Conservation of Wood Artifacts: A Handbook (Natural Science in Archaeology)

This handbook is the most comprehensive, up-to-date source of information on the history of wood conservation, on the structure and properties of wood, on organisms causing deterioration, on methods of diagnosis of wood condition, on materials and methods of wood preservation, on consolidation of deteriorated wood, and on wood adhesives. Although it provides many techniques of wood conservation in detail, it goes far beyond the scope of a "recipe book" by giving an overview of the use of particular materials and methods as they apply to dry as well as wet or waterlogged wood. Access to the enormous wealth of information is facilitated by separate indexes for trade names, pests, and conservation materials. The latter, together with their methods of application, were gathered from the literature and organized chronologically. For liquid preservatives, fumigants, and consolidants, these listings are preceded by important data on each of the materials.