicals. When this is the case, the objects are given only a surface treatment, so that the dirt is removed at least.

The result of several weeks of hard work is a collection of clean bronze objects. This collection is now at the archaeological museum in Raqqa. In the future part of it will be displayed in an exhibition on Tell Sabi Abyad.