Segontium Sword

[Cofidre09]

Hi there,

I am a postgraduate student studying Museum and Heritage Management. I am conducting a report, and I was wondering if I could receive some advice on a sword that I am studying:

BBC - A History of the World - Object : Segontium Sword

Any advice on preservation and storage care of this item would be gratefully appreciated, thank you.

 

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[Charlie P. (NY)]

I'd return it to the Gwynedd Museum. ;-)

But seriously - you have two very dissimilar materials - ivory and iron. Limit handling it to an absolute minimum. Keep it in a stable environment (limit humidity and temperature changes). Presumably the iron has already been chemically stabilized and any corrosive contaminates removed. I would STRONGLY recommend you contact a technical specalist in museum preservation; say from the British Museum.

That piece is beyond the boiled linseed oil, molten beeswax or Renaissance Wax treatment we give dug iron relics.

 

[UnderMiner]

Hi there,

I am a postgraduate student studying Museum and Heritage Management. I am conducting a report, and I was wondering if I could receive some advice on a sword that I am studying:

BBC - A History of the World - Object : Segontium Sword

Any advice on preservation and storage care of this item would be gratefully appreciated, thank you.

Ever thought of abandoning your studies and just perusing a life of care-free treasure hunting? Just kidding we need guys like you to preserve and catalog the treasures of our planet. Anyway, in response to your inquiry, my armature knowledge of chemistry and archaeology would tell me to preserve that sword by placing it into an airtight glass display case and filling that case with Argon gas. This will prevent any future corrosion of the iron blade. Argon is an inert gas used in chemistry to store reactive metals like sodium and Cesium (which oxidize rapidly if exposed to the air we breath), the same protective effects of Argon can be used for your sword. The gas is nontoxic, cheap, and readily available at chemistry supply outlets.