Customer Reviews

The Archaeologist's Manual for Conservation: A Guide to Non-Toxic, Minimal Intervention Artifact Stabilization (The Kluwer international series on computer supported cooperative work)

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This book is an unfortunate over-simplification of the decision-making processes that are necessary to properly care for our archaeological heritage. Many of the methods in this book are offered without essential caveats to guide non-professionals. Anyone applying these treatments without substantial training will undoubtedly lose information and cause irreparable harm. In addition many of these treatments have long been abandoned by reputable archaeologists and conservators alike. I shudder to think what information has been lost to the well-intentioned who are using this book as a guide.

I purchased this book six months ago and have been able to conserve copper, iron, wood, and fabric with excellent results and minimal cost. The book is user friendly; both my students (with no prior experience) and I (minimally trained) have been able to follow the theory and methods put forward in Rodgers' manual. I sincerely hope this book will convince other archaeologists, particularly terrestrial archaeologists, that conservation can be a simple, inexpensive process integral to projects at any scale. The results in regard to artifact preservation and enhancing the display of collections have been excellent.