Abstract
Conservation methods applied to historical shipwrecks increasingly rely on combining modern analytical techniques to obtain new insights for specially adapted conservation treatments. Crystalline salts formed on waterlogged wood are identified by powder X-ray diffraction while X-ray fluorescence measurements along wood cores show penetration profiles of contaminating elements. Dedicated synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy, especially sulfur and iron K-edge XANES, allows speciation of the large amounts of detrimental sulfur and iron compounds that often are found accumulated within the hull timbers, while high resolution X-ray imaging shows the distribution within the wood microstructure. By fitting spectra of model compounds to high quality sulfur K-edge XANES spectra one can obtain the relative amounts of different types of functional sulfur groups. FT-IR, NMR, ESCA, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and size exclusion chromatography are other useful techniques to analyze the status of the wood and of the consolidation agent polyethylene glycol. Examples are given from analyses of famous artifacts.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
M. Sandström, F. Jalilehvand, I. Persson, U. Gelius, P. Frank, and I. Hall-Roth, Nature, 2002, 415, 893.
M. Sandström, F. Jalilehvand, E. Damian, Y. Fors, U. Gelius, M. Jones, and M. Salomé, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 2005, 102, 14165.
K. M. Wetherall, R. M. Moss, A. M. Jones, A. D. Smith, T. Skinner, D. M. Pickup, S. W. Goatham, A. V. Chadwick, and R. J. Newport, J. Archaeol. Sci., 2008, 35, 1317.
Y. Fors, T. Nilsson, E. D. Risberg, M. Sandström, and P. Torssander, Int. Biodeterior. Biodegrad., 2008, 62, 336.
Y. Fors and M. Sandström, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2006, 35, 399.
B. Håfors, Ph. D. Thesis, University of Gothenburg, 2010.
G. Almkvist and I. Persson, Holzforschung, 2008, 62, 64.
J. Glastrup, Y. Shashoua, H. Egsgaard, and M. N. Mortensen, Macromol. Symp., 2006, 238, 22.
I. D. MacLeod and C. Kenna, in Proceedings of the Fourth ICOM Group on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials Conference, ed. P. Hoffmann, 1991, International Council of Museums (ICOM), Committee for Conservation Working Group on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials, Bremerhaven, 133.
F. Bettazzi, G. Giachi, G. Staccioli, and S. Chimichi, Holzforschung, 2003, 57, 373.
Y. Fors, Ph. D. Thesis, Stockholm University, 2008.
R. Sarangi, P. Frank, K. O. Hodgson, and B. Hedman, Inorg. Chim. Acta, 2008, 361, 956.
E. D. Risberg, F. Jalilehvand, B. O. Leung, L. G. M. Pettersson, and M. Sandström, Dalton Trans., 2009, 3542.
F. Jalilehvand, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2006, 35, 1256.
P. Frank, S. D. George, E. Anxolabéhère-Mallart, B. Hedman, and K. O. Hodgson, Inorg. Chem., 2006, 45, 9864.
G. Almkvist, K. Boye, and I. Persson, J. Synchrotron Radiat., 2010, 17, 683.
G. N. George, M. Gnida, D. A. Bazylinski, R. C. Prince, and I. J. Pickering, J. Bacteriol., 2008, 190, 6376.
S. Bugani, F. Modugno, J. J. Łucejko, G. Giachi, S. Cagno, P. Cloetens, K. Janssens, and L. Morselli, Anal. Bioanal. Chem., 2009, 395, 1977.
I. Bjurhager, J. Ljungdahl, L. Wallström, E. K. Gamstedt, and L. A. Berglund, Holzforschung, 2010, 64, 243.
J. S. Delaney, M. D. Dyar, S. R. Steven, and S. Bajt, Geology, 1998, 26, 139.
J. Prietzel, J. Thieme, K. Eusterhues, and D. Eichert, Eur. J. Soil Sci., 2007, 58, 1027.
C. E. Rees, W. J. Jenkins, and J. Monster, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 1978, 42, 377.
V. Brüchert, in “Physiological and Ecological Aspects of Sulfur Isotope Fractionation during Bacterial Sulfate Reduction”, ed. J. P. Amend, K. J. Edwards, and T. W. Lyons, 2004, Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO.
A. Robador, V. Brüchert, and B. B. Jørgensen, Environ. Microbiol., 2009, 11, 1692.
V. L. Richards and N. West, in Proceedings of the Eighth ICOM Group on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials Conference, ed. P. Hoffmann, J. A. Spriggs, T. Grant, C. Cook, and A. Recht, 2002, International Council of Museums (ICOM), Committee for Conservation Working Group on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials, Bremerhaven, 259.
E. L. Ghisalberti and I. M. Godfrey, Stud. Conserv., 1998, 43, 215.
C. Björdal, T. Nilsson, and S. Bardage, Holzforschung, 2005, 59, 178.
C. Capretti, N. Macchioni, B. Pizzo, G. Galotta, G. Giachi, and D. Giampaola, Archaeometry, 2008, 50, 855.
I. D. MacLeod and V. L. Richards, in Proceedings of the Sixth ICOM Group on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials Conference, ed. P. Hoffmann, T. Grant, J. A. Spriggs, and T. Daley, 1997, International Council of Museums (ICOM), Committee for Conservation Working Group on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials, Bremerhaven, 203.
H. Pavlíková, I. Sýkorová, J. Černý, E. Šebestová, and V. Machovič, Energy Fuels, 1993, 7, 351.
M. A. Wilson, I. M. Godfrey, J. V. Hanna, R. A. Quezada, and K. S. Finnie, Org. Geochem., 1993, 20, 599.
B. Pizzo, G. Giachi, and L. Fiorentino, Archaeometry, 2010, 52, 656.
K. K. Pandey and A. J. Pitman, Int. Biodeterior. Biodegrad., 2003, 52, 151.
M. Christensen, M. Frosch, P. Jensen, U. Schnell, Y. Shashoua, and O. F. Nielsen, J. Raman Spectrosc, 2006, 37, 1171.
E.-L. Lindfors, M. Lindström, and T. Iversen, Holzforschung, 2008, 62, 57.
Y. Fors and V. Richards, Stud. Conserv., 2010, 55, 41.
T. Skinner, in Proceedings of the Fifth ICOM Group on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials Conference, ed. P. Hoffmann, T. Daley, and T. Grant, 1994, International Council of Museums (ICOM), Committee for Conservation Working Group on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials, Bremerhaven, 63.
M. N. Mortensen, H. Egsgaard, S. Hvilsted, Y. Shashoua, and J. Glastrup, J. Archaeol. Sci., 2007, 34, 1211.
J. Glastrup, Y. Shashoua, H. Egsgaard, and M. N. Mortensen, Holzforschung, 2006, 60, 259.
Y. Fors, H. Egsgaard, and K. Wickholm, in Proceedings of the Tenth ICOM Group on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials Conference, ed. K. Straetkvern and D. J. Huisman, 2009, International Committee of Museums, Amersfoort, 539.
G. Almkvist and I. Persson, Holzforschung, 2008, 62, 694.
A. Pournou, Archaeometry, 2008, 50, 129.
M. Bardet, M. F. Foray, S. Maron, P. Goncalves, and Q. K. Trân, Carbohydr. Polym., 2004, 57, 419.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This is an invited review article selected from Keynote presenters at IUPAC International Conference on Analytical Sciences 2011 (ICAS 2011).
Electronic supplementary material
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fors, Y., Jalilehvand, F. & Sandström, M. Analytical Aspects of Waterlogged Wood in Historical Shipwrecks. ANAL. SCI. 27, 785–792 (2011). https://doi.org/10.2116/analsci.27.785
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2116/analsci.27.785